HAWKS -at- LAKERS – 11-27-16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:14 pm    Post subject: HAWKS -at- LAKERS – 11-27-16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

The Bench… This team doesn’t have a lot of elite elements to it, but the bench is certainly one of them.

After trailing by 11 points in the first quarter, the Lakers bench turned the tables on the Hawks winning the second quarter 35-16 to lead by 8 at the half. Larry Nance helped spark that second quarter along with some offense by Nick Young. The Hawks had gotten off to a hot start with easy scores off the two-man sequences, but the second unit put out that fire and took control.

“The second quarter stretch was the best we’ve been defensively in my opinion all year long,” Luke said.

Again in the second half, the bench took over the game. They put the clamps on the Hawks in the fourth quarter again, this time holding them to just 17 points. Great team D with everyone rotating, helping and hitting the boards with that second unit.

The Lakers have struggled on D, but tonight they took a couple steps forward in the 109-94 win over the Hawks.

“That’s really the first time we saw all five guys on the court talking defensively,” Luke said of the defense by his bench.

The L.A. bench outscored the Hawks bench 65-24. That’s dominating. Luke left them in to close the game against the Hawks starters, and Lou Williams led the way in the fourth with 13 points, manufacturing freethrows when they needed them as well as hitting a few big shots on his way to finishing with a team-high 21 points.

Luke started Robinson at PF tonight to keep the second unit completely intact.

“They’ve been one of the best groups of five – starters or benches – all season long in the NBA,” Luke said. “We feel we have a big advantage when that group gets on the court together. That’s why we tried so hard to keep them in somewhat similar rotations.”


Young -- -- He made four threes in the first half, including a 4-point play, in this one. That first half helped the Lakers turn the game around and start to take control. He may have shot himself out of his momentum in the second half, taking harder shots. Regardless, his fire power was pretty effective at keeping the starters from letting the game get away from them. They need his aggression with Randle and Russell out. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-12 shooting (4-5 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a quick-fire wing jumper. He sank a good look at a three with Howard sagging off the Mozgov screen. He was rejected on a drive. He crossed over in early offense and hit the 17-footer. He took the handoff, fired and hit the And-1 three, he made the FT. He swiped a ball, pushed it out, gave it up, tracked down the miss and then sank a quick-fire wing three. He let a defender fly by, stepped in and sank the slightly closer three. Great D on the other end getting a man in air to throw the ball away. He scored 15 points on 5-7 shooting. Second Half: He missed a 15-footer. He sank a pull-up 12-footer in transition. He blew past Korver, drew the D and hit Mozgov for FTs. He got tapped on another pull-up from midrange. He crossed over and missed a forced jumper. He missed a three in transition next time down.

Mozgov -- -- Serviceable minutes from Mozgov. He and Robinson got better as the game went along after Howard was getting some easy ones of the two-man sequences in the first half. The starters have had a lot of players in and out recently and that makes it difficult. Mozgov had a putback dunk and a jumper for his points in this game. He did a good job setting screens early in the game with Howard sagging off. This opened up opportunities for our guards. We should have gone after that a little more. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He freed up teammates for back-to-back jumpers off high screens. He sank an open wing jumper with Dwight sagging off. He missed a wing jumper. Second Half: He missed a 10-foot hook. He drew FTs on the drive and dish from Nick, he made one. He follow dunked a Robinson missed drive. He missed a 17-footer on the wing. He was fouled crashing the offensive glass.

Robinson -- -- “He was great for us,” Luke said, saying it was nice to reward him for putting in the work in practice. He put Robinson into the starting lineup to help with rebounding and he came through with 5 boards (3 offensive) in his first 6-minute stint. He nearly had a double-double in 15 minutes, just relentless on the glass and getting the team extra possessions. He said he just tried “to do what I do.” I think Luke found his “backup” starter at the PF spot. This, of course, keeps the bench intact with Ingram and Clarkson returning to their usual rotations tonight. He needs to get more minutes with the starters to build up that chemistry. He said he’s now working on his baby steps in his development to help him grow his game. He and Nance combined for 9 offensive boards at the PF spot. Impressive. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-11 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards (5 offensive), 1 turnover and 1 foul in 15:27. He was a -10. The Action: He drew FTs on a drive to his left, he made one. He missed a floater and a follow-tip. He reset the offense on an offensive board. He slammed off the pass from Calderon on the break. Second Half: He drew a foul (and a tech) on Millsap chasing down an offensive board. He was called for a foul setting a screen to give it back. Not close on a one-hander in the paint. He grabbed an offensive board and powered in a layup. He worked the two-man game with Deng and reversed. He scored a layup on the interior feed from Calderon. He missed a drive but Mozgov slammed it down. He missed a drive but got it back and reset the offense. He couldn’t finish the scoop lob from JC.

Calderon -- -- He said one of the keys for the starters was changing their screen-roll coverage by going under the screens more. That certainly helped after we gave up a series of easy scores to Howard off the two-man game early on. The Hawks were going over the screen themselves on their end and Calderon was able to get into some easy looks with the help D plugging the paint. He probably could have milked that more than he did, but was efficient with his scoring as a result. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-5 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He missed a short midrange jumper off the high screen. He sank a 12-footer off the high screen. No box out and his man scored the easy putback. Easy midrange jumper off the Mozgov screen with Dwight hanging back. He fed Robinson on the break for the throwdown. Second Half: He made a tech FT. He attacked off a wing screen and had his layup goaltended. He swished a 20-footer off a high screen. He found Robinson with an interior feed for a layup.

Deng -- -- He scratched out a couple of buckets and pulled down a few boards (I’d like to see a little more of that from him right now, but he and Ingram did a good job from the SF spot). So many of his shots are consistently short or flat, it’s surprising when they do make it over the front of the rim. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He got a tough runner to fall with the shotclock low on the first possession (kind of a prayer). He missed a 20-footer, short, on his next possession. He missed a three, short. Stripped in the paint on a pull-up attempt (just took way too long to get the shot off). Nice help on a defensive board to get the stop. Second Half: His man went for a steal and came up dry in the post, so Deng dunked easily. He worked the wo-man game with Robinson and set him up for the reverse. He missed a wide open wing three.

Clarkson -- -- This is one of my favorite games from him this season. Sure, he’s had bigger moments and big plays, but this one was just so much cleaner with the decision making. Some better moments of control with the ball in his hand, and he ended up with 5 assists without a turnover. If he can play a little more at this speed instead of going 100% out to score or force a pass, that would help. The Lakers as a team tonight had just 9 turnovers. Want to keep teams from scoring over 100? Do that with more frequency. Random stuff: It wouldn’t surprise me if he got called for breaking the plane of the freethrow line while shooting sometime this season. His momentum is always carry him over it on his step after his follow through. It looked like JC was wearing a kilt after the game. Asked how they keep the momentum going on the road, Larry said, “kilts.” Whatever works. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-17 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals and no turnovers or fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +22. The Action: Wild drive, not close after getting caught in the air. He missed a layup attempt, trying to go high off the glass on the layup instead of settling for an easier pull-up bank. He reset the offense, attacked off the high screen and hit the short jumphook. He missed a runner in the paint, taking off too early, I thought. He drew the D and hit Nance for the short one in the paint. He missed an elbow pull-up off a curl. He pounced on a fumble by Dwight, pushed it out and drew FTs on the layup attempt, he made both. He pushed out the defensive stop with speed and scored a layup on the break. He missed an early offense three. He pushed out the break and was blocked on the finish. He missed an elbow pull-up jumper. He sank a long, leaning three against the shotclock (he’s amazingly good at those crazy off-balance threes). He missed a quick-fire three on a two-for-one sequence. Second Half: He attacked to his right and drew FTs, he made one. He attacked the mismatch and hit the running jumphook off the dribble. Another one off the two-man game and he banked it in this time. He missed a quick runner off the SLOB play. He sank a short baseline jumper off the kickout from Nance. He iso’d and missed the wing three. He turned the corner on his man, attacked past a seal by Black and scored the layup.

Williams -- -- He’s killed the Hawks this year. Tonight, was more of a methodical, vet savvy approach vs. getting hot and going off. Early in the fourth quarter, he manufactured some key freethrows for the team that helped the Lakers build a double-digit lead. Those are quiet plays, but winning plays. You’ve got to find ways to put points on the board at critical junctures. We got stops, he got to the line and quietly put the Hawks to sleep. I don’t think anyone would have said this offseason that a lineup with JC and Lou as our guards would lockdown on an opponent, but seeing our second unit flex its defensive muscles with those two on the floor has been an important part of why this team is beating expectations. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 5-13 shooting (2-6 from three, 9-9 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 27:25. He was a +25. The Action: He threw a pass away (should have waited a little more off the screen). He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a fade from the left side. He lobbed to Nance on the two-man sequence. He hit Nance for the open jumper. He took it through a couple defenders in early offense and scored the And-1 layup at the rim, he made the FT. He missed a three off a handoff out of a timeout. He pushed it out and kicked to Ingram for a three. He missed an elbow pull-up jumper. Second Half: He missed a floater at the FT line, picking up his dribble early. He sank a wing three off the high screen. He had the ball swiped from him while trying to run clock at the end of the quarter (that cost them a couple points). He sank a drifting baseline jumper to start the fourth quarter. He missed a three off a high screen at the top of the arc. He manufactured a couple FTs off a screen-roll, he made both. He manufactured more FTs on a three next time down, pumping a man into the air, then drawing contact, he made all three. He missed a wide open three (set up by Black’s screen that dropped the defender). Somehow he slithered his way through a trap and flipped in an And-1 off the reach, he made the FT. He missed an open three from the sideline. He crossed over behind his back and swished the deep three.

Ingram -- -- Great job hitting the boards in this one again. The 8 boards really help with the one-and-out possessions. With our length at the SF, we need to press that advantage and he did again tonight. Lou called him “our defender” of the second unit. Rare you get that kind of game from a rookie, but that’s been the most consistent part of Ingram’s impact this season. Luke used him at backup PG for a couple possessions each half as he made his rotations. (The fewer the minutes for Calderon and Huertas, the better.) Ingram was pretty ineffective offensively with his shot. He was passing up some threes in the fourth quarter, losing confidence as the game went along. Attacking the paint wasn’t any better. Let’s just call it as it stands right now: he’s absolutely awful at finishing in the paint. He’ll get really good at that part of his game eventually just because of his length and agility. At this stage of his career, it’s awful. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-10 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 8 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He crossed over, moved in and missed the pull-up at the FT line (way long on the shot). He missed a pull-up turnaround in the post. He ran clock, attacked on the drive and was stuffed on the finish. He attacked off the three line, moved in and hit the pull-up at the FT line. He swished a wing three on a kickout from Lou. He picked up a phantom foul on the defensive glass, his third and he sat. He had 5 points on 2-5 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He posted up and missed a turnaround against the shotclock. He missed a wing three. He missed an easy 16-footer straight away. He missed a 19-footer off the high screen. He stepped in off a kickout in transition and rattled down the wing jumper. He was stripped on a probe.

Nance -- -- “We kind of took it to them and brought the fight to them,” Nance said. He had a stretch of 8 points in the first half that helped change momentum for the Lakers. “The energy the second unit brought on the defensive end on the second quarter changed the outcome of that game,” he said. Nance finished with a double-double on the night as the Lakers second unit put the clamps on. The mobility of the bigs and their quick read and reacts defensively just took the Hawks out of everything they wanted to do. “Confidence is the biggest thing,” Nance said of the difference this year, and he gave Luke a lot of credit for that. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-10 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 10 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +25. The Action: He was called for an offensive foul trying to get position on a smaller man. He pitched it to Williams, slipped the screen and dunked the lob from Lou. He swished the short one-handed push shot in the paint off the two-man sequence. He swished the open wing jumper off the two-man game. He tipped in a missed layup by Black and forced a timeout. He missed an open wing jumper. Second Half: He tipped in an Ingram miss. He missed a wing three trying to beat the shotclock. He pushed off a fronting defender for a turnover. He sank an open wing jumper when JC drew a crowd. He missed a runner down the lane.

Black -- -- He was a +17 in his 13 first half minutes. The mobility of Nance and Black were able to put a halt to the Hawks easy scoring off two-man sequences in the second quarter and change the first half (and the game) around. They got a lot of run in the second half as they were clearly the best lineup we had out there. In fact, I was just hoping the first unit could hold on for a few minutes in the first half before the bench came in. Good job doing all the little things, setting screens, getting after boards, closing the space on D in help situations. They didn’t blow the Hawks out with a sudden run or two, but more just gradually and relentlessly. “We give ourselves up for each other. We sacrifice for each other,” Black said of the team. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 8 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 1 turnover, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 1 foul in 28 minutes. He was a +27. The Action: He grabbed an offensive board between defenders and hit the And-1 putback, he made the FT. Not close on a jumphook in the paint. He missed an easy one at the rim, but Nance tipped it in. He broke on a up lob pass. He fronted Howard then broke up the lob. He missed a rushed lefty jumphook and wanted the foul. He rejected a guard on a jumper in the paint. Second Half: He kept an offensive board alive and it led to a Laker three. He leveled a man with a screen, crashed the glass, grabbed the missed shot and scored the putback. He blocked a drive. He hit a jumphook across the lane.

Huertas -- -- He came in for the final 1:24 of garbage time and the only thing that stood out was a bad pass. The Stats: He had 1 assist and 1 turnover in 1:24. He was a -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Caught in the air, he threw it away.

Walton -- -- Hawks got easy penetration to setup Howard for easier scores to start. Luke called a timeout down 13-8 after 4 minutes… Nance and Ingram in after 7 minutes down 4… Clarkson and Lou in down 6… Another timeout by Luke as Dwight is scoring with too much ease against poor Laker rotations. And, frankly, Lakers doing a very poor job on the other end with Dwight sagging into the paint. High screens off Mozgov should be relentless for easy looks until he adjusts… Black in for Mozgov… The Lakers trailed 32-21 after the first quarter… An 8-point stretch by Larry and his guards to cut the lead to 4 and force a timeout… They took a 1-point lead when Nick returned for Ingram, who picked up a bogus third foul midway through the quarter… A 5-point Laker lead forced a timeout… The Lakers led 56-48 at the half. The Lakers made 6-10 from three and had just 3 turnovers… Up 8, Ingram in for Calderon… Nance in for Robinson, Lakers up 6… Deng out for Clarkson shortly later… Lakers up 5 when Black came in for Mozgov… Full bench unit in now with 3 minutes left… They led 84-77 after three quarters… Lou manufacturing FTs and taking control of the game on offense. They pushed it out to an 18-point lead… Luke took a late timeout because we were taking the air out of the ball offensively. He said we aren’t good enough to not work on our execution. So he got them running plays again instead of high pick and rolls… Lou and Nance out for Huertas and Robinson, Lakers up 19 with 1:24 left…
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japanesebeef1
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:20 pm    Post subject:

First?

Thanks DB. Got my "Thoughts and Ratings" fix for tonight. Great game.
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:38 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
Fun game to watch.
This team is much better at this point than I expected. Get Randle and Russell back and at bit more experience/time and they can make some noise in the West, IMO
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:38 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB as always!
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:40 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:04 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:09 am    Post subject:

AAAAA

Much more fun to watch being on the positive side of a blowout Very pleasantly surprised they took it to the Hawks like this down 2 key guys. That Hawks squad has some good players on it but Lakers just out-teamed them.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:19 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! I missed this one - appreciate the recap!

9-9 now. That's amazing. What a bench!
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:30 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Wasn't able to watch the game, and this was my first stop as always when that happens. Awesome summary and insight.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:47 am    Post subject:

Moz is showing a lot of heart out there this season. That's worth noting, especially when he's matched up against some of the bigger Centers.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 6:32 am    Post subject:

Agreed about JC. Loved how he played today. If he was more opportunistically looking to pass while in attack mode, would just be killer.
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governator
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 7:07 am    Post subject:

The D!!!
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 9:25 am    Post subject:

I missed this one with some family time, thanks for the write up DB!! GO LAKERS!
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 10:12 am    Post subject:

Hawks are a total mess, but I'm glad we got this win. If there's one win they needed, it was this one (or that Mavs game, but Gary was out). The stretch of upcoming games will be brutal.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 10:50 am    Post subject:

I LOVE BASKETBALL!
Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:24 pm    Post subject:

There's always some extra pleasure when the Lakers beat Dwight. Too bad he ran to the East so the Lakers can't beat the him a couple more times this season.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 4:09 pm    Post subject:

I've never been a big fan of Dwight Howard's game, but does the NBA call 3 seconds any more? Dwight didn't seem to ever move out of the paint on either end. For a guy whose entire game relies solely on his athletic ability, he's really underachieved by not developing his basketball skills. He's pretty much a very well paid journeyman at this point. He can't be a successful team's offensive focal point.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 29, 2016 10:34 am    Post subject:

I missed the game cause of football . QFTOS?
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