LAKERS -at- HEAT – 12-22-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

December Death March… The Lakers are now 1-11 in December. No Nance after the injury. No Randle as he went home for the birth of a child. No Black, still out with his injury.

Once again, they pulled out to a big first half lead. Once again, they lost it. It’s hard to win when you consistently give up 115 or so points as the Lakers do with a lot of consistency.

“You’re supposed to put the nail in the coffin when we’ve got teams down by 18,” Nick Young said.

“We can’t get satisfied or bored with playing a certain way but we will get there,” Luke said. “I don’t know when it’s going to be.”

The switching defense by the Lakers was too predictable at times. I was ready to blast the coaching staff on this, but Luke mentioned it after the game that even he didn’t like it.

“We switched a lot when we don’t need to switch just because it’s sometimes easier to switch,” he said, “but when you do that other teams are going to find a rhythm at some point.”

The Heat methodically set up their switches to get the mismatches or situations they liked and the Lakers never adjusted, falling down the stretch, 115-107


Russell -- -- He was assigned to defend Dragic, but you can’t really give anyone a specific assignment with how much we switch. For example, Russell ended up on Winslow quite a bit as our defense would instantly switch everything. That would allow Winslow to get in the paint with his size and get good looks or cause the two-man D with Russell and Mozgov to get the team into trouble at times with Whiteside able to get easy scores. Just too much easy switching so the Heat could seek out the matchups they wanted. Russell needs to do a better job seeing how the opponent is abusing us on that end and help the team adjust. Again, experience will help here. Offensively, Russell had a decent first half scoring wise, but way too many turnovers. He cleaned that up in the second half, but most of the turnovers were off sloppy passing. He had some good moments setting up both Deng and Young. He was in some foul trouble in the third quarter but did a decent job not picking up that fifth foul while still playing reasonable D in that stretch. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-16 shooting (3-8 from three) to go with 4 boards, 7 assists, 6 turnovers, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He rattled down a three when his man got caught going under a screen. He missed a three next time down from the same spot. He swished a 12-footer working off the two-man game. He found Mozgov under the hoop on a nice seal for the easy layup. Nice pocket pass to Deng off the two-man sequence for a dunk. Sloppy pass on the two-man game, turnover, points the other way. He missed a floater. He threw a ball into a defenders feet, turnover (and nearly exposed in transition when his first step was in the wrong direction, luckily it was a Heat turnover the other way). His bounce pass to Deng was picked off. He got room on the two-man sequence, backed up and hit the wing three. He attacked off the high screen and hit the floater, wanting the foul. He got a kind bounce on a three next time down in transition. Sloppy execution on the pass in the paint, turnover. He was blocked on a sideline three. He missed a one-hander off a spin but kept his miss alive on the follow. He was called for a moving screen, turnover. He missed a 30-footer at the buzzer. He had 13 points on 5-9 shooting but 5 turnovers. Second Half: He gave up an And-1 layup in transition getting stuck on a hip instead of walling off his man. He hit Deng for a wing three. He hit Nick in transition for the three. He found Nick in transition for another three after getting a stop in transition on a reach. He missed a three off the loop play. Weird pull-up, looked like he tripped and he missed. He posted up and swished the turnaround. He swished a wing jumper off the screen. He missed a pull-up wing jumper off the high screen. He hit Deng on the two-man game for a three. Turnover on the telegraphed pass to Deng off the brush screen. Way short on a pull-up three (need to get your legs in those more).

Young -- -- “Somehow we just got to finish it up the last 5 minutes,” Nick said. He missed a couple of threes to close the game. Some moments of chemistry with Russell finding him when Nick had a hot hand going. Both of those can be very streaky and I think Russell is figuring that out. Defensively, we would have been better off without all the switching and putting Nick on Winslow as much as possible. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-14 shooting (5-11 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He missed a wing three in transition. He didn’t hit rim on a wide open wing three. He swished an And-1 three off the kickout, he made the FT. Kind of a crazy corner three off the quick swing pass from Clarkson next time down, Nick didn’t even look set. He missed a 19-footer. Second Half: He missed a corner three on a kickout. He sank a wing three in transition after making a nice reach on help to create the turnover. He blew past Winslow and scored a layup down the lane. He went between his legs on a pull-back dribble and swished the three to beat the clock. He missed a wing three. He sank a pull-up 17-footer working off the screen. He missed a wing three from deep. He missed a big three with about 30 seconds left.

Deng -- -- I’m really liking the Deng/Russell two-man game. Deng has scored off threes, slip screens, dunks on the roll. They’re scratching out a few points every game as they figure things out together. Deng played the PF spot tonight with Randle/Nance out. So that makes the two-man game a little easier for those two, but we run it when Deng is at the SF, as well, with success. Defensively, some issues with poor closeouts on his man. That seemed to be a problem for a few players tonight. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-10 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnover, 2 steals and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a wing three. He was fouled after stealing a pass. He dunked off the two-man game with Russell (more please). He gave up a dunk on the other end, however. He missed a step-back three on iso. Straight line attack in early offense off the catch and he scored a layup. He swished a sideline three on a kickout. He missed the short pull-up jumper on iso. Second Half: He sank a wing three on a Russell kickout. He wasn’t expecting a pass from Ingram that hit him on the hand in the lane. He was short on a three, too flat. He was called for 3 seconds picking up his dribble under the hoop. Way short on a flat pull-up three.

Ingram -- -- He’s young, so you have to grade him on a curve. Wish we could fast forward 5 years (he’ll still be young), but the impact will be muted offensively. He’s way ahead of the curve on the D end. He pretty much played/defended four positions tonight, including more PG (where he had an unfortunate 8-second violation bringing the ball up). Shooting wise, this was probably one of those 1 for X games, but he banked in a jumper. Great work on the glass. He gets up there with that length to pull them down. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting (0-2 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 34:30. He was a +2. The Action: A couple offensive boards to reset the offense. He missed a wing three. He attacked across the lane and missed, but got his own rebound. Bad drive into traffic and then Clarkson cut to him making it worse, turnover on the pass. He might have blocked Winslow in transition to get a stop but got no credit on it. He missed a wing three. His kickout was nearly stolen, but Deng hit the three off it. Second Half: He posted up Dragic and earned FTs, he missed both. He attacked across the lane, tucked the ball in and scored the layup. He airballed a sideline three on iso. He somehow banked in a turnaround, just getting the shot off before the clock expired. He forced a turnover on a challenge on the post entry pass. He looked hit on a pull-up jumper with no call and missed. He was called for an 8-second violation not paying attention to the clock as he brought it up. Sloppy recovery and his man blew past him for a floater with a minute left.

Mozgov -- -- Very active first quarter with 10 points, showing a nice touch on a variety of shots. We got him the first shot of the game and kept him active all quarter. The rest of the game was pretty forgetful. He picked up his rebounding some, but he still has moments where he’s nailed to the floor on the glass and that cost us. Defensively, he tried to plug the lane, but our schemes still had him in no man’s land or closing with no help behind him, so we played pretty soft and predictable. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-11 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 turnover, 1 block and 1 foul in 30 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He sank an elbow jumper coming off a screen to start the game. He sank a jumphook posting up off the weave. He was stripped on a finishing bringing the ball down low on the baseline drive. He rejected the dribble penetration. Great seal on some bad defensive position by Whiteside and Russell found him for a layup. He hit a floater on an attack to his left. He attacked, took contact and hit the 8-footer. He was blocked on a drive. He missed a wing jumper. He took contact on a lefty runner and got it to go, should have been an And-1. He had 12 points on 6-9 shooting and 1 board. Second Half: No effort to secure the board while boxing out and we gave up a putback he should have been able to grab. He was blocked under the backboard trying to power up after a lob. Nearly a good move, but he traveled as he lifted his pivot on the up and under, that cost him a layup. No challenge on Whiteside’s jumphook, get a hand up at least. Not close on a jumphook in the paint. He drew FTs on the screen-roll finish, he made both.

Clarkson -- -- While this is not the kind of impact we need from JC, he’s had games where he’s scored a lot more but played a lot worse. We didn’t have the ball movement to get him better shots. He started off this game on bad shot selection from the perimeter and that part never really improved. He had a couple of nice drives for his scores. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-10 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 2 steals and no fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Bad decision to take an off-balance corner three, that’s where he gets in trouble, and he missed. He turned the corner off the DHO with Robinson and scored the layup. Similar play and he missed the layup, but Robinson cleaned it up. He attacked full court and missed a tough layup at the buzzer after taking contact. Kickout to Young for the And-1 three. Nice swing pass to Nick in transition for the three next time down. He traveled before putting the dribble down, turnover. Not close on a wing three. Second Half: He missed a chuck from three. He missed a floater. He was blocked in transition. He missed a baseline pull-up. He cut off Robinson’s offensive board, got the pass and scored the layup.

Williams -- -- I think the Clarkson/Lou passing-to-scoring ratio was in effect again. With Lou more aggressive to score, Clarkson struggled. This seems to be a trend. Clarkson, at least, didn’t force himself into bad situations like he has in the past when Lou was the aggressor. Quiet 27 from Lou. Those numbers kind of snuck up as the game went along. His best games are when he’s able to also set up teammates. That may have been a little tougher as he’s developed chemistry with some of the guys sitting out in this one. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 8-17 shooting (3-7 from three, 8-8 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 28 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed a layup in transition. He missed a three off the high screen. He sank the drifting baseline jumper in early offense. Quick layup in transition blowing by his man. He sank a wing three moving to his left. He set up Robinson for FTs on the screen-roll. He sank a three off the high handoff. He missed a three. He sought out contact in transition, got the reach and hit the And-1 runner, he made the FT. He had 13 points on 5-8 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper in transition. He missed a three. He was blocked on a drive. He sank a pull-up jumper from the wing to start the fourth. Early offense attack and he drew contact and FTs, he made both. He attacked down the lane and drew FTs, he made both. He swished a floater in semi-transition next time down. He couldn’t finish a layup on a drive. He missed a drive. He sank a big three off the high screen with 4 minutes left. He drew a foul on a three after the reach, he made all three with 1:01 left. He got tapped on a deep three.

Robinson -- -- With our trio of bigs out, we used Robinson as backup C and went small at PF. He did an excellent job in his minutes and trying to hold the line for the team. I think our best stretches of D had him on the floor. We were just a bit more mobile and active, unlike with Mozgov. He crashed the offensive glass for 5 boards there, giving the Lakers the bulk of their second chances tonight. Some cleanups there of Clarkson misses. That was just all effort. He had a little craftiness on a drive that looked like he was going to hand it off to Lou, but turned toward the hoop and attacked. Only complaint I have was probably playing a little soft on the perimeter at times. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 12 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 block and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He crashed the glass and put back in the Clarkson dribble penetration miss. He drew FTs trying to finish a layup on the two-man game with Lou, he made both. He faked like he was going to handoff to Lou on the dribble, but kept going to the rim and scored the layup, crafty play. Second Half: He forced a pass to Lou on the baseline, turnover. He drew a charge on Whiteside in the post. He power slammed down a missed Clarkson floater on the other end. He crashed the glass, pulled it out and found Clarkson cutting for the layup. He missed a putback layup. He couldn’t get the whistle on a charge on Winslow that resulted in a key score. Good hustle after a missed shot and he tied up a man for a jumpball.

World Peace -- -- Awful minutes. He looked old and cold off the bench to end the third and we lost our lead heading into the fourth. It seemed like he was half asleep on D, which is rare. Did not like this sub by Luke and it definitely backfired. We could use a more useful body on the bench right now. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three and was a -7 in 2:43. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Poor help D letting a man blow by him instead of cutting off baseline. He clanked a wide open wing three.

Walton -- -- The Lakers got off to an 11-0 lead before the Heat timeout came… Clarkson in for Ingram, lead trimmed in half… Lou in for Nick, Lakers up 7… Mozgov out for Robinson, Young back in for Russell, Lakers up 9. Ingram now the PG… The Lakers led 25-17 after the first… Same unit to start the second quarter… Some good ball movement and D on the other end to go on a 9-2 run to start the quarter… The Ingram/Robinson defensive duo somewhat disruptive for the Heat… They pulled out to a 19-point lead but got a little soft on D. Luke called a timeout up 15. He brought in Mozgov, Deng and Russell to go with Young and Clarkson… Another timeout down 9… Ingram in for Clarkson out of that… The Lakers led 60-53 at the half. The coaches wanted better effort on D… The lead was trimmed, but Nick heated up and pushed it back to 10, forcing a timeout… Russell had 4 fouls and Luke kept him in. He sat him with 2:35 left without picking up a fifth… Robinson, Metta, Ingram, Clarkson, Lou lineup. Garbage unit that lost the lead to close the quarter… The Lakers trailed 82-80 heading into the fourth… He started a Robinson, Ingram, Young, Clarkson, Williams lineup… Deng in for Ingram, Lakers up 1… Robinson, Deng, Ingram, Russell, Lou lineup, up 2… Lakers down 3 when Mozgov returned for Robinson… Lakers getting burned from three and trailed by 6 when Luke called a timeout with 3 minutes left… No closing ability down the stretch, especially on D where they couldn’t get key stops on multiple occasions…

[Shaber]

Sad result. Growing pains. Can't give up leads like that.

Strange that Luke has still not figured out that nothing good comes of Metta getting playing time.

Thanks, DB!
_________________
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[SB27]

I mean. Timo didnt receive any help from TM, often they just left him on his own, no rotation on D.
And bad plays by Luke at the end, again.

[mhan00]

Please cut Metta so he can't accidentally make it into the game ever again. Hire him as an assistant or start the NBA equivalent of an NFL practice squad because he is AWFUL anytime he plays.

[oldlakerfan]

We might as well start playing Zubac and let him start learning the game.

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[SoCaLjAy]

I thought Robinson played like a man possessed; he was all over the place. 12 boards in 18 minutes is impressive. He definitely did his best Randle/Nance impersonation.

Unfortunately after giving up the lead you could feel this was going to be a loss for the rest of the game...I hate that feeling. The offense is not perfect but effective and downright amazing for stretches; the defense is terrible. When we needed stops we couldn't get them. At some point they will either learn or keep losing...I'm hoping for the first option.

Thanks DB!

[Inspector Gadget]

Thanks DB.

If we miss the PO, the team will look back at the heart breaking loses like -- SAC/CHA/MIA/DAL/.

[70sdude]

Ack, that was tough to watch. Didn't notice the substitution pattern so thanks for highlighting it.

Now, at 11-21.

In order to reach 35 wins (and finish 35-47 for the entire season), the guys need to go 24-26 from this point forward. That feels increasingly unlikely now with the way they're playing and the loss of Nance. Maybe a wish for a 30 win season can still be fulfilled. Maybe. Dang.

[Laker7]

[foshowtime]

[TDRock]