LAKERS -at- BLAZERS – 1-5-17 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 11:01 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- BLAZERS – 1-5-17 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

The Little Things… Luke didn’t like what he saw to start the second half. He called a timeout after just 55 seconds, then subbed out everyone but Ingram a couple minutes later.

“We tried to regroup from there,” he said. The 9-point halftime lead was erased heading into the fourth.

The Lakers were fighting until things went south on two big possessions. The Lakers were unable to secure a couple of rebounds late in the fourth quarter that the Blazers turned into big threes of the subsequent scrambles. That had them down by 4 and staggered.

“We had the momentum up until that point…you could feel after those two plays the momentum shifted,” Luke said.

Julius Randle, who was playing an active fourth quarter, just didn’t box out his man properly on both of those. The little things are magnified in crunch time.

“Come up with those and we win the game,” Randle said.

The wheels fell off offensively on the other end. All four of the Laker perimeter players in the small ball lineup missed big threes, some of these were excellent looks. The Lakers made just one field goal in the last 6 minutes of the 118-109 loss to the Blazers.

Take the loss and look at the positives. Randle continued to play with energy. JC was the player we want to see. Brandon Ingram looked like the Ingram we saw in college. And Russell was able to scratch out points despite struggling from the three line.


Russell -- Good job getting to the line early on. He ended up 10-11 shooting from the line. Combine that with some midrange jumpers and some post-ups for his other points. The 0-8 from three is a mix of a couple of late percentage-buster threes in the final seconds, a couple of times trying to draw a foul that he didn’t get the call on and then just misses. We needed a couple of those threes to go. Luke liked the two post-up scores in the fourth to manufacture something offensively. We could have used another attempt or two from there later (or use it as a decoy). Defensively, he gives Lillard too much space with regularity. In the first half he got burned from that. The second half wasn’t an issue as Lillard scored just 6. This was largely the young guys carrying the team tonight: Russell, Randle, Clarkson and some Ingram. We needed more from our vets as none of the young guys, except a little from Randle, were able to be productive in crunch time. Luke didn’t think some guys had their legs. Russell was a little under the weather and certainly looked like that with the shooting from distance. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 6-18 shooting (0-8 from three, 10-11 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He was trapped and turned it over splitting the double, dunk the other way. He was fouled on the elbow pull-up working off the high screen, he made both FTs. Weak second foul while trying to keep his man on his hip on the pull-up jumper. He drew a foul on a three working off the screen, he made all three FTs. He missed a corner three on a kickout (fading a little). He changed directions on the drive, flailed and drew the FTs, he made one. He spotted Randle on the screen-roll for the layup. He worked off the Randle screen and hit the elbow pull-up. He missed a wing three off the handoff. He missed a wing three off the dribble next time down. He swiped a pass, pushed it out and couldn’t finish over a bigger defender. He scooped up a loose ball a few seconds later and scored the layup. He was blocked on a layup after weaving through traffic. He had 10 points on 2-7 shooting (0-3 from three). Second Half: He attacked to his left off a couple big strides and hit the runner expecting a foul that didn’t come. He airballed a three trying to draw a foul. He missed a tough bank on a drive left. He curled into the lane off the handoff, backed his man down and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a three. He swished a jumper from the top of the key when Lou found him. He setup Randle for FTs on the screen-roll. Low position and he hit the turnaround in the post. He posted up again and hit the baseline turnaround. He put his man in jail off the screen and drew FTs on the elbow jumper, he made both. He airballed a three, wanting a foul it seemed. He was blocked on a drive. He missed a tough chuck from three up against the clock. He fired a deep three at the buzzer and missed.

Randle -- -- He missed a lot of chippies early on, combine that with a heave from 35 feet at the buzzer and you have the low 2-9 shooting in the first half. Still a triple-double pace, though, with the 6 points, 6 boards and 4 assists. He was active on both ends and we ran him at the C spot a lot. He played with some good energy and tried to put the team on his shoulders. That’s what we want to see. We want that to be a habit every game where he imposes his speed, hustle and athleticism on opponents. The smaller lineups allowed us to spread the floor a little for him, but can you imagine if that jumper comes along in the next couple of years? Down the stretch, with the floor spaced, he’s going to be a problem for teams. Defensively, we had those couple of possessions where we couldn’t secure boards. One Randle had both hands on, but it got knocked away. Those hurt, but ultimately, it wasn’t so much a case of being too small with him or the roster, just Randle not boxing his man out. Plumlee got around him versus over him. “We just didn’t come up with a couple of plays at the end,” Randle said of the loss. Good job getting to the line. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 4-13 shooting (0-1 from three, 9-11 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal and 5 fouls in 36:31. He was a -18. The Action: He sank a freethrow jumper to just beat the shotclock. He was blocked on a reverse, got it back and hit Ingram for three. He missed a fade in the lane. He spotted Mozgov for the FT jumper. He pumpfaked and missed the short one on the baseline. He attacked, couldn’t finish in a crowd (probably fouled, but should have tried to go glass), he got it back and drew the FTs, he made both. Great move to blow past his man, but he choked the dunk or layup. He scored the layup on the screen roll. He couldn’t finish a layup on the break but Russell got it and scored. He missed a heave at the buzzer. Second Half: He posted up, attacked across the lane, but tried to shoot with his right instead of his left and was rejected easily (it led to a score the other way). He faced up, attacked to his left and drew FTs, he made one. He jumped a passing lane, pushed out the dribble with speed, lost a defender with a behind-the-back dribble at high speed and drew FTs, he made both. Excellent screen to free up Young off ball for a three. He faced up on Davis, crossed him over and muscled in the And-1 layup right through his chest, he made the FT. He missed a layup trying to hang and finish around a defender. He drew FTs on the screen-roll with Russell, he made both. He was fouled on the floor on a loose ball for FTs, he made one. He fumbled a post entry pass away. He muscled in a layup over Plumlee.

Mozgov -- -- Aggressive start for him on both ends. He played just one 7-minute stint in the first half but had 7 points and 5 boards. Then he got benched early in the second half. It looked like he was trying to get out on the perimeter a little more defensively in this one. His weakside help D failed to have his back, but I think they need to do a little more of that. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards and 2 fouls in 11 minutes. The Action: He hit the FT jumper off the pass from Randle. He got hit on the jumphook after getting his man in the air to draw the contact, and he missed with no call. After Shaw talked to Mozgov about finishing strong, he slipped the screen on the weave, took the pass and hammered over a couple of players. He posted up, bullied Plumlee back into the paint and scored the short And-1 over him, he made the FT. Second Half: He missed an 18-footer to start the half. Great rotation to help on the other end and force a turnover under the hoop.

Young -- -- He had a couple of big misses from three down the stretch. Both he and Lou were a little shaky tonight in that reliable scorer role. I would have rather had Young in there defending on Turner than Williams to at least make it a little tougher on him. Eventually, they got matched up but the damage was already done. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-15 shooting (3-9 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 4 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -19. The Action: He missed an open jumper from the top of the key. He missed a three up against the shotclock. He missed a layup on a straight line drive. He missed a long pull-up jumper from the wing. He swished a step-back three off the Randle screen. He sank a pull-up at the FT line. He kicked out to Clarkson for the three. He missed a deep three up against the clock. Second Half: Way short on a sideline three. He sank a FT jumper coming off the screen to take the pass. He missed a short pull-up from the left side. He fumbled a dribble briefly, got it back and swished the three. He swished a three coming off a Randle screen to take a pass. He missed a wing three. He kept an offensive board alive and we eventually scored off it. He missed a great look at a three out of a timeout. He missed a big wing three with a couple minutes left.

Ingram -- -- Deng’s streak of being the only starter to stay in the lineup ended tonight and Ingram took over. Excellent first half, sinking a couple threes and scoring 10 points. That half is how he looked in college – sinking perimeter shots, beating defenders off the dribble, getting to his spin move and scoring. That’s the Ingram you expect to see show up with more and more regularity. Good to see some of his threes finally falling for him. Hopefully, that takes the lid off the hoop that was nailed shut for a while. A quiet second half, although he had a couple of drives erased with offensive fouls using an off hand (one of those seemed bogus). More of this Ingram, please. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-6 shooting (2-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1 block and 4 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He sank a three on the kickout from Randle. Quick first step to his left against the tight D and he drew FTs next time down, he made both. Nice D on iso on McCollum to get a miss at the end of the quarter. Great rotation to block Davis from behind on a dunk. He swished a wing three on the kickout. He pulled down the rebound, quickly pushed out the dribble and bounced to Black for the layup. He missed a wing three. He attacked to his right, had room for his spin move to get around the defender to his left and score the layup. He missed a jumper over his man, followed it to swipe the rebound away and reset the offense. Second Half: He was called for an offensive foul to erase a layup, very weak. He was called for a hook on a drive. He missed a corner three on a kickout. He attacked off the three line and drew FTs with 35 seconds left, he made one.

Clarkson -- -- Some of the guys were under the weather, JC was one but certainly didn’t look like it. He had a big 13-point second quarter sinking 3 threes, and Luke let him play the whole way through. He got more extended run in the second half as Luke basically flipped rotations with starters and bench players. Good job hitting from three (making one more in the second half) and mixing in several floaters attacking to his strong hand. There was a point last year when Clarkson got in on some good moments trying to close games. He was in there down the stretch, but wasn’t a factor like everyone else. If he can string more games like this together it will help his confidence (which had been pretty low a couple weeks back with his issues from three). It will also help his coach’s confidence in him, as well. Bring it again tomorrow, JC. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-14 shooting (4-7 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He stole a pass but missed the layup in transition. He missed a corner three on a kickout. He curled into the paint, elevated and hit runner to start the second quarter. He swished a pull-up three in transition. He got a switch, attacked to his left, elevated and scored the layup. He sank a wing three behind the screen. He missed the open corner three on a kickout next time down. He pounced on Plumlee’s sloppy perimeter dribble to steal the ball and ignite a break. Quick-fire three and he swished on the kickout from Nick. Second Half: He curled into the lane off the dribble and drew FTs, he made one. He got his man on his hip, kept him there and hit he floater in the lane. He missed a floater. He sank a pull-up back wing three. He missed a pull-back three from the other side, a little too off-balance on that one. He bricked a wing three. He hit a tough runner over a couple defenders.

Williams -- -- He had some troubles defensively in the matchup against Turner in the fourth quarter. That was painful defensively. Again, when he’s not scoring at a decent clip, Luke has got to sit him because there’s not a lot of positive impact otherwise. Turner’s 10 straight points during that stretch gave the Blazers momentum. They could have used a closer down the stretch, but Lou just struggled to put it together. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-8 shooting (1-2 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He hit Mozgov slipping the screen off the weave for the dunk. He drew FTs on the perimeter reach behind the three line on a two-for-one sequence, he made two. He lost the ball trying to slit the double team. He swished a three drifting to his left. He missed a floater. Second Half: Bad forced pass and he turned it over. He missed a fading baseline jumper. He hit a flat runner picking up the dribble at the FT line. Hesitation dribble in early offense and he scored a layup around the big. He missed a floater. Bad pass in early offense, turnover. He missed a wing three in transition. He attacked baseline and hit Russell for the open jumper. He sank a tech. He missed a 16-footer.

Black -- -- This was one of those deceptive 2-point games. He and T-Rob had that active energy going early on and helped the Lakers to turn the tables on the Blazers between the first and second quarters. That was huge. Black had a couple of great shotblocks on Davis and Aminu at the rim. You could have made a good case for having him in there late in the game getting the team second chances with hustle and making plays on D. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 5 boards, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks and 4 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: Excellent recovery to block Davis for a second time after Ingram got him on the first one. He was called for a moving screen to erase a three by Lou. Nice kickout on the short roll to Ingram who was open after the D left him to help and Ingram hit the three. Good job changing ends as Ingram grabbed the board, pushed it out and hit him for the layup. Good challenge to prevent a dunk with a hard foul. Second Half: He grabbed an offensive board but missed the lefty putback attempt after a couple pumps. He went to the floor fighting for a loose ball under the hoop, Robinson got it and dunked. He destroyed a drive coming from the weakside to reject the layup and chase it down.

Robinson -- -- Some good energy early on in things other than rebounding. He was making an early impact on D. With Deng out, Luke gave him some decent run but also went small with some of his lineups and gave others extended minutes. He got his scores on a couple of dunks and a jumphook on a nice attack across the lane. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He fought off a stiff arm from Davis, swiped the perimeter pass and took it for a dunk. Nice challenge on Vonleh on the break to prevent a dunk and save two missed FTs. Pressure D on Vonleh and he drew a charge on the drive. Quick first step across the lane and he hit the easy jumphook. Second Half: Nice rotation on the screen-roll to draw a charge. He missed a one-handed putback. He missed a two-handed putback, after a scramble for the ball, he got it and dunked.

Walton -- -- Luke upset at some of the early lopsided officiating. The Lakers trailed 16-11 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Lou in for Ingram… Mozgov out for Black, Lakers down 5… Clarkson in for Young same lead… Robinson in for Randle late… Ingram in for the final possessions for Russell… The Lakers trailed 29-24 after the first quarter… Same Black, Robinson, Ingram, Clarkson, Lou lineup to start the second quarter… They pushed out to a 37-29 lead with some excellent two-way play and forced a timeout (a 15-0 run over the last 3+minutes)… Black out for Randle with 7:40 after he picked up his third foul, Lakers up 6… Russell and Young in for Lou and Robinson… The Lakers pulled out to a 54-43 lead to force a timeout… The small ball with a Young/Ingram/Randle front court was effective as the Lakers won the second quarter 38-24… The Lakers led 62-53 at the half. The bench with a 24-7 scoring advantage… He burned a quick timeout 55 seconds in after giving up a transition three… Luke quickly sat Randle, Russell, Young and Mozgov for Lou, Black, Clarkson and Robinson after just 3 minutes, Lakers up 5… The score was tied up shortly later… He sat Ingram with 5 minutes left for Young, up 3… Randle in for Black with 2:40 left, Lakers up 3… Down 3, he brought back in Russell for Lou with a minute left… The score was tied 84-84 heading into the fourth… He started a Randle, Ingram, Young, Clarkson, Russell lineup… Lou in for Clarkson after 3 minutes, Lakers up 1… Lou getting torched by Turner (10 straight for Turner) and Luke called a timeout down 1… The Lakers unable to secure a couple of boards that led to threes and they trailed by 4. Luke called a timeout. He finally took out Lou and brought back Clarkson… The Lakers unable to make shots down the stretch… Another one of those winable games that team has to learn how to win…
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 11:09 pm    Post subject:

I know this might sound awkward but I think we missed Deng tonight, he is one of those vets who might have come through in a stagnet game that we witnessed in the 4th.

i just hope we learn how to close games sooner.. rather then later.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 11:14 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 11:55 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Portland is beatable, and we play them twice more this month. I hope JR and our guards took good notes for the next game.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 4:28 am    Post subject: Winnable Game, But Didn't Deserve to Win

On Point Assessment

Luke has been emphasizing what he wants from his players (especially to Randle, DLO and JC) - Awareness and Alertness

With their most dependable sharpshooters (LouWill & Swaggy) having off nights, DLO and JC has shown that their role (at this time) are not as closers. They are talented players that every successful team needs to compliment a legitimate closer.

Luke has embraced the "Spirit of Pop" by clearly showing his dissatisfaction when he took players out en masse that hopefully got their attention.

Seems like the Black/Robinson combination provides needed energy and boards especially welcomed when the shooters are off.

Media pundits have mentioned that Nance Jr.'s presence is especially missed on the defensive end because of his ability to anticipate and work the angles plus his hustle. With the players not "Playing on a String" on defense, Jr.'s absence is felt even more.

DLO put up good numbers, but not meaningful impact. Since he doesn't have the ability to consistently create on his own, not working Luke's "System" is essential to his effectiveness.

Leaving Portland's phenomenal guards any space is a sure invitation for trouble and they accepted the opportunities with great success.

Given Deng's past performances, not sure if he would have made any difference. If one had brought in MWP, at least the intensity would have dramatically gone up. If MWP gets a guaranteed contract in the next few weeks, would Luke go to a Black, Robinson and MWS with LouWill and JC to apply great defensive intensity and energy - though little offense?
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 6:22 am    Post subject:

I actually really liked this game.

I comend Luke for cutting down bench minutes these past few games. It was great to see heavy minutes for the young guys together.

DLO: continued to play well since getting more minutes. Last game he was able to put up 18 on 3s alone and today he was able to put up 20 without ny 3s. Pretty impressive.

JR: another good all game.

With more minutes, JR/DLO really starting to emerge and their talent level starting to show.

Also JC/BI really play better when playing with the other young guys. JC is forced to play on a tighter leash and more under control. His chucking is limited. BI keeps improving and looking better while playing with these guys.

They probably would have won but:

They were not ready to play that many consecutive minutes and ran out of gas at the end. Which is fine, Luke has got to keep playing them heavy minutes until they get used to it.

Lou played too many minutes in 4th especially when ue was getting burned by Turner. Moz should have probably played a bit more.

Finally, those two offensive boards at the end.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 6:55 am    Post subject:

On the bright side - Ingram. That first half he was playing aggressively and smart. This is the first time I've seen him become a big factor on both ends of the court. He's getting his timing down on his 3's. Great to see!! 37 minutes of hustling hard, wow. Might have been a bit tired in the second half. I wonder if that was a factor in his getting called for offensive fouls. He could use a few pounds on his frame but this kid's gonna be real good.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:01 am    Post subject:

Another Come-from-ahead-to-lose game

They were playing so well, then just took their feet of the gas and coasted to the finish line, finishing second.

Portland was playing a back-to-back and Lakers missed a perfect opportunity for a win.

I really think that this "sharing" concept; where 5 of 6 players all get between 12 and 18 points is not instilling a killer instinct. Walton needs to make on of these guys the primary scorer - pulling him aside and telling him, he needs him to go for 30 points, it could be Russel, Randle, Young or even Ingram...
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 12:02 pm    Post subject:

unleasHell wrote:
Another Come-from-ahead-to-lose game

They were playing so well, then just took their feet of the gas and coasted to the finish line, finishing second.

Portland was playing a back-to-back and Lakers missed a perfect opportunity for a win.

I really think that this "sharing" concept; where 5 of 6 players all get between 12 and 18 points is not instilling a killer instinct. Walton needs to make on of these guys the primary scorer - pulling him aside and telling him, he needs him to go for 30 points, it could be Russel, Randle, Young or even Ingram...
Hero Ball doesn't work in today's NBA - just ask Westbrook last night

LouWill (along with Swaggy) has been the designated shooter

Since DLO and Swaggy cannot create on their own and think shoot before pass, becoming good "catch and shoot" players (ala Reggie Miller but not at his level), Luke is hoping that Randle is the key element to have success
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:03 pm    Post subject:

foshowtime wrote:

DLO: continued to play well since getting more minutes. Last game he was able to put up 18 on 3s alone and today he was able to put up 20 without ny 3s. Pretty impressive.

Yeah, I think the range of skills he's shown in the last couple what should have people excited. But because he's not doing it consistently, there's a disconnect with some fans. He destroyed it from three in one game, then was crafty enough to get to the line and score in the post/midrange in the next game when the three shot abandoned him. In a couple of years, he's going to become more consistent in all areas and we see more and more of that potential fulfilled.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:28 pm    Post subject:

There were so many "and one's" on our end that the refs didn't call. Also, some other weak offensive fouls and weak officiating, in general. Might have made a difference, especially since it was a close game. Hard to get a fairly called game in Portland.
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