MAVS -at- LAKERS – 7-16-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:04 pm    Post subject: MAVS -at- LAKERS – 7-16-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

And Then There Were Two… If you’re like me, you don’t want this summer league to end. The Lakers made sure you’ll see the maximum number of games by pulling out the 108-98 victory over the previously undefeated Mavs.

This game was all about Lonzo Ball…when he was on the floor and when he was off it.

A flurry of passes and a score by Ball and the Lakers were up by 20 late in the second quarter, forcing a Mavs timeout. The Lakers were 21-25 from the field as the lead ballooned to 23. It stretched to as many as 26 in the first half as they steamrolled the Mavs in the first two quarters.

Then everything changed in the third quarter. The Lakers took Ball out early in the third as his calf tightened up on him. When Ball sat the offensive execution grinded to a halt. Caruso and Blue struggled to get any flow for the team. The Mavs slowly chipped away at the lead. In the final couple of minutes, they had cut it to a single possession.

“I knew Dallas would come after us and they did,” Buechler said.” Obviously, when you lose Lonzo it’s tough on the team.”

The Lakers were on their heels defensively in the second half, but they got key stops and hit their freethrows down the stretch to take the win and play for the Championship tomorrow.

The Lakers shot 17-22 from three in this game, 77 percent. Damn crazy number. Leading the way was Matt Thomas with 6 threes and Kyle Kuzma, once again, with 5 threes.


Ball -- -- Lonzo’s goal was to win the Summer League. Tomorrow, the Lakers will compete for that. Such an impressive offensive game from him. He was on his way to putting up some ridiculous numbers in this one. He had 12 points on 4-4 shooting in the first quarter. He finished with 14 points and 10 assist in the first half. Then after a couple minutes into the third quarter they took a foul and pulled him as his calf tightened up. A lot of games in a short period of time in hot Vegas may have caught up a little with him there. They sat him the rest of the game, but if he played this one out? He could have dropped a 20-20. This was really the first time all summer that he looked more like himself with the shot. That was the guy we want to see and the Lakers destroyed behind him. When he sat, man, the wheels came off the offense as they went back to a typical NBA grind it out offense. He was hitting his threes going to his left. He had a post-up turnaround. We even ran a lob for him baseline, but the pass was off the mark. Combine that with the advance passes, the long outlets, the instant reads to guys and they throttled the Mavs with him on the floor. Altogether, this was more like what we saw game to game from him. Defensively, he’s too upright and that’s impacting his footspeed. He plays D too much with his hands (which are great) versus with his feet. That will need to improve. KCP will take a big load off him. Ball will need to work on navigating the PnR screens, but with his size we’ll also do a lot of switching. His off-ball reads and rotations are usually great. Will Lonzo play in the next one? “No idea yet,” Buechler said. Lonzo: “Hopefully, I’m ready to go…just being cautious. I wanted to get back out there.” The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-7 shooting (2-3 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 10 assists, 0 turnovers, 1 steal and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a +17. The Action: He sank a wing three from the right side (going left) off the handoff from Zubac to start the game. He hit Zubac with the pocket pass for FTs on the two-man game. He drained a three off the Zubac screen from the left wing (going left). Great post entry to Zubac who had deep position for an easy layup. Quick attack off the give and go and he drew FTs, he made both. He saw Blue open in transition for an advance pass and a three. He attacked from the wing, switched hands in air and scored the layup. He punched a defensive board ahead to Caruso for a layup. He posted up Smith and hit the quick turnaround. He attacked and kicked out to Wear for a three. He missed a tough pull-up three trying to push it up court and before the clock went off. He didn’t settle for a three and placed a perfect pass over the D to Zubac for the easy layup (brilliant look and touch). Next possession he found Kuzma with a 60-foot feed for a dunk. Another assist pushing the ball ahead to Blue for the wing three. He pulled up in transition and hit a 20-footer next time down. He swiped a ball on a reach on a big, pushed it up and hit Kuzma for a three. He ran a pick and pop with Kuzma for the three. Second Half: He gave up a dunk standing too upright on D. He missed a layup on drive, but regained possession. He was fouled on a quick-fire wing three, he made two FTs.

Kuzma -- -- The Lakers needed to hit on two of these four picks and they did. He said when they drafted guys, they didn’t want ball stoppers, they wanted ball movers. He’s that and will fit well with some of the other young guys. Dude just looks like a shooter at the next level. He’s drilling threes like an NBA sniper, making 5-7 threes tonight. Catch, fire, swish. Guys running at him, doesn’t matter. He even had a 4-point play tonight and once again led the team with 24 points. I think everyone is hesitant about whether this is real or summer league. The three shooting at this point there should be no question that this will translate. The court vision and passing, that will translate. Anything off the dribble, however, is still a work in progress. He did have a great drive with a couple of spins before setting up Zubac with a score, but I wouldn’t depend on his handle getting him everywhere he wants or putting him into a position to score…that’s an area of work. In any event, we want him to be aggressive like this come preseason. Defensively, Luke praised him for his constant talking on the defensive end. Because he’s so versatile and can switch, they’ve got to communicate well. I think the closest Laker comparisons to him might be a young Robert Horry or maybe a taller Ariza, whatever that is. Shooting threes, making plays defensively, hustling, finishing strong and with length that’s where you see that comparison. I wouldn’t take it much beyond that. Kyle has consistently killed it this summer league. Every game. “We’re so proud our scouting department did a great job evaluating him,” Pelinka said. Pretty much shown now that he’s a steal. Hard to say how big of one, of course, until we play the games next year…but if teams were redrafting or putting trade value on guys, his has shot way up the past couple of weeks. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 8-14 shooting (5-7 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He spun to lose his man baseline and dunked. He was stripped under the rim. He spun twice on the iso drive and hit Zubac for the dunk (great feed). He missed Ball on a lob pass that was open. Ball found him down court off the 60-foot feed for a dunk. He drained a three trailing the break when Ball found him (that one looked like Horry). Another wet three off the pick and pop with Ball. He missed a wing three, kind of a heat check. He airballed a step-back fade on iso. Second Half: He didn’t make the extra pass and turned it over the drive. He stepped out of bounds on a face-up drive. He missed a corner three. He sank a wing three in transition. He swished a deep And-1 three straight away, he made the FT. He iso’d, spun and missed off the glass. He sank a corner three on a kickout. He drew FTs in early offense, he made both. He cut and Thomas hit him with a great bounce pass for a layup. He missed a tough shot slipping the screen.

Zubac -- -- Looked like a more familiar Zubac out there. At least in that first half when Lonzo was running the show. They teamed up a number of times for easy scores. Defensively, Zu was challenging much better and more disruptive than he has been. The second half, we were on our heels without Lonzo. We saw him trying to finish with aggression again and seems to be making more effort playing above the rim. I don’t recall any of the pass fumbles or plays where it looked like he was unsure what was happening. We may see a bit more of a bigman battle in the next game. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 blocks and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He dunked getting down floor quick for Blue to find him. He drew FTs on the throwdown attempt off the two-man game with Ball, he made both. He scored a layup off the dropstep after a good seal deep in the paint. He dunked off a great drive and dish from Kuzma. He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Caruso. He scored a layup off an over-the-top entry pass from Ball. He kept a couple of offensive boards alive on one possession. Second Half: Not close on a turnaround in the post. He blocked a drive.

Blue -- -- Hope he gets a birthday wish tomorrow and wins a championship on his birthday. What you love from him is those transition threes off Ball’s advance passes. When he’s playing with Ball and the others out there moving the ball, it works. What you hate is the horrible recognition/decision making on the passing from Vander. Simple stuff like when he had Zubac with a rim run but delayed giving it to him, then finally telegraphed a slow pass to get picked off easily. That’s a read Ball would have made several seconds earlier. When we didn’t have Ball in the game, then you saw some of the struggles, lack of chemistry and inability to make the offense flow. He also struggled from the line tonight, hitting on just 5-10. Good job getting to the line, though. “He really surprised me. He’s playing good,” Magic said. I’m not sure what they do with him. I definitely think he’s making the Lakers think. So did Thomas tonight, too, so we’ll see what happens with that other two-way contract we have. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-10 shooting (2-3 from three, 5-10 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 6 assists, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: Great feed to Zubac in transition for the dunk. He rejected the screen, attacked and drew FTs, he missed both. He drained a three in transition off the advance pass from Ball. He got off-balance on a drive and couldn’t finish the reverse. He scored a layup off a hesitation move in early offense. He pushed a ball up with a few seconds left and dumped it off to Bryant for a three at the buzzer. A bit of an over dribbling possession, but he drew FTs on a drive, he made one. Another transition three off a pass from Ball. Horrible post entry pass in transition and it was picked off. He curled into the lane and was blocked. He missed a midrange pull-up, but tracked down the miss as it was tapped out. Second Half: He attacked to his right and drew FTs, he made one. Another attack in early offense and he was back to the line, he made just one again. Another quick drive off the three line and this time he scored the layup. He kicked out in transition to Kuzma for the three. He attacked and charged. He forced a drive into a crowd and was stripped. He sank a wing jumper off a swing pass. He missed a wing three. He forced and missed a jumper on iso. He attacked and kicked to Thomas for the big three. He was fouled pushing the ball up with 1:11, he made both FTs this time.

Thomas -- -- I’ve got to think that at the least, he’ll get a camp invite. If you keep the game simple for him – designated sniper – he’s looked strong at that. He was splashing threes all game long. Anything out of that comfort zone was sketchy. He did have a great bounce pass to a cutting Kuzma, but playmaking is nothing you want done with regularity. Shoot or move the ball. He drained 6-7 from three on the good side, but 7 turnovers on the bad side. He was told to slow down some. For sure. Slow down, keep it simple on the offensive end. The three shooting as a team tonight was ridiculous. “I’ve never really played with a guy that can pass like him,” Thomas said. He certainly looked like a Kapono or Korver type for the Lakers tonight. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-10 shooting (6-7 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 7 turnovers and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Indecisive on the kickout and he turned it over. Way short on a three on a kickout. He drained an open wing three off a scramble and kickout. Horrible post entry, turnover. He threw an inbounds pass right out of bounds. He swished a wing three on a swing pass. He took an advance pass and pulled up near the elbow for the 17-footer. Second Half: He attacked and threw it away for a dunk the other way. He swished a wing three next time down. He traveled on a kickout. He drained a wing three on a kickout. He drained a corner three on a kickout. He crossed over but a soft finish at the rim didn’t go. He threaded a tricky backdoor pass to Kuzma cutting for the score. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He attacked and airmailed a pass out of bounds. He let a man fly by and hit the sideline three.

Caruso -- -- He was kind of the designated stopper tonight defensively. He’s feisty and scrappy and puts in a very good effort on that end of the floor. That was critical to the Lakers holding the line. On the other end of the floor tonight, it wasn’t pretty. Some wild drives and poor decisions. The 5 turnovers with just 3 assists won’t get it done. They want him to play like Lonzo but man, that was ugly at times. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-3 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 5 turnovers, 1 steal and 5 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He charged on a drive. He probed and put a pass in Zubac’s lap for the layup. He busted out and Ball punched a rebound ahead to him for a score. Great challenge on Smith on iso. Ball denial D on Smith forced a pass out of bounds. He attacked and fumbled away a drive. He drew a moving screen call fighting over the top. Second Half: He swiped a perimeter pass and was fouled on the push out. He gave it right back on a reach shortly later. He was called for a charge (bogus call). He threw a pocket pass away, turnover. He kicked out to Thomas for a three. He was fouled on a defensive board for FTs, he made one. Nice anticipation on iso D to draw a charge on Smith. He cut, took a pass and kicked to Kuzma for the three. He tried to beat his man off the dribble and missed a tough finish. He missed another drive. Another wild drive and this time he was able to draw FTs, he made both.

Bryant -- -- Limited minutes but he nailed a three at the buzzer for his only make. (Love seeing him amped up after a big play like that.) Defensively, he had some good moments on the pick and roll D. Still, just 28 total minutes for our big C’s tonight and Zubac ate up 20 of that. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 3 fouls in 8 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He swished a three at the first quarter buzzer, just getting it off in time. Nice pick and roll D to close the lane and then recover to his man. He tracked down an offensive board and kicked to Thomas for a three. Second Half: He blocked a post-up attempt (should have been Laker ball).

Wear -- -- Pretty poor game from him tonight. Foul-prone ball and not a lot of looks from three for him. We probably should have worked on that a little more to play to his strength while he was out there, but things went sideways in that second half without Lonzo. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 6 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He drained a wing three on a kickout from Ball. He curled into the lane off the dribble and drew FTs on the layup attempt, he made one. He couldn’t finish another short one in the paint but we got it back. Second Half: He missed a flat elbow pull-up.

York -- -- All right, we got to put him in this one. He came through with a series of late-game freethrows to make sure nothing crazy happened. He also had a fortunate finish on a drive into a crowd a little earlier. He’s a good shooter, but a bit slowfooted and not a great shot creator for his size. But props to him for the strong effort and clutch finish. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 1-1 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: Nothing report. Second Half: He attacked a crowd in early offense and scored a layup over multiple defenders. He was fouled the breakaway with 1:27 left, he made one. He was fouled on the break again with 49 seconds left and made both FTs. He was fouled again with 30 seconds left, he made both FTs.


Last edited by DancingBarry on Sun Jul 16, 2017 9:47 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Megaton
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:08 pm    Post subject:

First.

Big Baller Brand approves playa.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:20 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. It's too bad Lonzo went out. I think that was going to be his best game.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:25 pm    Post subject:

Ditto. Thought that was going to be a monster game from him.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:35 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:37 pm    Post subject:

Yay! Hella fun Summer League

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:38 pm    Post subject:

Lonzo's teams win. Fultz teams lose.

Clearly we got a STEAL at 2 this time around, The Savior!
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:41 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Ditto. Thought that was going to be a monster game from him.


Exactly because like you said his shot was falling in this one
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:58 pm    Post subject:

Thanks again DB. Always a pleasure.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 9:06 pm    Post subject:

I like Thomas more than Blue. You know what you can get from Thomas and I think he can refine that role. He also looks to have some grit on D. Blue, on the other hand, looks to be a player who needs touches to be successful. He has to get into a rythym. There is value to a guy like Thomas who can come into a game cold and immediately begin hitting shots as a sniper. That's not an easy thing to do. nor is being able to fill a role within your limitations working off others.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 9:25 pm    Post subject:

Didn't realize Thomas had so many turnovers.

The man can shoot though.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 9:32 pm    Post subject:

AAAAA DB!
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 9:32 pm    Post subject:

I can already hear the "Koooooz" chant at Staples already. The kid is very poised and a deadeye shooter. An effortless 45% from 3-land is just crazy.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:19 pm    Post subject:

Does anyone doubt that we have become a better team this year?

To me, it is already obvious. Not sure how good, until the regular season begins but we are significantly improved.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:30 pm    Post subject:

^I'd have to agree after seeing the effect Lonzo has on this SPL squad. When he's on the floor things just click. Kinda surreal seeing how far this squad is going in summer league after years of either not winning at all or going home early. Seeing how thoroughly we were crushing previously-unbeaten Dallas before Lonzo came out and how quickly they mounted a comeback in his absence makes it pretty clear who the main driver is behind this exceptional team performance.


(edit: well, that and the spectacular highlight reel long bomb transition scoring on a nightly basis)
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 11:40 pm    Post subject:

LakerSanity wrote:
I like Thomas more than Blue. You know what you can get from Thomas and I think he can refine that role. He also looks to have some grit on D. Blue, on the other hand, looks to be a player who needs touches to be successful. He has to get into a rhythm. There is value to a guy like Thomas who can come into a game cold and immediately begin hitting shots as a sniper. That's not an easy thing to do. nor is being able to fill a role within your limitations working off others.


I like them both enough for a camp invite.

Although I agree with Thomas being better at the role of a spot up of shooter (at least from this small sample), Blue gives you the versatility of a being a more all around scorer and buckets when you need to get on the board (he really has been Lou Williams lite last couple of games...)

I think either one at the end of the bench for a limited role and for insurance purposes is not a bad thing, but I'd let them run through camp and let the coaching staff do some advanced analytics to weed out the final keeper.

I really like the way this SL squad has come together around Lonzo and plays hard/guys have been adapting to their roles would like to see as much of that carry into the regular season.
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 12:07 am    Post subject:

22 wrote:
DancingBarry wrote:
Ditto. Thought that was going to be a monster game from him.
Exactly because like you said his shot was falling in this one
Ball's attitude and game has changed this Laker roster's mentality, which is an important first step.

Everyone will anticipate getting a ball in their face because Zo unexpectedly gave them a great pass - which is a good thing.

Who will be the backup PG - KCP or JC?

Another AAAAA Award for the Great DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 5:22 am    Post subject:

DB
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 5:33 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 7:04 am    Post subject:

"If you’re like me, you don’t want this summer league to end".....yes, DB, we are definitely like you.

The most entertaining parts about Ball are (1) he generally always has the ball, and when he does, good, if not great, things happen (2) this is exactly what we were expecting from the No.2 pick we had previously

My mind is having a (good) hard time wrapping around the fact that, like Westbrook, he's a true point guard, who passes, orchestrates, and runs a team like a point guard, but for whom you also can run lob plays. That's called potential greatness in my book.

Thanks DB, other than the periodic qftos, your summaries are my favorites. We really appreciate your work.
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