SUNS -at- LAKERS – 2-6-18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 10:43 pm    Post subject: SUNS -at- LAKERS – 2-6-18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Chokehold… One of those trap games. Back home after a long road trip. A bad team without their best player.

The Lakers nearly fell into that trap with a poor first half against the Suns at Staples. They struggled with the rub screens and pindowns defensively, giving up easy scores. As they started switching more in the second half, they locked in late in the third quarter and piled up the stops.

“They did a great job of turning the focus from offense to defense in the second half,” Luke said.

They kept the Suns in that chokehold the rest of the way, allowing only 14 points in the fourth quarter and cruised to the 112-93 victory over the Suns.

An expected win tonight, but this stretch of ball has been impressive as the Lakers are 11-4 in their last 15 games. They will have their hands full in the next one as the Thunder look for a little revenge.


Randle -- -- He pushed the team tonight with some excellent energy. “I could see it in his eyes. When the game was ready, he was ready to go again,” Luke said, mentioning the importance of consistently bringing the intensity no matter whom you’re matched up against. They started the game by running the offense through him once again as Bender matched up with him at the PF. With Lopez as floor spacer, Randle is the C on offense here. He made his first four shots and also setup teammates. He led the team with 14 points in 14 minutes in the first half. His energy late in the second quarter started to snap the team out of their funk. He’s just beasting. Too strong for defenders. Defensively, once we started switching, game over. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-13 shooting (3-5 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: Bad cross-court feed, right out of bounds to start (Lopez didn’t move, either). He hit a hook across the lane for the Lakers first score. From the other block, he spun baseline and hit the And-1 jumphook, he missed the FT. We got it back to him, he attacked left and scored a layup. He kicked out to Ingram in transition for a three. He forced an illegal D next time down when he got the ball. He attacked to his left from the elbow and scored a layup. He missed a layup he should have had in transition. He missed a drive. He spun baseline and bullied his way for a layup. He drew FTs powering up in a crowd, he made both. He kicked out to Ingram for a three. He iso’d and scored over his man on the left block. He attacked with speed and missed the floater on a two-for-one. Second Half: He hit Ingram cutting off the backscreen for the lob dunk. He dunked in transition off a good passing sequence that found him open. He probed baseline and bounced it to Hart for a dunk. He bullied his way to FTs on a baseline attack, he made one. He lost the ball in transition. He missed a layup on a drive left. He had the ball knocked away from behind trying to push up in transition (got to give that up when defenders are all around you). Great help D block at the rim. He fumbled another ball in the post, but somehow got it back on the floor in a scrum. He scored a layup of a quick two-man sequence out of a timeout. He grabbed an offensive board for an easy putback.

Ingram -- -- He had a monster throwdown on a drive in this one. Jackson tried to pressure him on the perimeter and a lane opened up. “In the back of my mind I could hear my uncle Jerry Stackhouse say ‘dunk the ball when you get to the rim’ and that’s what I tried to do,” Ingram said. That got the bench to their feet. Our starting PG again. He led the team with 4 assists in the first half to go along with 10 points (sinking a couple of threes). Love seeing those three balls go down. When you combine that with his ability to get to the line and he can put up big numbers. Finishes at the rim, midrange, three, getting to the line – that’s the kind of well-rounded production we want. Very steadying force when he was in the game tonight. First thing Luke mentioned after the game was Ingram’s 6-6 from the line. “Tonight, he hit them all and other guys were making them,” Luke said. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 9-12 shooting (2-2 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a +20. The Action: He drained a corner three on a kickout in transition. Perimeter turnover off the dribble for a dunk the other way. He posted up and kicked to Hart for a three. He recovered on his man to swat a layup. He found Lopez trailing the break for the three. Poor long pull-up jumper in early offense and he missed. He iso’d, attacked baseline, took contact and scored the layup before going down. He sank a three after hesitating on a kickout. He forced and missed a long two in early offense. He posted up and hit the turnaround over the smaller Gray. Second Half: He ballwatched to give up a lob dunk to start the half. Ingram threw down a lob dunk himself on the other end as he cut off a backscreen. He blocked Jackson staying in front of him on his drive. He scored a layup weaving through the D in transition. He swished an elbow jumper off the screen. Out of a timeout, he threw a pass out of bounds. He stretched around a smaller defender for a layup. They gave him a straight line drive and he hammered down a soaring dunk over the help D. He attacked off the high screen and drew FTs with 1.8 in the quarter, he made both. He crossed over on iso and drew FTs, he made both. He worked off the screen, up-faked and drew FTs at the elbow, he made both. He missed an elbow jumper.

Lopez -- -- He was bombing from three in this game. Again, he was going up against legit centers, so he pulled them to the outside. This allows more room for Randle to work as the C. Just watch Chandler in this game trying to stay near Lopez but also trying to provide help D. His head would turn to look at Lopez and we’d score while he was in no man’s land. He looked to help and Lopez had his hands up calling for the ball to nail the threes. Defensively, he had a couple of superb challenges on Josh Jackson trying to attack the rim (only credit for one block). The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-6 shooting from three to go with 4 boards, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He tapped out a missed FT and it led to a Randle score. He was called for a charge. He sank a wing three on a swing pass. He drained a three trailing the break. Way short on a deep three. He rejected Jackson at the rim on a dunk attempt. He sank a face-up three at the top of the arc. Second Half: Offensive foul off ball, turnover. He rejected Jackson again at the rim. He dribbled a ball off his foot. He drained a bomb from the right wing. He got tapped on a wing three.

Hart -- -- Another double-double. “Josh Barkley,” Clarkson said in the background of Hart’s postgame interview. Doesn’t really have a ring to it. “Sir Josh” doesn’t really do it, either. He’s bringing that Charles Barkley like game, although no coast-to-coast rumbles for scores in this one. His stroke looked automatic early on in this one, and he was shooting with confidence. We don’t run much specifically for him. This is one of those games where you maybe you give him a few set plays and he scores 20+. He sank a couple threes and had 10 points in the first half on 3-4 shooting. He scored 15 total for the game on just 7 attempts to go along with another 11 boards. Defensively, we needed that help on the glass after giving up 12 offensive boards in the first half. He picked up his third and fourth fouls in the third quarter to get in a little foul trouble, but he’d still put in 30+ minutes again. Impressive block in the second half on D, sending a ball and a player out of bounds in the process. Some nice passing sequences between him and Julius, and he also set a great backscreen to allow Julius to lob to Ingram. Chemistry. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-7 shooting (3-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 11 boards (2 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He came off a screen, took the pass and swung it to Lopez for the three. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He attacked a smaller guard from the high post and drew FTs, he made both. He sank a three on a kickout from the post. Very tough, fading corner three on a kickout and he knocked it down (no hesitation). He crashed the glass and tipped in a miss. Second Half: Nice backscreen to free up Ingram for the lob dunk. He hit Julius for the dunk in early offense. He cut off Julius’s baseline drive and dunked. He rejected Warren in transition. His lob pass was picked off in transition. He drained a wing three in transition on a kickout.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He couldn’t really hit anything (at least he made his FTs for us). He had some good moments defensively, however. Coming up with 3 steals including jumping the passing lane for one for a score and another help-the-helper sequence under the hoop to prevent a score. He also broke up a lob. If you aren’t hitting, at least do those other things that help your team win. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-8 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: Too long on an open three straight away. He made a tech FT. He curled to his left and missed the lefty layup attempt badly. Great help D rotation to swipe a pass in the paint. He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He airballed a layup attempt on a drive. He missed an off-balance, step-through jumper. Second Half: He missed an open look on a three in transition. He attacked off the three line and was fouled trying to finish strong (a little overly optimistic on his chances to dunk that one), he made both FTs. He missed an elbow pull-up jumper. He jumped a passing lane to steal a ball and take it for a dunk. He missed a leaning 16-footer. He broke up a lob.

Kuzma -- -- You should add another 2 points to his total in this one as the refs missed an obvious goaltend. That would have made him 7-15 and 18 points. Can’t believe they missed that call. He sank a couple of threes, then went a bit cold from as the game went along. He had a massive slam on the brake as we were breaking this game open. “I think BI’s was better. I was jumping over somebody that was like 5-3,” Kuzma said. Feel like being at home will help him get back on track. Like everyone else, he was more locked in defensively in the second half. I’d like to see those rebounding numbers pick up. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-15 shooting (2-7 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He up-faked after taking a pass on the two-man game to lose a defender and hit the layup. He iso’d, stepped to his right on a dribble and knocked down a three. He pounced on a bad pass to take it the distance for a dunk. Not close on a wing three. He was blocked in traffic in the paint. Second Half: He had a layup goaltended, but they didn’t call it (so obviously off the backboard). He attacked from the wing and drew FTs, he made both. He sank a quick-fire three straight away. He missed a three trialing the break. He missed an open wing three. He missed a wing three. Massive dunk filling the lane on the break. He attacked the offensive zone with speed and scored with his left over a big. He missed on a turnaround against a smaller defender in the post. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a wing three in garbage time.

Clarkson -- -- Just an awful first stint. He was missing everything on offense, often several miscues in a row to grind the offense to a halt. On D, he wasn’t even trying in the first half. Just lazy and we gave up a lead in the second quarter. Luke looked frustrated and called a timeout after one bonehead sequence. JC looked like was already traded and his head wasn’t in the game. I just think he wasn’t taking the Suns seriously and our defense improved more in the second half when we started the switching and he didn’t have to think as much. Some nice passes in the second half, including a lob to Nance when JC got middle on the screen and a shovel pass to Kuzma on the break for the slam. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-12 shooting (0-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a +17. The Action: Quick first step to attack the paint and score a layup. He missed a wing jumper, we got it back to him and he missed the three. Next time down, he attacked baseline and missed a layup. He missed a scoop layup attempt next time down and then got scored on again on the other end. He erased a hoop with offensive interference. He stepped on the sideline. No D next time down on D, just not even trying and we gave up another score. Second Half: He deflected a pass to get a stop. Illegal screen out of a timeout, holding a defender, turnover. He missed a wing three. He missed a floater. He was fouled on a pull-up jumper trying to create against the shotclock, he made one FT. Herky jerky drive and he scored a layup around a big. He shoveled a pass to Kuzma on the break for a massive dunk. He got middle on the two-man game and lobbed to Nance for the dunk. Soft D on the weakside to give up a three. He blew past Jackson and scored a layup. He attacked, spun but couldn’t finish the layup. He missed a wing three.

Nance -- -- Very active on the offensive glass, pulling down or tapping 6 of the Lakers 12. Embracing that garbage/hustle role. Scoring wise, we were looking for him on the lob a couple of times. Not a lot else going on. Even Nance made both of his FTs tonight as the team went 23-26 from the line. Would love to see more of that. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards (6 offensive), 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. Bad hit ahead decision to the wrong man (when JC was ahead of the pack) and we blew the break. He tracked down an offensive board and reset the offense. JC interfered with Nance’s jumphook to erase it (might have been coming off). He missed a chuck from three next time down. He charged off ball not paying attention. Second Half: He drew FTs on a reverse, he made both. He scored off an offensive board. He dunked off the lob pass from JC on the two-man game.

Brewer -- -- Best play of the night was blocking a perimeter jumper. He got blocked himself a couple of times, however, and went scoreless. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting to go with 4 boards (2 offensive), 1 block and 1 foul in 9 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He attacked the paint and couldn’t finish. He got an offensive board and was blocked from behind later in that sequence. He gambled for a steal on a mismatch and came up empty to give up a dunk. He blocked a perimeter jumper and it led to a Laker breakaway score. He tried to take Jackson on in transition and was promptly rejected (you could see that one coming).

Caruso -- -- Busy time for him playing in a game on Sunday, then the G-League game yesterday and then another game tonight. He was aggressive and able to draw a couple trips to the line for his points. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 0-1 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 3 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: Fouled in transition for FTs, he made both. He attacked off the screen with speed, spun on the help D, up-faked and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a corner three off a weave. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Ennis -- -- In for garbage time in the final minute. The Stats: He had no stats in 1 minute and was a +0. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Zubac -- -- A rare Zubac sighting as we had some garbage time. Nice to see him get a block in there on a dribble penetration. That’s really the key for him. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 1 block in 1 minute. He was a +0. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He blocked a drive. He missed a lefty jumphook in the post.

Walton -- -- The Lakers ran the offense through Randle against Bender to start for a series of scores… Kuzma and JC in for Randle and KCP with 4:45 left. Lakers down 1… The Lakers hit a couple threes to force a timeout up 3. Lopez out for Nance out of that… Lakers up 3 when Caruso and Brewer came in for Ingram and Hart… The Lakers led 33-28 after the first quarter… He started the Nance, Kuzma, Brewer, JC, Caruso lineup… Clarkson missing on several attempts in a row and not playing any D. Luke called a timeout up 1… KCP in for Brewer down 1… This second unit is dead right now behind JC’s awful play on both ends… He brought in Randle and Ingram to try to give them a lift, still down 1… All starters in down 5 midway through the quarter… The starters picked up the energy level… The Lakers were tied 57-57 at the half. Lakers losing the offensive glass battle 12-4 in the first half… Lakers just trading hoops. Defensively, they are struggling with the rub screens… Lakers down 2 when JC came in for Hart who had foul trouble… Kuzma in for Lopez, then Lopez in for Randle a few seconds later… Randle back in up 4 for Lopez… They forced a timeout up 7… Nance in for Randle out of that timeout… The Lakers led 88-79 heading into the fourth quarter… He started a Nance, Kuzma, Brewer, JC, Caruso lineup… After a massive dunk by Kuzma in transition to lead by 10, they forced a timeout after 3 minutes… Hart in for Brewer… Up 12 when Randle and Ingram came in for Caruso and Nance… Garbage time in the final minute…
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 10:49 pm    Post subject:

First
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 10:54 pm    Post subject:

Gooood game !!
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TooMuchMajicBuss
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:40 pm    Post subject:

Thanks again DB! I'm liking this winning spell, wouldn't mind if it could stick around for a nice, long while.

More Randle, More Hart, more winning it seems.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:50 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 1:00 am    Post subject:

Growth game for the young ones

Hmmm, with Randle essentially playing the 5 and Lopez the 4, will opposing teams now have their true centers playing Randle and their Power Forwards playing Lopez?

As the promise of the young core is beginning to show itself and the reality that the Warriors will be the definitive favorite to win rings for the next 1-3 years, maybe the FO will follow the Warriors' plan and allow these players to grow together (long-term success, as oppose to short-term success that will not include winning against the Warriors' in the playoffs) and just picked up key FAs

Great Writeup - DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:20 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Lopez has been Good for last few Games

BI great game, Randle too.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:36 am    Post subject:

W!

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:47 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB !
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 4:23 am    Post subject: Re: SUNS -at- LAKERS – 2-6-18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
Finishes at the rim, midrange, three, getting to the line – that’s the kind of well-rounded production we want. Very steadying force when he was in the game tonight. First thing Luke mentioned after the game was Ingram’s 6-6 from the line. “Tonight, he hit them all and other guys were making them,” Luke said.

Yeah, spread it ‘round!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 6:57 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 8:11 am    Post subject:

Very nice to see our players start winning the games they should be winning, and being competitive against some better teams (except that Magic game which we will erase from our collective memories).
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 8:12 am    Post subject:

Getting their money's worth out of Caruso!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 8:30 am    Post subject:

LakerLanny wrote:
Getting their money's worth out of Caruso!

He's played 22 games for the Lakers so far. His 2-way allows 45 days with the big club. Not sure if 45 days means 45 games or 45 total of games plus off-day practices. That would make a big difference on how much more we can utilize him.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 9:00 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 10:08 am    Post subject:

Thanks again DB
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