LAKERS -at- JAZZ – 4-3-18 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:24 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- JAZZ – 4-3-18 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Road Closed… The Lakers just couldn’t put together a consistent two-way game tonight.

When the Lakers were on fire early on, they couldn’t get stops.

When they did get the stops, they couldn’t score.

Ultimately, it was the second quarter and Ricky Rubio that killed them. They gave up 41 points in the quarter as Rubio lit them up for 25 points in the first half. Rubio got into a good rhythm early on some open looks and took off from there. You just can’t let guys get into a comfort zone like that.

The Lakers fell back by as many as 16 points, but the second unit was able to keep them in the game heading into the fourth quarter. The lead seeming sat at 6 points forever. With the Lakers unable to string together scores, they couldn’t close the gap and eventually fell 117-110 to the Jazz. They couldn’t close on the road. And this one closes the road games on the Lakers as they don’t play outside of Staples for the rest of the season.

Randle -- -- The Lakers tried to get him assist number 10 to complete the triple-double, but couldn’t knock down the shots at the end. So Jules would have to settle for the 12-12-9 line (with 5 turnovers). He was a little too loose with the dribble or late on a pass at times. Some good reads, though, in the halfcourt situations when he drew a crowd. That’s really a key area where his game can grow as he’s one of the few players on our team to consistently draw help defenders. Defensively, other than a couple of moments on Rubio, he didn’t seem on top of his game. He’s either been looking a little fatigued lately or is just seeing the finish line ahead and not quite running through it at the close of this season. Got to hit those FTs. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 3-9 shooting (6-10 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 9 assists, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He hit KCP for a three. He drew FTs on a drive down the middle of the lane, he made one. He attacked, drew Gobert and kicked to Lopez for three. He attacked right, spun middle and hit Kuzma cutting for a layup. He pushed it up and threw it away. He was called for an illegal screen, sticking an arm out. He missed a jumphook in the post. He scored a layup off an outlet on the break. Perfect read on a kickout off the short roll to Lopez for the sideline three. He missed a fade in the paint and was upset there was no foul call. Late on a pass to Kuzma, turnover. He turned into the middle, switched hands in air and missed with his right. He bullied his way into FTs in the post, he made one. He was blocked on help D on the spin. He kicked out to Hart for a three at the buzzer. Second Half: He posted his man up in transition and drew FTs, he made one again. He grabbed an offensive board and scored a layup. Late on the pass to Kuzma on the break, ugly turnover. He was fouled on a layup attempt, he made just one FT again. He pushed up the break and lost it in traffic, sigh. He choked the righty layup, uggh, could have cut it to 4 finally. He drew FTs in transition, he made both. He dunked off the extra pass from Caruso.

Kuzma -- -- He got the Lakers going early with some midrange jumpers that were dropping. He led the Lakers with 15 points on 6-10 shooting in the first half. He went 3-8 in the second half, looking for his shot a little too much sometimes. Not a bad percentage, but the ball wasn’t moving as much as you would have liked from him. He struggled from the line tonight, which kept him from getting to the 30-point mark. Great job getting there, but both he and Randle went a combined 13-22. That was especially painful when the Jazz lead hung at around 6 points forever. Needed those points. Overall, another big scoring night. If we’re going to lose, it’s nice to see the young guys put up some big numbers. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 9-18 shooting (1-4 from three, 7-12 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -13 The Action: He attacked right and pulled up from 17 to swish a jumper against the shotclock. He sank a face-up wing jumper on iso. He took a handoff off an inbounds and hit the elbow pull-up jumper. He cut off Randle’s drive and scored a layup off the feed. He missed a deep three on a kickout. He pushed out a rebound and drew FTs on a couple long steps in the paint, he missed both. He had a ball fumbled to him on transition D, pushed it out and was fouled for more FTs, he made both. He attacked and was nearly tied up, he wanted the foul. He missed a runner off the glass but Lopez dunked it back in. He spun in the paint and hit the floater. He faced up on the wing, attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a running hook. Out on the break with Hart, he got the pass and crammed over the defender. He threw an inbounds away. Second Half: He pushed up the break and hit Caruso for three. He posted up, spun and swished the turnaround. He couldn’t finish a reverse he should have had. He was fouled on a long jumper with his feet on the three line, he made both. He sank a quick-fire wing three. He iso’d and attacked the lane for FTs, he made one. Out of control on the break and he charged. He missed a quick-fire wing three. He fumbled the ball away on a spin. He iso’d and missed a turnaround 14-footer. He missed a three. He scored a layup in transition. He was fouled on a throwdown attempt in transition, he made one FT. Way short on a hook.

Lopez -- -- He had 11 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half, hitting a couple of threes on kickouts. He also had putback slam. Those plays were possible because Gobert was looking to anchor the D and shotblock. He didn’t score in the second half. One of his scores in the first half was in the post. We tried to get him a couple looks in the second half, but this is a situation against Gobert where I’d rather we had Brook pulling him out of the paint. Defensively, some good moments again Gobert when he tried to score around Lopez. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-10 shooting (2-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He swatted Gobert’s layup. He drained a three on a kickout. He missed a wing three. He hit a jumphook in the post out of a timeout. He worked the post and missed a jumphook. He was blocked on a jumphook. He swished a sideline three off Randle’s kickout. He missed a quick-fire three. He follow-slammed a missed Kuzma drive. Quick attack on the inbounds pass and he earned FTs, he made one. Second Half: He challenged Gobert’s drive to get a miss. Next time down he defended the lob perfectly, knocking it away. He attacked, drop-stepped and missed a dunk, irritated he didn’t get a call. He was blocked on a jumphook. He missed a jumphook.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Something about his three shooting on the road. He couldn’t knock anything down in the last games at Staples, but he was back at it on the road, going 5-9 from three to lead the team with a quiet 28 points. He was just plugging along all game. It never seemed like he was on fire. Nice to see he and Lopez contribute early in this one to get the Lakers going. Had we not let Rubio go off, this was the kind of big game from him that might have pushed the Lakers over the top to get the win. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 8-14 shooting (5-9 from three, 708 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a -16. The Action: He swished a wing three on a kickout. He attacked off the three line and scored a layup. He swished a wing three. He sank a wing three on a return pass from Frye. He made a tech. Caruso spotted him wide open cutting baseline, but KCP was looking to go to the corner and the pass zipped past him. He crossed over, attacked left and quickly got the layup up before it could be tracked by Gobert. Second Half: He missed a pull-up wing three in transition. He couldn’t finish a layup attempt. He missed a leaning, pull-up three. He attacked and took contact on the perimeter for FTs, he made both. He sank a two-for-one three from the top of the arc. Unforced turnover on the perimeter. He airballed a runner. He drew FTs in transition, he made both. He swatted Mitchell at the rim. He sank a pull-up three a couple feet behind the line. He missed a three. He swished a pull-up 17-footer off the Randle screen. He missed a sideline three out of a timeout. He drew FTs on a three with 3 seconds left, he made two.

Caruso -- -- Too little from Caruso in this one. I had no notes on him in the first half. I think he had a turnover in the half, but I put that one on KCP. So really just invisible out there. He’d sink a three in the second half for his only points. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He sank a wing three in transition off a kickout. He attacked and missed a layup, trying to go high off the glass. He hit Randle in transition for a dunk.

Hart -- -- Kuzma and Mitchell will take all the rookie headlines when these teams match as top scoring rooks and steals from their respective draft positions. But Hart’s another of the first round steals, as well. Just not the scoring machines as those two. It looked like he was getting back to his old self in this one. He sank a couple of threes, drew some FTs and had a nice elbow jumper on iso out of the horns. Like seeing that shot creation from him. Defensively, we tried to put him on Rubio when he was on fire, but that didn’t cool him off. He did have a couple of steals and a block. A real nice defensive sequence again Mitchell to force a turnover, as well. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-4 shooting (2-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He smothered Mitchell and forced a turnover and Laker breakaway. He was picked on a probe. He swished a corner three on a kickout. He missed a wing three. He swiped a pass from behind a man on help D, pushed it out and hit Kuzma for the dunk. He sank a wing three on a kickout from Randle. Second Half: He attacked off the three line and drew FTs, he made both. He faced up in the high post out of the horns set, attacked to his left and hit the fade from the other elbow. He attacked and drew FTs, he made one.

Frye -- -- He’s been starting to look more like the bench player you want to see. He stretched the floor well tonight, knocking down three threes for his points. We’re generally running him as a PF and getting away with it. Zubac/Frye were +12 and +10 respectively tonight. With as depleted as our bench is, that’s getting the job done. If the Lakers are able to pull in some big names in free agency, they will need some vet min guys to fill out the roster. Good to see Frye showing a pulse lately. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He sank a three off the double-drag screens. He hit KCP for a three. He sank a wing three on a kickout. Second Half: He sank a wing three trailing the break. He missed a rushed sideline three on a kickout against the shotclock. He missed a corner three.

Zubac -- -- He didn’t score, but again I thought he did a great job defensively. He even had to switch on some smaller players and was looking effective at it. Some very good challenges once again, including a track down block on Exum. His D has really turned a corner lately. Keep it up, Zu. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 block and 1 foul in 11 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He missed a jumphook after working some moves in the post. Second Half: He challenged a shot then tapped out the defensive board to a teammate. Nice perimeter D on a smaller man to get a turnover. He rejected Exum out of bounds on the track down. He missed a reverse attempt.

Ennis -- -- A little look behind the numbers here. I guess I kind of expect things like the 4 turnovers. Some sloppy passing there for three of his turnovers. The other was getting the ball stolen when he tried to iso. The unexpected was the 3 offensive boards. He had a great follow tip-in of his own missed drive. Maybe even a better tap out of an offensive board to a teammate when he was in the middle of three defenders. Just an excellent effort on that. He also had a great boxout on the glass against Gobert on one defensive stand. So good work on the 7 boards. Scoring wise, he was able to get into the paint for layups, a jumphook and a long floater. The second unit badly needed some aggressive guard play, so that helped tonight…except for those turnovers. Still, they outplayed their Jazz counterparts. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-10 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He attacked, spun and missed a long floater. He missed a step-back three in early offense. He ran clock down and scored a reverse on a herky-jerky dribble to freeze the D. Bad perimeter pass, then he compounded that by taking a step forward instead of getting back in transition and we gave up a layup. He kicked out to Frye for a three. He tracked down a blocked Lopez attempt, pulled it out, attacked with the clock low and hit the jumphook. He crossed over a man and missed a wing three. He threw a perimeter pass out of bounds. Second Half: He attacked a seam and scored a layup. He attacked with speed, missed the drive but tipped in the follow. Exum blew past him on the other end for an And-1 layup. He threw a pass away at the buzzer. He tried to iso and had the drive swiped away from him. He swished a long floater. He tapped out an offensive board in a crowd. He missed a floater. Good boxout on Gobert with Hart to get a board.

Walton -- -- The finish line is close. Luke’s got to keep the team focused… The Lakers got off to a 9-0 start and forced a timeout… They made their first 8 shots but were reeled in 20-18 when Luke called the timeout… Hart in for KCP out of that… He brought in Ennis for Caruso… Zubac for Lopez, Frye for Randle, Lakers up 5… Good close by the second unit… The Lakers led 31-24 after the first quarter… Zubac, Frye, Hart, KCP, Ennis to start the second quarter… They extended to a 10-point lead (Frye hitting a couple threes, KCP hitting one)… Zubac out for Lopez to match up with Gobert… The lead went from 12 to 7 and Luke called a timeout… Rest of the starters in with 7 minutes left up 8… The lead was quickly trimmed to 3 and Luke called a timeout… Rubio lighting the Lakers up… Hart in for Caruso after the Lakers lost their lead… Hart can’t cool down Rubio… The Lakers trailed 65-60, giving up 25 points to Rubio on 7-10 shooting (4-6 from three). The Lakers were just 7-13 from the line… Down 10, Luke called a timeout and brought in Hart for Caruso… It extended to a 13-2 run… Frye in for Lopez down 10… Lakers fell back by 16… Ennis in for KCP… Zu in for Randle down 10… A 13-4 run by this unit… They cut the lead to 95-89 heading into the fourth… Lopez, Frye, Hart, KCP, Ennis to start the fourth… They were getting stops but struggling to score… Down 6 when Randle came in for Zubac… Kuzma in shortly later same score… Lakers missing a few shots that could have reeled the Jazz in… Frye in for Ennis, Lakers down 8… Lakers couldn’t get over the hump…
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:27 pm    Post subject:

Primero
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Shaber
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:42 pm    Post subject:

Thanks!
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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
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blackmamba08
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:30 pm    Post subject:

End of the season is close. Thank God. This is awful recently.
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OregonLakerGuy
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 12:35 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 2:49 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Game was hard to watch.

Ball movement was poor

Randle lacked aggressiveness and was sloppy

KCP & Kuz looked good although Kuz forced it a few times. Hart was okay good to have him back.

Agree on Zubac defense last few games. He is starting to look strong again.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:06 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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Wino
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 9:02 am    Post subject:

All our injuries and lack of bench depth after the trade is making these final games brutal. I had hopes of a strong final push and end out with near 40 wins, that didn't happen. Kind of sad.
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