SPURS -at- LAKERS – 10-22-18 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:53 pm    Post subject: SPURS -at- LAKERS – 10-22-18 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Comebacks… With the Lakers down both Ingram and Rondo for the next few games after the dust settled from the Rumble with the Rockets, they took to the floor against the Spurs.

It’s was a battle of styles. The Spurs pounded the post and slowed it down against the thin Laker center spot. This resulted in scores or freethrows, which slowed things down further. The Lakers, however, pushed back and ran the ball down their throats any chance they had. The fastbreak was looking deadly (they won the break 41-7 in the game).

After the Lakers fell back big to start the game, they chipped their way back into to it turning defense into offense. By the time the fourth quarter came around, it was anyone’s game. They traded leads again and again down the stretch before it looked like the Spurs came up with a dagger. The Lakers had to get a stop, but gave up two offensive boards and score to Aldridge in one possession to fall back by 8 with just over a minute left.

They showed some fight. Kuzma had 15 points and LeBron had 14 points in the fourth quarter. In the final minute, Kuzma had a drive and dish to McGee for a dunk. Kuzma knocked down a three in transition off a LeBron kickout next time down. With 8 seconds left, they got a stop. LeBron brought it up court, rose up from deep and drained the three to tie it with 2.4 seconds left. After a great challenge by Lonzo to force DeRozan into a brick, it was overtime.

In overtime, it was the Lakers turn to throw a dagger. In an insane sequence late in overtime, Williams helped deny one of several drives. Hart yanked down the defensive rebound but fell to the floor, nearly falling out of bounds. He tried to stand up with a dribble, somehow tiptoed on the baseline under pressure and chucked it down court to Lonzo who saved it inbounds to LeBron. LeBron then took it for the And-1 runner with 55 seconds left to lead by 6. The Lakers seemingly in control.

That wasn’t the dagger, though. The Lakers gave up a quick layup and then a three and led by just 1. LeBron was fouled with 12.8 seconds left and missed both FTs. The Spurs hit a jumper with 6.8 and now the Lakers trailed. No heroics at the buzzer this time as LeBron missed a wing jumper at the buzzer. A painful loss for a variety of reasons.

“I missed two freethrows, which is unacceptable,” LeBron said afterwards.

Luke went off on the refs, saying it was probably going to cost him some money. With all the points in the paint this team gets, he was irritated that guys like Hart and LeBron who are physical don’t get to the line when fouled. Meanwhile, guys like we saw on Houston get endless whistles.

“I know they’re young,” Luke said of his guys. “I get that. But let’s not reward people flopping 30 feet from the hole on plays that have nothing to do with that possession. They’re just flopping just to see if they get a foul call, and then not reward players that are physically going to the basket and getting hit. It’s not right.”

Which type of basketball do you want to see? He was frustrated, but liked the fight in the team despite falling to 0-3 after the 143-142 overtime loss.


LeBron -- -- He was a big part of the comeback in regulation, sinking a huge three to tie it up in the final seconds. In OT, he was the motor that was driving the attack, but it came skidding to a halt in the final seconds. He attacked and couldn’t connect on a pass that nearly resulted in a shotclock violation. He gave up a three to Gay. He then was intentionally fouled and missed both FTs with 12 seconds left. He then missed a step-back wing jumper at the buzzer on iso. “I was able to get a good bounce into it and get a good look at it,” he said of the final shot. Rough finish after a great comeback and excellent overtime up until that part. Just 4 points in the first half as he was missing a lot of chippies, but he had 6 assists and 5 boards. He was ticked at the no calls in that half. So was Luke. The spacing causes some issues for him. As we get that sorted out, he’s going to be more effective. You could see that as the game went along. Tough break as they made a comeback. He ended up huge numbers despite the slower first half. LeBron on the foul discrepancy. “You literally can’t touch anybody. Well, you can. You can touch somebody,” he said alluding to himself “…we’re trying to figure it out.” The Stats: He scored 32 points on 11-25 shooting (2-8 from three, 8-11 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 14 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls in 43 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He kicked out to Ball for a three to start the game. He attacked from the wing and missed a layup. He attacked and missed a scoop. He missed a wing three. He missed a wing three. He zipped a pass to KCP on the break for a dunk. He pushed it up and bounced a pass between defenders to Hart for the layup. He missed a layup on the break. He attacked, spun and was blocked. He attacked from the wing and scored the layup, finally. He wanted a foul as he attacked between defenders and was hit across the arm with no call (led to a layup the other way). Offensive foul next time down on a screen he tried to set. He hit Kuzma off the flex cut for the layup. He lost the ball on a probe (and some poor spacing by the Lakers). He took an inbounds, attacked with speed (got away with maybe an extra step) but scored the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He blocked a drive and pushed out the break. Second Half: He sank a face-up from right the baseline. He posted up, spun baseline and dunked and was fouled from behind, he made the FT. He sank a pull-up 22-footer expecting a whistle that didn’t come (sheesh). He missed a three. He attacked the paint and got no call, turnover. He attacked with speed, drew three defenders and kicked to Kuzma for three. He backed his man down, attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked off the weave and kicked to Kuzma for the three. He sank a three behind a screen. He attacked and missed another layup (think he wanted the foul again). He was hacked as he attacked the rim off an offensive board, he made both FTs. He sank a 20-footer working off a screen. He iso’d on Cunningham and fouled him out for FTs, he made both. He missed a three long. He attacked, spun around Gay sending him to the floor and scored the layup. He missed a face-up wing jumper. He probed and bounced and interior feed to Kuzma for a layup. He pushed it up with speed and hit Kuzma for the sideline three to cut it to 3. He brought it up court with 8 seconds left, rose up from deep and drained the three with 2.4 left and calmly walked back to the other end. Overtime: He snaked into the lane off the screen and hit the short fade. He missed a tough drive but Williams cleaned it up. He missed a tough corner three out of a timeout. He missed a floater. He took a pass from Lonzo at midcourt, attacked and hit an And-1 floater, he made the FT. He gave up a three to Gay sagging into the paint. LeBron fouled with 12.8 left up 1, he missed both FTs, ouch.

Ball -- -- Seems like he’s airballed a three at least once a game this season. He did that in the first half as he scored 11 points on 2-6 shooting from three. I’ll take 3-7 from three all day, all week. He looked like himself a bit more with the starters, calling plays, pushing it up and making hockey assists as the ball moved. A couple of overpasses that you’d like to see him try to finish on at the rim. Defensively, some superb moments. He smothered DeRozan on the final shot of regulation to force a brick. It seemed like he faded a bit as the game went along and his minutes picked up. I think he’s still getting his motor into game shape. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-9 shooting (3-7 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He swished a wing three off the kickout from LeBron. He iso’d in early offense, stepped back and airballed the three. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He broke down the D on iso and hit the short one at the front of the rim. He hesitated, took a dribble and hit the wing three. He swiped an errant pass and ignited the break. He missed a wing three. He crashed the glass and earned FTs, he made one. He missed an open wing three. Second Half: He picked up the loose ball and measured a pass to Hart busting out for the two-handed dunk. He trailed the break, attacked and threw it away. Great challenge on DeRozan at the buzzer to force a brick. Overtime: He swished a big corner three with a man on to answer a Spurs three. Great save of an outlet to LeBron who took it for an And-1.

Kuzma -- -- He got the start at the PF spot (he and LBJ are interchangeable at the 3 and 4 depending on how we want to go and how teams want to defend it). Back in his natural role, we saw the Kuzma we’ve come to know and love. He lit it up for 37 points tonight. He attacked the paint with speed on his way to 19 first half points on 8-13 shooting. He’s trouble in transition with that speed, length and ability to spin around defenders or hit the short runners. He attacked relentlessly in his 45 minutes as well as drained some threes. Again, a few possessions where you wanted to see the pass, but nothing to complain about. We’ve had so much experimentation with our lineups. He’s young and needs to find his comfort zone instead of being thrown sideways. Plus, the experimentation only magnifies our problems of inexperience with each other…it makes us worse. Glad Luke started him and Kuzma got to play his natural possession all game. I like seeing some of the plays coming off the flex screens or double screens with speed into the lane. They are starting to build that playbook up. The Stats: He scored 37 points on 15-25 shooting (4-10 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 45 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He banked in a hook after a cut across the lane. He faced up and missed a jumper from about 15 feet out. He fumbled a pass away, attacking before catching. Way short on a wing three. He sank a corner three. A little change of pace on the drive and he scored a layup. He made a tech FT. He attacked off the three line and lobbed to McGee for a score. He grabbed a pass over a defender and flipped in a layup around another in tight quarters. His layup was blocked on the break (not sure if it wasn’t goaltended), but McGee cleaned it up. He probably should have passed on the break earlier in the possession, but kept it, spun around one defender and hung to score the layup over the other. He grabbed a board, pushed it up and scored a runner over his man. He missed an early offense wing three (not a good shot after those last two non-passing possessions just prior). He cut from the corner off the screen and scored a layup (plays LeBron is familiar with). He took the outlet, attacked with speed and scored the And-1 over the D, he made the FT. He got back in transition, grabbed the board and threw it down court to McGee for the easy score. He missed a pull-up three at the buzzer. Second Half: He missed a hook across the lane. He swished a corner three in transition off the LeBron kickout. Nice help to disrupt a post-up and get a stop. He was fouled on a cut across the lane, he made one FT. He sank a corner three on a weave out of the timeout. He missed a scoop in the lane. He came off the double screen, curled into the lane as he took the pass and hit the hook over Pau. He missed a deep three. He forced Pau into a brick in the post. He missed a deep three on a mucked up possession with Lance. He attacked in transition, spun around the D and scored the layup. He was pushed in the post and lost the post entry with no call. He attacked off the three line and threw down. He scored a layup off a great bounce pass from LeBron in the interior. He attacked the paint and fed McGee for the dunk. He swished a sideline three on a kickout in transition with 35 seconds left to cut it to 3. Overtime: His drive and dish was picked off. He airballed a chuck from three just trying to beat the shotclock.

McGee -- -- We got 28 minutes out of him, but probably needed about 34 or 35. He fouled out on the first possession in overtime and thankfully, Williams stepped up bigtime. McGee took a shoulder to the ribs on a foul from Aldridge. Hopefully, he’s going to be fine, but the foul trouble and some kind of injury like that shows just how horribly thin the team with their bigs. Without him we are in trouble. Pop tried to expose that tonight. Great job on the offensive boards by our bigs, though. That was nice to finally see in a game. Makes a huge difference if we can find guys who can get us extra possessions. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 7-13 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 8 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 6 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He took a lob, pulled it down, spun around the challenging defenders and scored an And-1 off glass, he missed the FT. He missed a jumper from the FT line. He missed a shot hook. He crashed the glass and scored a putback while in air. He fouled a three shooter on a closeout. He gathered a lob a little behind him, came down and scored the layup. Great job changing ends to clean up a missed layup on the break. He was fouled on a lob attempt for FTs, he made both. Easy score as the teams changed ends quickly as he was still on the offensive end when Kuzma rebounded and outlet to him. Second Half: He missed a runner in transition. He missed a lefty scoop next time down. He picked Gay on a crossover at the three line and was fouled. He tripped a man on a screen and picked up his fifth foul after entering the game with 6 minutes left. He missed a putback dunk, got it back and scored the layup. He missed a layup on one end, then gave up a couple offensive boards to Aldridge and a score. He dunked off the drive and dish from Kuzma. Overtime: He fouled out on the first defensive stand (should have won the jumpball).

Caldwell-Pope -- -- I guess he may be starting, but at least it was limited to 19 minutes. Just an awful game again. He’s not making an impact on either end of the floor and was a -14 in his 19 minutes. I’ve been saying he thrives under structure, when he knows his role and what’s going to happen in the sets. It may take a while for that to happen. But he’s not been a factor much in transition, either. So, sucking on all fronts offensively. Well done. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -19. The Action: He bricked a jumper coming off a screen and pulling up at the top of the key. He threw down in transition when LeBron found him. He ball watched and gave up a three. He missed an open wing three. Second Half: An offensive board fell in his hands and he was fouled, he made both FTs. He missed a wide open three.

Hart -- -- I was kind of hoping we’d start him instead of KCP with how badly KCP’s been playing. Hart has struggled defensively. “It’s different, difficult. Especially guys like myself. I’m a physical defender so that kind of takes certain parts of my game out,” he said of the calls. It drives me a little nuts that he’s not getting calls with how much he attacks the rim. The league wants him to do the head jerk theatrics to get the calls apparently. Defensively, better game from him (hard not to be…so I’ll take any improvement). Great job knocking down threes or getting to the rim. He’s what you want in analytics if he could just get those slap calls he’s not getting. Our young guys, Kuzma, Hart and Ball all helping space the floor tonight. The trio hit 11 of our 14 threes. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-14 shooting (4-7 from three) to go with 10 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He filled the lane on the break and LeBron found him between defenders for a reverse. The D went under a screen and he hit a three. He swished a turnaround in the post over Mills. He swiped a perimeter pass to ignite a break. He missed a fade in the lane. He missed an open wing three. Second Half: He knocked a pass away on the perimeter, busted out and Lonzo outlet to him for the dunk. He sank a wing three in transition off a feed from Lance. He kept an offensive board alive with a tap out behind Pau and it led to a Stephenson And-1. He sank a deep three off the kickout from Stephenson. He attacked and got no call on the missed drive. He got his man in the air, stepped to his left and swished the corner three. He missed a three straight away. Overtime: He missed a wing three. He attacked in transition off the Williams shotblock and scored a layup. He was blocked in transition but we got it back.

Stephenson -- -- With Rondo and Ingram out, we went to Stephenson as the backup PG while starting Lonzo. Great game from Lance. This was one of those games where he’s one of the best players on the floor for our team…until he started to look like one of the best players on the Spurs. That was only brief near the end of his stint and Luke pulled him. But great game prior to that. He moved the ball well. Came up with some big scores, including an And-1 drive that had Staples buzzing. The Stats: He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls. He was a +17. The Action: He setup Beasley for FTs on the screen-roll. He filled lane, took the pass, faked behind his back and then scored a layup. He missed an open corner three. Second Half: He charged on a drive from the wing. Great job helping on the defensive glass to pull a board away from behind Aldridge, he then pushed it out with speed, spun around a defender and fed Hart for the three. He sank a pull-up wing three on iso. He attacked past his man at the three line and scored a lefty And-1 between the bigs, he made the FT. He hit Kuzma curling off the double screen for a hook. He attacked and kicked to Hart for the three. He missed a three on a kickout. He attacked and threw it right to a Spurs defender. Left open, he missed a sideline three.

Beasley -- -- Just a few first half minutes from him. That perimeter shot has looked awful so far this year. Luke pulled the plug on it pretty quickly. I’m glad we’re keeping the rotations tight so we don’t have too many variables making it tough to find a rhythm on either end. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He couldn’t power in a layup. He bricked a wing jumper. He scooped up a loose ball and scored a layup. He doubled the post and gave up a three (don’t double when Hart is there). He kicked out to a ref, turnover. He drew FTs on the screen-roll, he made one. He grabbed an offensive board and hit the short one. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Zubac -- -- McGee picked up some foul trouble early in the third quarter and sat. Luke kept it big and brought in Zubac. Aldridge schooled him. Ate him up. Zubac had 5 fouls in 5 minutes unable to move his feet with Aldridge. Here’s the problem with our depth at the C spot. We’ve only got third-string bigmen behind McGee. It wasn’t a priority this offseason in any shape or form as we’re spending only a few million on our bigs. His +/- is pretty deceptive. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 block and 5 fouls in 5 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: A couple quick fouls trying to guard Aldridge. He erased a drive by a guard with a nice recovery.

Mykhailiuk -- -- He was put into the rotation with our suspensions. Kind of surprised when looking at the box score that he got 17 minutes. The team was a +12 when he was out there. He had a couple of great passes to Williams for dunks. He missed both of his threes and had a couple turnovers (one just drive into a crowd). I’d like to see a little more of him just spotting up in the corners to space the floor. Make is simple versus coming off screens or ball handling. Good to get his first real game under his belt and some nice passing sequences from him. Hopefully, once the G-League games get going he’s shuttling back and forth a bit and is able to get comfortable and settle in. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He attacked a crowd and turned it over. Second Half: He missed a tough sideline three, having to lean a little to get it off. He grabbed an offensive board, attacked and fed it to Williams for the dunk. Great job pushing it out with speed and he hit Williams with a 30-foot lob pass for the dunk. He missed a three coming off a screen. His interior pass was picked off.

Williams -- -- “We’re happy to have him back,” LeBron said. Recently resigned because of the holes we have at the C spot. He was thrown into the fire in the second half as our bigs picked up fouls against Aldridge. Kid nearly got the win for the Lakers. He was sensational in OT. Defensively, DeRozan tested him several times and was denied every time. Williams did a great job of protecting the rim. We also cooled down the Aldridge iso attack against our bigs. He’s mobile, has good length and hustles. Luke likes his communication on the defensive end. These were good minutes for him. But he’s green as is Wagner. Come playoff time teams are going to pick on us like the Spurs did tonight. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-5 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 3 blocks and 4 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed an open baseline jumper. He dunked off the interior feed from Svi. He challenged a shot and forced a miss on one end, then Svi lobbed to him in transition for a dunk on the other. Overtime: He was fouled on the offensive glass to regain a possession. Off the subsequent drive by LeBron, he gave a little shove, got the offensive board and scored the putback. On the other end, he switched on DeRozan and ate him with the shot rejection on the layup attempt (that led to a Laker breakaway score). He came off Aldridge at the last second and ate up another DeRozan drive. He took the bounce pass from LeBron on the screen roll, collided with a defender but still muscled in the And-1 from about 5 feet out with his off hand, he missed the FT. He kept an offensive board alive. Another denial on DeRozan.

Walton -- -- The Lakers fell behind 18-7 in less than half a quarter. No stops (Spurs 8-9 shooting) and Lakers missing a few too many easy ones… Down 22-7, he sat McGee and Kuzma for Beasley and Hart with 5:36 left… KCP out for Svi, LeBron out for Kuzma and Lonzo out Stephenson down 13 with a couple minutes left… The Lakers trailed 40-26 after the first quarter. Spurs shot 74%... He started a McGee, Kuzma, Svi, Hart, Stephenson lineup… LeBron in for Svi, Lakers down 11… The Lakers cut the lead down to 6 and forced a timeout… Anytime they get out on the break, they score… Ball in for Stephenson… He picked up a tech at an obvious no call on LeBron… KCP in for Hart down 11… LeBron out for Kuzma… They cut it to 3 to force a timeout… They cut it to 1, then fell back by 11 missing from the perimeter… He went with McGee, Kuzma, LeBron, Svi, Stephenson out of that… Hart in for McGee with 36 seconds left… The Lakers trailed 65-60 at the half. The Spurs shot 54%, Lakers 51%. Lakers won the break 16-5 and had 40 points in the paint. We had 1 more board… McGee picked up his fourth foul. Luke brought in Zubac for him with 8 minutes left… Hart in for KCP who has been horrible, Lakers down 6… Down 3, Lonzo out for Stephenson… LeBron out for Svi… Zubac picked up 5 fouls against Aldridge in 5 minutes and sat for Williams… They tied it up as Stephenson orchestrated the offense… They trailed 99-96 heading into the fourth… Williams, LeBron, Hart, Svi, Stephenson lineup to start… Up 1 when Kuzma came in for Stephenson… Lonzo in for Svi, McGee in for Williams down 5… Down 8, the Lakers went on an 8-0 run to tie it with 2.4 left… Luke brought in the rookie Williams for McGee. Rookie switched everything and a good challenge by Lonzo to force overtime… McGee fouled out on the first possession of the OT. Williams back in… Out of timeout and another play busts, missing a LeBron three in the corner on iso… Lakers give up a 7-0 run in 44 seconds and trailed by 1. Timeout with 6.8 seconds left… Iso for LeBron, he missed a wing jumper at the buzzer… The Lakers after timeout plays have been awful so far this season. They had a couple poor ones in OT. But nothing Luke can do about missed FTs in overtime. Williams and LeBron down the stretch left points at the line…


Last edited by DancingBarry on Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:57 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Omar Little
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:54 pm    Post subject:

First?
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chantruong
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:56 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:56 pm    Post subject:

Omar Little wrote:
First?



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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:58 pm    Post subject:

Damn those OT games take a long time to write up.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:01 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Almost had this one. It was there for the taking.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:26 pm    Post subject:

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:56 pm    Post subject:

Is it that Williams is playing really well defensively, or that the team lacks backline defense so severely that he looks better than he is?
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deal
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:13 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB !!! Tough loss, we could have had this game. With the same intensity next game, we win but we'll need to want it.
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:54 am    Post subject:

How ironic is it that when LeBron was on the other team, he got all the calls. Then he puts on the P&G and gets the Laker treatment from the refs.
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 5:04 am    Post subject:

Freaking free throws, man...
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 7:07 am    Post subject:

Thanks.

I hope we don't see Kuzma at C ever again. Play J. Williams!!
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 9:35 am    Post subject:

Statement game from Kuz! Use me at the 3/4 not the 4/5!

I'm not sure why KCP is still starting. He's definitely lost on the floor and may be the main reason for the slow starts.

Nice debut JW!
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 9:59 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Kuz can just play and do well. Hope Luke learned from that. KCP is just terrible what is going on with him? Who is to blame for resigning KCP and letting Randle go? Lebron or Magic?
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 11:28 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB! Wish you a good recovery from this long game and tough loss.

The Lakers play on par with the best in the league. They just can't get it over that last little bump....
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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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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:14 pm    Post subject:

Shaber wrote:
Thanks, DB! Wish you a good recovery from this long game and tough loss.



Heh. I think I may be a bit more prone for error this season with how fast things are going. For the most part, I can keep up with notes at game speed...but so far not this season. Have had to pause quite a bit and usually I edit during dead balls, commercials and FTs. It's been tough!
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:16 pm    Post subject:

I thought the last two players were a good representation of where we need to improve. San Antonio ran a play with multiple actions and guys coming around screens. LA cleared out for LeBron who took a contested midrange.

We're not ready to execute at a playoff contender level yet which is fine. But something to shoot for. In the meantime, we try to run it up team's backs.
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MIMLaker
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Joined: 18 Jul 2001
Posts: 10015
Location: Los Angeles/ Alhambra, CA

PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:24 pm    Post subject:

The missus somehow got tickets for me and my son last night. Brief thoughts from me:

McGee - We'd have been a chalk outline without him. Puts his length to good, effective use. Dude is a gamer, but was clearly winded by end of the 3rd quarter. And the 1st of the 2 quick-whistle fouls on him was a weak, weak call. Great to have his length and hands on lobs or in traffic, and he showed better footwork and patience than I had anticipated when catching passes in traffic. Not a dominant rebounder, but far more energy and visible fight than BroLo last year on the glass.

Lonzo - Working his way back, good to see the 3-ball coming back. I'll take 3-for-7 (43%) from 3pt range from him all year. Playing next to a playmaker like LBJ really opens up his UCLA-style game - cuts to the basket, skip passes down court or cross-court. The late-game save of Hart's save and rerouting to LBJ was the most Showtime-style play I'd seen in DECADES, with shades of Worthy's Game 6 slide in 1987. That being said, the sooner Lonzo plays like a lottery pick rather than a solid late 1st round pick, the better we'll be. He has no good reason to pass when he's going over a smaller player and he's within 3 feet of the rim. He over-passed twice and blew an easy basket or trip to the line. The more assertive he becomes as a scorer - while still playing within his game - the more consistent our offense will be.

KCP - The more I see of his game this year, the more I wish we would've kept Randle for that much salary. KCP's defense was ineffective throughout the night. If the other side is raining 3s to start the game, the defenders have to step up and disrupt. No team shoots like that unless they feel really comfortable, and KCP did nothing to make their backcourt uncomfortable. If we need 2 shooters in the starting lineup to balance out LeBron's and Ingram's slasher attacks, KCP ain't the guy at this point.

Kuzma - Outstanding scoring, with some of the best sweep hooks I've seen in years. When the outside shot wasn't falling, he got a rhythm via drives and transition, which is what you want a guy to do when their outside shot is cold. But no presence on the boards or on defense the 1st half. Until he can crash the boards with the same eagerness - almost ferocity - he did at the start of last season, he's best coming off the bench. He stepped up for sure in the 2nd half on BOTH ends, but we need that from the jump.

Lance - Dude really is a pocket Metta in terms of energy and physical play. Not afraid to, mix it up, and will not shy away from contact on drives. Versatile finisher, can switch hands and get good lean in traffic. Not the most capable defender - but a willing one.

More later - but there's good stuff there. It's coming together. I can actually SEE it.
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Scoffs
Starting Rotation
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Joined: 12 Aug 2001
Posts: 874

PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:54 pm    Post subject:

Same problems as last season:

Poor free throw shooting;
Poor 3 pt defense (Bellinelli killed us);
Lack of interior defense and defensive rebounding.

If we fix even one of these problems, we'd be 2-1 or 3-0.

I'm hoping that Luke's seen enough to end the Kuzma as center experiment; that's not going to work. Williams should be the back-up center when Javale sits.
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Lakers#1Team
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:29 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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LakerEric
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Joined: 03 May 2002
Posts: 7193
Location: Vegas

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 1:22 am    Post subject:

BS FOUL CALLS!!!!!!!!!!!! Thrilled about JW!!! Kuz needs to play his position to excel!!! Zo shooting has flow and proud of him!!! LBJ is STRONG!!! JHart is BEAST!!!
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