SUNS -at- LAKERS – 12-2-18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 4:27 pm    Post subject: SUNS -at- LAKERS – 12-2-18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Taking Care of Business… Even though the Suns pounced on the Laker miscues early, you knew the inevitable was coming.

The Lakers trailed by 17 points at one point in the first quarter as they were averaging a turnover a minute to start this game. They’d finish the first quarter with 8 turnovers.

“Our turnovers are a problem, and we give up too many fastbreaks,” Luke said. He will press that trend until the team eventually gets past it.

The Lakers quickly erased the hole by starting the second quarter with a 10-0 run to even things up. Credit Beasley and the bench for imposing themselves on the Suns. By halftime, the Lakers led by 15 after keeping the turnovers to just 2 and forcing the Suns to play in the halfcourt. They dominated that second quarter, winning it 40-15.

They’d cruise from there and we’d get some extended deep bench run before taking the final 120-96 victory.


LeBron -- -- Slow start, but he’d eventually finish the half with 12 points and 4 assists. He’d finish with the 22 points in 31 minutes. Luke let him finish out that third quarter as we were going for the final kill. Still, happy with the reduced minutes this year after he led the league in minutes per game and total minutes last year. His three ball was a little off in this game. He did better once he got moving and getting downhill. You can see him pick apart the D with the pass to find shooters off set screens and sequences. As that collective knowledge builds, we’ll be seeing more of that for Hart, Kuzma and KCP. He was a bit turnover prone in transition early on. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-17 shooting (1-5 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 8 assists, 1 block and 5 turnovers in 31 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He missed a deep three against the shotclock. He threw a pass out of bounds. Too far ahead in transition to McGee, turnover. He found Ingram on the break for a dunk. He missed a three behind a screen. He tried to crossover and coughed it up. He drew contact trying to turn the corner and scored the And-1, he made the FT. He attacked the paint and hit the one-hander from about 8 feet out. He attacked down the paint and hit the floater at the shotclock buzzer. He got blindsided from behind not protecting the ball as he tried to pull it out and defenders were trailing (yes, teammates should help him, but he just passed these guys on the dribble). He weaved through defenders in transition and bounced to McGee for a dunk. He hit Kuzma on the UCLA cut for the layup. He iso’d on Ayton in the corner, drew a reach as he rose up and sank the long And-1 jumper, he made the FT. He navigated screens on the perimeter and hit the 18-footer. Hockey assist on a no-looker to Kuzma in the paint, who then fed Chandler for the dunk. He was blocked by the secondary defender as he backed his man down. He attacked with speed getting a running start into the offensive zone with a few seconds left and kicked KCP for a corner three at the buzzer (perfect placement on that pass, too). Second Half: He airballed a wing three. He swished a step-back wing three off the high screen. He airballed a wing jumper when he got a big on him. He missed a wide open three when the D went under the screen. Quick first step past his man, he drew the D and bounced to McGee for a dunk. He missed a jumper. He hit Hart for the wing three. He drew FTs in transition and made one. He filled a lane off the Kuzma steal and dunked. He hit Hart for another three in transition. He lost a dribble off his foot, three the other way. He found Kuzma on the weakside screen for a three. He attacked, spun and scored a layup. He sank a deep three when the D went under.

Ball -- -- Just tenacious in the backcourt on D. I think he had three steals back there, anticipating passes or using those excellent hands. Luke mentioned his strong defense on Booker, hounding him up court and through screens. Love watching Lonzo on D. His so disruptive when he’s aggressive. Eventually, Booker injured himself and had to sit after just a half of play (so the numbers there certainly never got on track for Booker). While Lonzo did miss a layup he should have had in this one, it was good to see the short midrange and a floater both fall. Hopefully, some days those become a reliable weapon. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-10 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: Quickly picked up a steal in the backcourt anticipating a pass, he then fed Kuzma for a layup. Caught in the air and he threw a perimeter pass away for a dunk. He swiped another pass in the backcourt, but fed McGee too early and it led to a brick. He missed a wing three. He threw an outlet away. He missed an off-balance attempt in the paint, not close. He hit a floater on a two-for-one attempt. He missed a bad attempt at a sideline three. He took a long pass on the break and fed Kuzma for FTs. He stumbled and lost the ball on the break. He missed a wing jumper. He drew an offensive foul on Crawford drawing attention to an off-hand holding him. Second Half: He hit McGee for a score off the two-man game. He missed a pull-up jumper after drawing McGee’s man and McGee cleaned it up. Another backcourt steal, but he choked the layup. His layup was easily blocked. Clear-path foul and he made one FT. He attacked left and hit the short pull-up, looked nice. Inbounds to Beasley for a layup. Cherry picking dunk in transition.

Ingram -- -- He had 13 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half, struggling from the FT line or he would have had a few more. Got to clean that up. Overall, the shot selection has been much better and it’s good seeing the FTAs up even if he’s not knocking them down. Usually, that means he’s aggressive at the rim. Get the three ball dropping and get to the line with regularity. That’s what we need to see. Quiet third quarter and we didn’t bring him back in the fourth to run the second unit (Lonzo got that task today). The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting (1-1 from three, 4-7 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers an 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: Bad idea/angle on a perimeter pass that was easily picked off on the blindside. He regained a possession battling on the offensive glass. He missed a wing jumper out of a timeout. He dunked on the secondary break when LeBron found him in the paint. He missed a drive across the lane. He threw a bounce pass away not seeing a defender. He drew FTs on an early offense attack, he made one. He probed in early offense, took contact by the help D in the paint and tossed in an And-1, he made the FT. He pushed up the break, used his length well and scored a layup. He got caught in the air and threw it away. He swished an open corner three off the kickout from Beasley. He lobbed to McGee out of a timeout for a dunk. He was knocked over on the break for FTs, he made one. He got tapped on the one-hander in the paint, he made one FT. He missed a turnaround in the paint. Second Half: He attacked down the lane, missed and tipped it in on the follow.

Kuzma -- -- He had 18 points on 7-11 shooting and 4 boards in the first half. Had this game not been a blowout, he was likely on his way to around a 30-point game. He’s starting to knock down more threes, but also mixing in the scores around the hoop or on the break (along with the passing game). Hopefully, the three ball stays consistent as well as the stronger D and rebounding. This is the Kuzma we want to see with regularity. He puts in so much work and is such a student of the game, you’ve got to think it will all translate into stronger, better, more consistent games. “He’s doing a much better job of making the extra pass. It’s not every time and I get on him every time he doesn’t make it,” Luke said. He mentioned they are asking a lot of different things from Kuzma defensively and he’s improving. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 8-14 shooting (3-8 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He scored a layup off the Lonzo steal. He airballed a wing three. He iso’d on Jackson, backed him down and scored the layup. He posted up, backed his man down and went off glass with the jumphook. He missed a wing three. He missed a corner three. He had a big on him and sank a step-back three from the wing. Layup off the UCLA cut. Good job running the break, trailing Lonzo and he was fouled on the pass, he made both FTs. Off left on the wing three. Great extra pass in the interior after a no-looker to him from LBJ and it led to a dunk for Chandler. He tapped in an offensive board, battling against Jackson on the glass. He sank a corner three on an inbounds. Second Half: He missed a three when his man went under the screen. He missed a layup at the front of the rim. He attacked baseline and fed McGee for the layup. He swiped the ball, pushed it out and hit LeBron for the dunk. He swished a wing three off the weakside screen. He drew FTs on the break, he made both.

McGee -- -- One of those rare stretches where he went for long minutes out there in the second quarter. The Lakers were dominating and Luke left him to man the C spot. He was set up for scores for the most part, although he had a couple nice efforts on the offensive glass (including one possession where he reset the offense off the miss, got it back a second time and then scored it himself). Love seeing him up off his seat and cheering on his deep bench guys. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 7-10 shooting to go with 8 boards (4 offensive, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He bricked a jumper on iso. He bricked a floater. He threw down a lob out of a timeout. He rejected his man after a pumpfake he didn’t bite on. He battled for an offensive board, reset the offense, we missed again, he got it again and hit the jumphook. He dunked in transition off the bounce pass from LeBron off the dribble. Second Half: He banked in a jumphook off the two-man game. Easy putback score over a smaller man. Dunk off the drive and dish from LeBron. He scored a layup on the drive and dish from Kuzma. He choked a layup on an interior feed (should have used glass).

Hart -- -- Quiet day for the most part. But look at the huge +32 in just 18 minutes. He sank a couple of threes in the second half, showing that chemistry as a floor spacer with LeBron on the court. He just fits well. Other guys need the ball, you need guys who do all the little things and hit shots around those types of players. “Everything we always preach about doing, he was doing today,” Luke said. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +32. The Action: He blocked Booker’s drive. He was blocked on a layup on the break. He missed a baseline jumper. Second Half: He attacked and set up Chandler for FTs. He swished a wing three behind a screen on the weakside. He drained another wing three in transition shortly later, LBJ finding him on both of those.

Chandler -- -- Back against his old team, he hit the boards hard for his new one (11 in just 17 minutes). Some good challenges, he plugged the paint in the drop coverage and the Suns were forced into a perimeter-oriented game. Teammates found him for his scores. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 11 boards (3 offensive), 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +23. The Action: He missed a jumphook. He dunked off the interior feed from Kuzma (tap out by Chandler to begin that play). Second Half: He battled for an offensive board, reset the offense and then Hart set him up for FTs, he made one. He missed a jumper up against the shotclock on an inbounds. Illegal screen, turnover. Nice challenge with verticality to deny a drive.

Stephenson -- -- Out of the rotation, it appears. Seemed inevitable, right? But even with Rondo out, that’s got to be a bit of a blow for him. He came in for garbage time run only today. He did set up Moe for a three and moved the ball well to teammates as well as get after the boards. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 10 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He knocked a ball loose on D. Outlet to Lonzo for a dunk. Too long on an outlet. He hit Moe for a three. Called for a travel, looked bumped. He missed a three.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Quiet day for KCP. His biggest play was subbing in for a big with 6 seconds left in the half and swished a buzzer-beating corner three on the kickout. Funniest play was kicking Kuzma off the FT line to shoot a tech. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +23. The Action: He got stuck under a screen and gave up a three to Crawford. He missed a three up against the shotclock. We got it back to him, he attacked and missed, but McGee cleaned it up. Off the bench with 6 seconds left and he hit a three at the buzzer on the LeBron kickout. Second Half: He made a tech FT. He took a long outlet and scored a layup.

Beasley -- -- “I tell all of our guys you’ve got to be ready every night,” Luke said. I think Luke is realizing he can’t have both Beasley and Stephenson on the floor at the same time (unless it’s garbage time). And Luke has decided to use Hart more at a natural position at SG/SF rather than backup PF. Having Ingram also as the primary ball handler with these units also plays a role in Lance’s benching for Beasley. In any event, we finally saw Beasley looking like himself. He looked better in the last one and had his best game today. The Lakers were down by double digits when he came in and that second unit led by his scoring, erased that and the game changed from there. Good to see him take and knock down a three in this one. He’s passed up some good looks from three (even hesitated on the one he nailed tonight). When we first signed Beasley, I pictured him in this role. Backup PF minutes behind Kuzma, keep LeBron at the SF and less wear and tear. Good to see him make it work today, even if it’s against the Suns. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-9 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist and no fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He iso’d and hit a tough turnaround in the post. He took a pass on the pick and pop, up-faked, attacked off the three line and scored the And-1 off glass with his off-hand, he made the FT. He pushed it up, faked a handoff, attacked the paint and kicked to the corner for a three. He missed a baseline turnaround. Second Half: He attacked down the lane, changed hands and scored a layup. He grabbed a rebound, pushed it up, called his own number in the post and scored. He hesitated at the wing, then drained the three. He scored a layup off an inbounds from Lonzo. He attacked and missed a layup. He missed a leaner in the paint.

Mykhailiuk -- -- Up 30 when he came in with 7 minutes left. Not much action for him. He missed his only three, but did set up Moe for a wide open look after drawing the D on a drive. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three to go with 1 assist and 1 turnover in 7 minutes. He was a-6. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He drew the D and kicked to Moe for the three. He missed a three on the pass from Moe. His lob pass was picked off.

Wagner -- -- In early in the fourth with the Lakers up big, he got some extended run. The bench was enthusiastically cheering for him to get his first NBA points and he managed to get double digits. Probably could have had more but missed a couple of layups he should have had. He showed his range with the three ball (knocking down two), and this is the intriguing part of his game. If he can become strong enough to defend at the 5, he could develop into that floor-spacing big every team needs. He also gets up and down the court with speed, so that will fit in well with the pace and space demands of this era of NBA ball. That’s likely still a ways off as his defensive work and body need to develop more. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-8 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He got backed down for a score. He choked a layup on the break (probably could have dunked that). He was blocked from behind on another layup attempt. Quick attack off the three line and he drew FTs, he made his first point in the NBA (bench went nuts for him), he made both FTs. He knocked a pass loose. His pass was picked off. He short-armed a layup off the two-man game. He missed a three on a pick and pop. Pocket pass in the paint and he muscled in a layup. He gave up an And-1 layup when his man attacked past him. He drained a three straight away on the kickout from Svi. He drained another three on the kickout trailing the break. He was called for a foul breaking up a lob on help D, not sure about that one. Another foul after Lance put him in a bad spot (one bad pass leading to another). He attacked, spun and was blocked.

Zubac -- -- The last man in today, letting Beasley get a rest and moving Moe to the PF. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and had 1 board in 4 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Walton -- -- Three minutes of turnover-prone ball and Luke called a timeout down 10-2… Down 10 after 5 minutes, Chandler in for McGee. They are averaging a turnover a minute… Lakers down 17 with 5:28 left, Ingram out for Hart… KCP in for Kuzma, Lakers down 12… The Lakers trailed 31-21 after the first quarter… He started a McGee, Beasley, Hart, KCP, Ingram lineup. A 10-0 run by the Lakers to tie it up… The two teams traded lobs out of the timeout after that… Kuzma in for Beasley, down 1… LeBron in after 5 minutes for Hart. Lonzo in for KCP down 1. The Lakers pushed the lead out… Up 5 when Chandler came in with 3 minutes left. Long run for him… Chandler out for KCP with 6 seconds left and KCP sank a corner three at the buzzer… The Lakers led 61-46 at the half. A 30-19 advantage on the glass… Quick timeout by Luke to start the third as the team was slow to defend in transition… Up 12, Chandler and Hart in for Lonzo and McGee… KCP in for Ingram, up 15… The Lakers led 95-74 heading into the fourth… Chandler, Beasley, Hart, KCP, Ball lineup to start the quarter… Beasley with a series of scores to force a timeout up 28… With that, he brought in Wagner and Stephenson for Hart and Chandler… Lonzo out for Svi with 7 minutes left up 30… Zu in for Beasley and complete the garbage time lineups… Good job getting Moe some good run…
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Aeneas Hunter
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 4:28 pm    Post subject:

First
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akgolf
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 4:29 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 5:02 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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ReaListik
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 5:27 pm    Post subject:

Very impressed with LeBron’s impact on the team.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 5:28 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Random thoughts.

1. With the Grizzlies loss the Lakers move into 5th place in the western conference (Golden State is in 4th).

2. Lakers have the third best conference record in the western conference. Clippers and Nuggets are 10-4 in the west, Lakers are 10-6 in the west, Thunder 7-6, Grizzlies 8-5, and Warriors 8-6 are the only other teams in the west with a better than .500 record against teams in the western conference. Considering the depth of the western conference, that shows the Lakers are doing better than expected.

3. Glad to see Moe got some good minutes. He may have to play if there are injuries to McGee or Chandler and I want him to have some experience before we have to go there. I would rather have Moe spreading the floor with the second unit rather than having Zubac clogging the lane.

4. Beasley is growing on me, especially paying the PF with Hart playing the SF. Little too much ISO during garbage time but was a better passer before then.

5. Should win Wed against the Spurs. They will be on the second night of a back to back and are struggling right now.
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Last edited by Laker7 on Sun Dec 02, 2018 5:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 5:33 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Lakers took care of business against an inferior team. Great win.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 6:07 pm    Post subject:

Excited to hear Moe got some run. I’ll have to watch the game later tonight!
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 6:20 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Excellent write-up; as always very entertaining and insightful.

Welp, good day for decking my house top to bottom with Christmas lights, bad day to assume we have an evening game. Dang. I'd have enjoyed watching this one. I just might have to look around for a replay!

VERY encouraging to read that the Beasley I remember showed up for this one!!!! I thought he was right there with Zubac in the dog house. He's still got some game in him.

Also - I'm pretty happy to see Luke is letting Josh Hart move back to his natural SG/SF role where he thrives.

Mo Wagner scored! Man I gotta find that replay.

Most of all; glad to see the Lakers blow the Suns out instead of playing down to the level of the competition and barely winning. This is what Western Conference contenders should be doing.

Wooot for the win!! Go Lakers!!
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 6:34 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 7:08 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

I still like the TC & McGee combination at C; Mo looks more like a PF,
he could get abused at C, IMO.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 10:43 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 12:39 am    Post subject:

Well, another ugly first quarter but they tightened things up and beat this team with ease, like they should.

They had me frustrated and worried again but ..........
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 12:41 pm    Post subject:

Plus minus for season to date.

Josh Hart 86
Tyson Chandler 54
LeBron James 35
Brandon Ingram 34
Rajon Rondo 23
Kyle Kuzma 21
Svi Mykhailiuk 7
Ivica Zubac 6
Michael Beasley 0
JaVale McGee -1
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope -5
Johnathan Williams -10
Moritz Wagner -10
Lance Stephenson -20
Lonzo Ball -25


https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/plus_minus_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&output=total&is_playoffs=N&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&year_min=2019&year_max=2019&team_id=LAL&age_min=0&age_max=99&order_by=diff_pts
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