WARRIORS -at- LAKERS- 10/14 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Bench Work... The scheduling made this game a little dead on arrival for the Lakers. None of the likely starters played.

As far as big picture takeaways from this game, you have to closely to find it. Zach Norvell got the start and minutes and responded with a strong 22-point game, including a couple of electric drives that had the crowd buzzing.

Dwight Howard got more reps in with his fellow role players and gave the Lakers a strong, well-rounded effort to help the Lakers to the 104-98 win.

Overall, the team was able to work on some set plays and tighten up their perimeter D some more. All of that will help the bench build some much-needed chemistry before we hit the regular season.


Howard -- -- Wasn’t sure who to open this one with considering all those resting. So, I went with Dwight and that turned out to be the right decision. He got the start with McGee coming off the bench. That gave him more minutes with your more typical bench lineups (since the second unit basically started this one) so he could get some quality reps in. He finished the first half with 8 points on 1-3 shooting and 12 boards. He drew a lot of fouls but was knocking down the FTs all night. Excellent well rounded effort, even tallying a number of assists. He finished with 12 points, 13 boards, 6 assists and 4 steals -- dirty work numbers. If you can find any criticisms of his game in this one it would probably be that he doesn’t seem to be grabbing passes or loose balls too cleanly so far, lots of bobbles in the preseason. But otherwise some solid two-way minutes. Really liked how much better the two-man D looked when it was him and Caruso chasing shooters over the top of the D (vs. Rondo). Dwight seemed to tighten that drop coverage up and Caruso was putting on the pressure from behind. Strong combo there against Curry early on. Nice job. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 2-4 shooting (8-10 FTs) to go with 13 boards (4 offensive boards), 6 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He stripped Steph on the drive. He was fouled on the lob attempt from KCP, he made both (banking the second). He stepped out of bounds on a spin. Awful decision on a perimeter pass and he threw it out of bounds with the bad angle. He drew FTs on the offensive glass, he made one. He rejected Curry out of bounds from behind Dudley. He was fouled on the two-man game, he made one FT. He gathered the drive and dish from Dudley and scored. He couldn’t finish a short one. He dropped a rebound out of bounds. He missed a point blank putback. Held on the screen-roll for FTs, he made both. Second Half: He drew FTs on the offensive board and made both. He attacked from the FT line and lobbed to Cacok for the dunk. Nice give-and-go with AC to set him up for FTs. He kept another offensive board alive with some pressure on the rebounder. Nice D on the perimeter to swipe the pocket pass and then he took it coast to coast for the dunk. He deflected a pass. Sweet pass on the post up as he attacked middle like he was about to go for the jumphook and he hit a cutting Cacok instead with the shovel feed for a layup.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- They had him in a few set plays going to the rim tonight. Some nice moments out of that (including a lob dunk). I always feel like, if he knows what he needs to do, he’s a better player. Hopefully, we see that playbook get more and more established. Some good D at times. He and Caruso looked pretty strong on that perimeter pressure and following guys around screens. He’s not looking automatic on the FTs this preseason, missing a couple more tonight. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-12 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He curled to take a pass at the elbow and lobbed to Dwight for FTs. He dunked off the lob pass from Caruso on a set play. He missed a three straight away and got it back on the other end drawing a charge on D. He traveled on a drive off the three line. He missed an easy lefty layup. He was blocked by Curry trying to post him up. He airballed a pull-up three next time down. Excellent skip pass to Norvell for the open three. He drew FTs being aggressive on the perimeter, he made one. He disrupted a pass to force a turnover. He scored a layup on a curl out of a timeout. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He pump faked at the elbow and was fouled on the leaner, he made one FT. He swished a three straight away off the swing pass. He missed a pull-up three. He picked his man on the perimeter and took tif or the dunk.

Caruso -- -- Good news is you finally get to play with the starters. Bad news is you’re still not playing with AD and LeBron. I think I read he’s only played 1 minute total with both this preseason. Some really strong D on Curry to start the game. He chased over the top of screens while Howard closed the gap on Curry instead of being too deep in the drop coverage. That made for a good start defensively compared to how we’ve been covering shooters. Offensively, some telegraphed passes in this one (really not sure what he’s thinking on some of these). Again, if he’s the main floor general running the show that’s not his greatest strength. Put him on the floor where he can mix things up with LeBron leading and you get better execution from him. Once again, a poor shooting night, too. Despite the offensive issues, the one constant has been on D and that made him a positive on the floor. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 1-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 6 turnovers and 3 fouls. He was a +7. The Action: He couldn’t finish a layup on a probe. He swiped a pass on a switch. Perfect lob pass to KCP down the middle of the paint and between three defenders for the dunk. He couldn’t finish in transition. He deflected a pass out of bounds. His layup was goaltended. He telegraphed a pass and it was picked off. He attacked and found a shooter in the corner for three. He jumped a passing lane and was fouled as he changed ends. Nice challenge in transition to get a piece of a layup. He was fouled as he was about to finish strong and went down hard, he made both FTs. He attacked hard again in transition next time down and drew more FTs, he made one. Second Half: He was doubled and threw it away. He drew FTs on the give-and-go with Dwight, he made both. He missed a pull-up three. He was called for a charge, probably had Dwight open on a pocket pass. He airballed a jumper coming off a screen. Another telegraphed pass, turnover.

Dudley -- -- “It’s called old age,” he joked of the injury that has kept him out. He said tendinitis flared up a little with the activity he put in during the summer. He mentioned the importance of moving the ball side to side in the offense and working off the flare screens. A little of that tonight by Dudley and also being the trigger man on some set plays. Norvell has been basically playing some of the minutes we would likely see Dudley in and Cacok at the PF, as well. We ran Dudley at the PF spot (Kuzma and AD in front of him at that position, so hard to say where we find these PF minutes...unless we decide to start AD at C and Kuzma at PF sometime). He didn’t settle for threes, but mixed in some attacking and passing offensively. We sat him for Cacok in the second half. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a wing three on a kickout. Sloppy outlet and it was picked off, forcing us to give up FTs. Nice switch and then challenge on the drive to get a stop. He jumped a passing lane to swipe the ball but couldn’t finish the challenged layup attempt. He attacked off the three line and fed Dwight under the rim for the layup. He was swatted on a drive. Trigger man on the ATO play to find KCP curling for a layup. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Norvell -- -- Oh my. He had a couple of the plays of the game on drives tonight. In the fourth, he crossed his man sending him to the floor, attacked hard and scored an And-1. (Phil Handy would be proud of that dribble sequence going between the legs on the change of directions...LeBron’s impersonation of the hapless defender on the floor was hysterical.) Early in the game, he had another attack of the three line where he spun and then flipped in a layup over two challenging defenders. Loved watching him tonight and couldn’t wait until he returned whenever Vogel sat him. He started with a strong first quarter to lead the team with 10 points on a couple of threes and a couple of drives. He led all Lakers with 12 points on 3-8 shooting in the first half. He piled up more points in the second half off a very well-rounded game. He’s a good two-way signing as he looks like he can contribute at this level if they really need it (good pickup by the Lakers). “I know my number’s going to be called here and there,” he said of the two-way deal. Vogel said he brings gravity to the team with the three shooting, but can score in a variety of ways. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 6-13 shooting (3-8 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: Quick trigger behind the Dwight handoff at the wing for a three on the Lakers first possession. He airballed a corner jumper up against the shotclock. He curled off the screen and drew contact on the And-1 attempt at the rim, he made both FTs. He missed a deep three. Next time down, he measured and sank the wing three off the skip pass. He attacked off the three line, spun and scooped in a layup over two defenders whiffing at the block attempt. He missed a sideline three. He airballed a tough baseline jumper after drawing an extra defender, but McGee cleaned it up. He couldn’t finish a runner. He made a tech FT. He attacked off the two-man sequence and drew FTs, he made one. He attacked and threw it out of bounds. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He drained the corner three off the handoff. He picked up his dribble, looked to pass, then hit the baseline jumper. Good D again on his man and he was held on the leak out, clear path foul, he made both FTs. Laker bench on the court after he crossed over a defender badly and finished strong on an And-1 layup with the off-hand at the rim.

McGee -- -- He buried a three in the first half when no one was available to pass the ball to. Strong first half with 9 points on 4-6 shooting. A lot of the usual hustle plays and challenges on D in this one. He’s had a lot of spark for the team all preseason. Nice to see Dwight kind of join him in that tonight. Hope that duo can combine for numbers like this with frequency. They combined for 23 points on 6-10 shooting, 18 boards, 7 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks in 39 minutes. That’s some quality production. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4- shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 7 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He blocked Curry’s reverse attempt. He threw down a dunk off the screen-roll with Jackson. He scored on the up-and-under in the middle of the paint next time down. He kicked out to Stockton for a three. He charged taking a pass at full speed trailing the action. He couldn’t finish a runner or follow tip. No one to pass to for several seconds, so he buried the three instead. He swatted a perimeter shot on the other end. He cleaned up an airball at the front of the rim. Second Half: Fouled on the defensive glass for FTs, he made both. Turnover on the dribble in the post. Again trying to create on the dribble, turnover as they swarmed. He swatted a drive, getting up high.

Cacok -- -- Serviceable minutes from Cacok at the PF and C spots. He struggles a bit with finishing at the rim at times. He’s not moving guys around or overpowering anyone like he may have done in college, but he has his moments and doesn’t look like a deer in the headlights out there or like he’s having any issues with the speed of the game. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-13 shooting (4-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He was fouled on the perimeter for FTs, he made both. Nice change of directions on the drive, but way strong on the finish attempt. Dive off Stockton’s drive and he found Cacok for the dunk. Second Half: He missed a short one on the baseline. He dunked off the lob from Dwight. He swiped a perimeter pass and was fouled on the finish at the other end, he made one FT. Strong dribble to his left and he took it in for a layup. He cut off Dwight’s drive and reversed when Dwight found him under the hoop. He missed a 6-footer. He attacked from the corner, took contact and muscled in the And-1 in the middle of the paint, he made the FT. He missed a 10-footer in the paint. Wild on the break, turnover. He couldn’t finish off the high low out of a timeout as he was challenged. Bad interior feed in a crowd, turnover. He choked a 3-footer instead of finishing strong. He drew a charge on iso to get a stop with under a minute left. He crashed the glass to clean up dribble penetration.

Jackson -- -- He and Caruso manned the point guard spot tonight. He had a couple big shots late in the game with a three and a reverse layup in crunch time. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnover and 4 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He spun and setup Howard for FTs. Drive and dish to McGee for the dunk. He attacked off the high screen and scored a layup. He attacked a couple of defenders, got caught in the air but still somehow managed to flip in a layup with the off hand on his way down. He missed a wing three. Second Half: Swing pass to KCP for a three. He didn’t take a three, attacked and got a shotclock violation on the missed drive. Good box out and then he pushed it out to set up Kostas for the layup. Fouled on the dribble for FTs, he made both. He missed a step-back three out of a timeout (should have kept attacking to his left on that). Left open, he sank a wing three. Stockton found him cutting under the hoop for a reverse. He missed a step-back three. He stripped his man on the other end, but gave it back up on a charge on a pass-off in transition.

Stockton -- -- He can be a pesky defender at times. He seemed to get his hands on the ball quite a bit for only just 1 steal in the stat sheet. A lot of strips, deflections during the game. Offensively, he sank a couple of threes. If you give him time, the shot looks like money. Some hoop IQ issues giving the ball to his bigs trailing at high speed for turnovers, so maybe add another couple of turnovers to his total there. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-11 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 1 board, 7 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He swished a wing three on a kickout. Aggressive baseline attack, he drew the help and fed Cacok for the dunk. He bricked trying to beat the shotclock. He missed a floater, should have taken another dribble. He did on his next attempt and finished the runner this time. He sank a corner three on a kickout from AC. Second Half: Bad decision to give it to a trailing big for a turnover. He cut off a man and swiped the ball, then was blocked in transition. He took his eyes off a perimeter pass, turnover. He missed a wing three. He took a charge on the break to get a stop. He missed a short one in the paint. He missed a runner off the glass. He sank an open midrange jumper off the two-man game. He took a shot in the paint to draw another offensive foul to get a stop. He missed wing three on iso. Sweet bullet feed to Jackson under the hoop for the reverse. He threw a pass away across court while under pressure.

K. Antetokounmpo -- -- Brief stint late in the third and early fourth before Vogel pulled him and was in his ear for a minute about something. He’d put him back in later to help close. He had a nice dunk when we found him under the hoop and he also scored a reverse in transition. Great rejection getting off the floor quick at the rim. You definitely see that length in a lot of what he does. The Stats: The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Reverse layup in transition. Open under the hoop and we found him for the dunk. He blocked a layup on one end and then drew FTs trailing the break on the other, he missed both short. Moving screen with 1:38 left, turnover.

Vogel -- -- Jackson in for Caruso who put the clamps on Curry in the first half of the quarter… Cacok in for Dudley… McGee in for Howard, Lakers up 6… Stockton in for Norvell, Lakers up 21-13. Norvell had a strong 10-point first quarter… The Lakers led 28-17 after the first quarter… He started a McGee, Cacok, Caruso, Stockton, Jackson lineup… Norvell back in for Jackson, Dudley for Cacok… Howard in for McGee, Lakers up 12… Up 13 when KCP came in for AC with 5 minutes left… AC back in for Stockton… TImeout with the Lakers only up 7. They got a layup on the ATO as KCP curled instead of setting a screen and Dudley fired a pass to him… The Lakers led 55-48 at the half… Cacok starting for Dudley in the second half… Good perimeter D to start the half and the Lakers pushed out to a 16-point lead… Caruso out for Jackson… Norvell out for Stockton… Kostas in with 4 minutes left at the PF for Cacok, Lakers up 15… Dwight out for McGee when Vogel called a timeout up 13… Cacok in for KCP… The Lakers led 87-72 heading into the fourth… McGee, Cacok, Kostas, Stockton, Jackson lineup to start the second. This won’t be pretty… Kostas out for Caruso, Lakers up 11 after 3 minutes… Timeout up 9 with 8:40 left… Kostas and Norvell back in out of that for McGee and Jackson. Nice high-low from Kostas set up bu Cacok needed to be McGee to dunk that one in over the challenge… Up 8 with 4 minutes left, timeout Lakers. He sat Caruso for Jackson...

[dino]

thanks db...zach reminds me of lindsey hunter a bit...

[LakerSD]

It would be great if Cacock and Norvell Jr. are able to contribute this season.

[scout0_0]

Is this the Lakers I watched? I saw the ball moving

[RI Laker]

[deal]

Thanks DB !!!
_________________
Lakers need to build a freaking team !

[Roon]

[RYZ]

[KeepItRealOrElse]

KCP had some really nice plays in the P/R.. on one he showed he can burst while rejecting the screen; and it popped off the tv, it was a great take, he just blew the lefty wrong foot layup.. interesting..

[yinoma2001]

[wolfpaclaker]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!

Norvelle is a cut above what I was expecting to see. I'm curious to see him get a little time against more solid NBA rotation players. It would be nice if he could fill some of the gap we have at backup 3 when needed.

Howard's passing was beyond what I expected to see out of him, nice hustle, nice game.

Perimeter defense is going to be important this season, considering the interior defense we're likely to have, I'd expect teams are going to resort to the long ball against us. In spite of the flaws in their offense so far this preseason, it's good to see both Caruso and KCP putting perimeter pressure on opposing shooters.

Thanks again for the excellent write-up!

[danzag]