MAGIC -vs- LAKERS - 7/25 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:00 pm    Post subject: MAGIC -vs- LAKERS - 7/25 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Scrimmage No. 2... The Lakers opened the game with a dominating 35-19 first quarter against the Orlando Magic after Kyle Kuzma sank four threes off the bench. He looked every bit of the hype he had been receiving from coaches and players during the practice sessions.

The team wouldn’t have it so easy the rest of the game as the rotations were thrown off by AD taking a jab to the eye that left him unavailable after that first quarter.

While we didn’t see the G-League group on the floor in this one, Vogel used just about everyone else for stretches. As LeBron James watched from the bench, it was newcomer Dion Waiters who carried the scoring load in the fourth quarter with 12 points, including a couple key baskets in the final minute to secure the 119-112 win.

This game definitely felt like it was back to the business of basketball. Opening night of the resumed season will be a little different with focus again on social justice and the unusual circumstances of playing in The Bubble. But for now, the Lakers are looking to see how the new pieces fit and build momentum heading into the playoffs.


LeBron -- -- He settled quite a bit in this game (and ended up with a -11). You can see when he takes the foot off the gas pedal and just coasts versus when he aggressively attacks. When we lost the lead, he started going to the rim more, but this was a lighter effort from LeBron. The game doesn’t count, so he’s pacing himself and making some risk-reward assessments. He settled for several of those super deep threes early in possessions and missed. This helped the Magic stay in touch versus if we just went for the kill. You can see some of that old man game where he gets to the rim by starting out in the post and just muscling guys to death. He’s a freight train on the breakaway and good things usually happen when he’s moving like that. He had 7 assists, but 5 turnovers, again some of the intensity wasn’t there on a couple of those (threw away an inbounds on one, picked up his dribble on a drive on another instead of attacking hard). The Stats: He scored 20 points on 6-15 shooting (0-3 from three, 8-10 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 7 assists, 5 turnovers and 1 foul. He was a -11.

Davis -- -- Poked in the eye and went to the locker room early in this one and did not return. His handle was on display in his limited minutes. He had a nice change of speeds and directions off a probe for a floater. He also grabbed a board and took it the distance for FTs. And he went to the dribble off a faked handoff for more FTs. He’s just so difficult to cover with that combination of guard skills and length. He nearly had a double-double in his brief minutes. The eye looked puffy when he sat on the bench in the second half, but he looked in good spirits. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-3 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 foul in 9 minutes. He was a +13.

Green -- -- Very quiet day for Green. We’ve set up shots for him on the first play of each of the last couple of games to try to establish him. He missed the runner today off a two-man sequence. The last game, I think was a three off a hammer screen. He had 3 assists, including a nice one off a corner probe with AD in the two-man game, he then slipped the ball to AD for the score at the rim. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-3 shooting (1-1 from the line, 0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a +2.

McGee -- -- Some weak possession in the post, settling for long hooks. He scored off a couple LeBron sequences, one where he had an easy putback off LeBron’s dribble penetration (any time we can get pressure on the rim, our bigs will feast). He also had a reverse dunk when LeBron found him over the top of the D with a pass that JaVale didn’t seem to realize he was open until LeBron got the ball to him. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-6 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 turnovers, 1 block and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -5.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- This is the KCP we were seeing as the season went along. Efficient bursts of scoring along with his hustle on D. Throw in the occasional play make for a teammate and he’s trouble for opponents. The three guys (KCP, Kuzma, Waiters) to score in double digits behind LeBron and AD today combined for 54 points on 22-30 shooting. Impressive. KCP’s 17 points consisted of only one shot and make from three. The rest was getting into that midrange where he’e looking more and more automatic and then getting to the rim. Some nice breakaway scores, as well. Guys like Kuz and KCP who can be productive without dominating the ball are exactly what you want around superstars. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-8 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +2..

Kuzma -- -- “What he did today, he did all through our restart training camp,” Vogel said, mentioning he thinks it’s going to be a huge piece for the team in the playoffs. Vogel said guys were not allowed to do anything but shoot the ball during the hiatus and that might have helped. Kuzma came in for KCP as the first sub to run at the SG spot then rotated around a bit during some substitutions but mostly settled in at that SF spot. Certainly, with shooting like this Vogel will have no hesitation getting him minutes however creatively he needs to. Kuz hit 4-4 from three in the first quarter in his 6 minutes. He finished the first half with 15 points. With AD out, he started the second half. He’d finish with five threes in seven attempts and lead the team with 25 points. Everything came within the flow (except for maybe his last make, which was an iso fade), but multiple plays set up for him to catch and shoot. One of his few misses came off a crossover that sent his man to the floor. Productive again on the glass, only one assist in this one, a smart read waiting for KCP to free up cross court behind a screen for a three. Very efficient day. Defensively, he had some moments as well with good footwork cutting off guards and some excellent rotations, as well. Man, keep this rolling. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 10-13 shooting (5-7 from three) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +4.

Caruso -- -- A bit foul prone in this one, getting five fouls in the first half. He was extremely frustrated. He fouled out in the third after just 11 minutes of action and tossed his headband as he went to the bench. Vogel tried to use the challenge to keep Caruso in the game, but that didn’t work. (I like using the challenge for fouls to save your guys from getting into foul trouble or fouling out. Vogel hasn’t done that with much consistency this season. Maybe once or twice.) Just one of those games for AC. The refs seemed to pick on him and Dwight in this one. Still hard to say how Vogel plans to use him in rotations because of those foul issues in this one. He came in with 5:10 left in the first quarter when LeBron sat. So probably some of that and maybe closing with LeBron later. He was still a +5. He had one of those scrappy, non-stat plays that contribute in a big way, battling on the defensive boards against a couple of Magic players and getting fouled in the process. Love it when your guards can do that to regain possession. His one score came on a drive where he looked off the D and scored a layup. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (1-1 from the line, 0-1 from three) to go with 2 assists and 6 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a +5.

Howard -- -- The refs were picking on his footwork on the perimeter, calling him for several travels. They also didn’t like some of the screens he set. He ended up with 5 turnovers. Vogel called him the designated hitter going into this season for setting those hard screens. He definitely had some good ones today. That makes a big difference for that second unit. Dwight’s points largely came off the new guys in this one. J.R. set him up on a lob for a dunk. Waiters drew defenders and set Dwight up for FTs and a one-handed lob finish. Dwight’s other make was scoring off a missed FT on the offensive glass. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-4 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 2 assists, 5 turnovers, 1 block and 6 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +7.

Waiters -- -- He scored all 12 of his points in the fourth, including a couple big ones down the stretch. He started off with a three trailing the break, scored again off a great crossover for a layup. He bodied a man on a drive and went behind the back to score at the rim. Then with the Laker lead at 3 and under a minute left, he sank a tough fade (we need guys who can make tough shots outside of LeBron and AD. That’s been kind of missing with this team). He then buried a three to ice the game. His teammates are loving his contributions and cheering loudly for him. As I mentioned in the last one, it’s kind of a bummer he can’t have that Laker fan support out there because he just doesn’t know. “I’m really thankful to be honest to have a group of guys like that supporting me,” Waiters said afterward. He said he likes to play off the crowd so having his teammates cheering for him like they do helps him a lot. The chemistry with Dwight on that second unit is pretty apparent. Waiters had several probes off Dwight screens that resulted in Laker points. He didn’t always get the assist because Dwight ended up getting fouled, but the production was there despite the box score not reflecting that...especially when both LeBron and AD were out of the game and he got more aggressive. Those minutes were always scary this season. We thought the fit would be good, but this is coming along quickly. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +5.

Cook -- -- Another of those efficient support players tonight. He hit a couple of midrange shots coming off screens, including a Nash-like one-foot jumper on the move. He also drained a corner three. Again, with AC getting into foul trouble and the scrimmage situations, it’s hard to get a read on what Cook’s minutes might be with Vogel. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-4 shooting (2-2 from the line, 1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +12.

Dudley -- -- His anticipation and smarts makes him a little faster than his body is capable of on defense. He had some good sequences on that end of the floor. One resulted in a Cook steal, but was good D by Dudley to set that up. I’d have to look at games from earlier this season to see how his body was, but he looks big out there. Again, I think these are Morris’s minutes. The Stats: He didn’t shoot or score and had 1 board, 1 block and 1 foul in 11 minutes. He was a -1.

Smith -- -- He had a sweet lob to Dwight as he worked weakside off Dwight’s flare screen. The play started with Kuz/AC working on the far side with LeBron at the top of the arc ready to find them if they got freed up off the corner screen sequence (same sort of play they used to run for Kevin Love). Then Lebron reversed to the other side of the floor to find J.R., who attacked after taking the pass and threw it up for the rolling Dwight for the hammer. He loved it, too. So you know J.R. has plenty of reps with LeBron on some of these plays which will make it easier to integrate him. This was a perfect example. “What I love about him is how hard he plays and he understands team defense,” Vogel said, mentioning he trusts him. There was one iso chuck in early offense from the corner that hit the backboard that might have lost a little of that trust (I could see someone like Phil Jackson benching J.R. on that sequence). “We’ll see what his role looks like. Right now I’m just trying to get everybody minutes and rhythm and see how they fit in the way we do things,” Vogel said. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-5 shooting (4-5 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +3.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: These are hard to find in a scrimmage. The Lakers gave up the lead briefly to start the fourth. Dwight, Dudley, Smith, Waiters, Cook lineup to start that quarter, but the lead had been trimmed down in the third. That’s not a seemingly tight defensive unit on paper but they worked it out with an 8-0 run.

Key Substitution: Some interesting subs early on. He brought in Kuzma for KCP to go with a Kuzma/Green backcourt. A very long lineup. Shortly later, he went to the AD, Kuzma, Green, Smith, Caruso unit midway through the quarter. I think just finding creative ways to get Kuzma minutes was interesting to see. When AD sat, it wasn’t a problem, but prior to that we’re definitely seeing Kuzma used more on the wings. He came in on fire and we drew up some actions specifically for Kuzma to get some catch and shoot looks. Very nice. Asked about his playoff rotations, “I traditionally use my depth and then adjust as the series goes along,” Vogel said.

Key Stat: The Magic shot a poor 7-39 from three. The Lakers helped keep them in the game, however, with 23 turnovers.
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pio2u
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:46 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!!
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Laker7
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 1:59 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Gotta clean up the turnovers. 23 in a game (even a scrimmage) is not good.
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 2:19 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 4:18 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 5:28 pm    Post subject:

Thank you, DB!!
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 6:03 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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deal
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 6:04 pm    Post subject:

I love it !! Thanks DB !!!
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 5:04 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB! It's taking me a while to get my mindset warmed up for the renewed season. Your scrimmage T&R's is helping to scrape the rust off my brain.
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:27 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! I was not a fan of bringing Waiters in, but from what I've read so far I'm liking the results. Hoping I was wrong and he actually fits this team.
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:41 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!!!
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