LAKERS -at- CLIPPERS - 5/6 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2021 8:54 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- CLIPPERS - 5/6 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Too Many Missing Bodies... The numbers on the jerseys for the Lakers starting lineup this game: 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 -- Kuzma, KCP, Drummond, AD and AC.

“What I see in that starting lineup is four champions. It’s a band of brothers,” James Worthy said prior to the game.

It was a nice thought, but the reality is the Lakers were without LeBron, without Schröder and now without THT for the next couple of games. The top ball handlers for the Lakers roster just gone. When AD went to the locker room in the first quarter that just about sealed the fate.

Against the Clippers, that’s a tough ask for the remaining Lakers.

The ballhandling/playmaking issues were seen early when the Lakers turned bad passes into Clipper points the other way. The Clippers went on a 19-3 run early in the second quarter.

The Lakers trailed 65-42 at the half, their largest deficit at halftime for the season. The Lakers, however, won the third by a couple of points. They actually made the Clippers play PG13 and Leonard into the fourth quarter as they trimmed down the lead. But hoping for much more than that in this one? I don’t think so.

The Lakers fell 118-94. The depleted roster has its work cut out for them against Blazers next.


Davis -- -- Just 4 points on 2-9 shooting in the first quarter. He had one post up, which he scored on. The rest of his attempts were all from the perimeter. It’s tricky with Drummond out there, but we weren’t looking for post touches, despite needed to get some penetration of the D (can’t do it by dribble, do it by pass). After one jumper he backpedaled into the scorers table and twisted an ankle. He went to the locker room and didn’t return after his 9-minute shift in the first quarter. They said the issue was back spasms. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-9 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 9 minutes. He was a -10.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He matched up with PG13 quite a bit. George led the Clippers with a +28 in the first half and KCP had the team-low -25. We’d need a huge game from KCP to stand a chance in this one. He missed his first couple of perimeter shots, then attacked down the lane and hammered over Zubac. One of the few first half highlights. Really no impact in this one and no notes for him in the second half. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and no fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -29.
Drummond -- -- Very few notes from his first shift on the floor. We didn’t try to put the ball in his hands offensively and, of course, we had no guard penetration to set him up. Late in the half we ran one two-man sequence with Kuz with to set him up for FTs. He tried a post up against Zubac and was blocked. Just no impact. First play of the second half we got him the ball in low position for an easy jumphook. He had a couple moments in the post after that and a steal for a dunk, but really not a lot worth discussing in this one. Your bigmen are often activated a bit more when you’ve got great guard play. That just wasn’t available tonight. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-5 shooting (3-6 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -7.

Kuzma -- -- Good overall game from him. He was a +2 in 31 minutes. So the 17 he wasn’t playing, the team was -26. We had to use him as one of our key ballhandlers. Kuz sat first so we could bring him back in as later in the first quarter when AC sat. He was getting into that midrange and hitting pull-ups in that quarter and had 9 of the Lakers 20 points. He’d hit another from midrange, score on a step-through and earn FTs in the second quarter to finish with 15 points on 6-11 shooting. He was really the only one getting dribble penetration and able to get the offense north and south. He found a couple guys for dunks off of lobs. I liked the fight in him tonight. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 9-19 shooting (3-10 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +2.

Caruso -- -- I’m bummed we didn’t have THT available. It’s a great opportunity for him to get minutes and reps. AC is a role player scorer, not the kind of guy who can be a floor general for you. THT (with time) has that potential to be the tip of the spear. AC said he wanted to be a little more aggressive. I’d like to see him try to throwdown more on occasion when he’s got the opportunity. He sometimes over passes (we saw that once tonight). Excellent swing pass to Wes for a three and then he worked the two-man game to find Kuz on the pin-in flare screen for a three in the opposite corner. That’s a read that has improved for him this season. Small thing, but that’s the kind of advanced reads he needs to execute when he has the opportunity. He led the team in assists. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 7 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -25.

Harrell -- -- Scoreless first half. His best play was probably getting hit in the face to draw an offensive foul. In the second half, he was more aggressive and had some moments with Kuzma running the two-man game. In the fourth, he got more aggressive. It was a bit of garbage time, but good to see him at least putting the ball through the hoop against his former team. Some nice moments of passing in this game. He had a good bullet feed from the top of the arc to McKinnie for a score.The Stats: He scored 14 points on 4-9 shooting (6-10 from three) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 4 assists and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -6.

Gasol -- -- Brief stint for the bigman in the second quarter tonight. Some moments playmaking. KCP choked a layup while AC finished his off those pinch post cuts. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and had 1 assist in 6 minutes. He was a -11.

Morris -- -- The streak ends at 0-25 from three. He finally sank a three on his first attempt of the game. Let’s hope the law of averages now comes to play. We’ll see. He didn’t make his next two threes. Minor thing, but we got back two more offensive boards on missed FTs with him getting after it on those like he does. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -6.

Matthews -- -- Some really good defense in the first half. He forced three turnovers on Kawhi and PG13 as they tried to go at him. If we had our offense flowing with some regulars out there, those would be big plays and stops. Offensively, he drew some FTs on a handoff and had a nice curl into an up-faked and step-through for a score. Unfortunately, he struggled a bit with the three ball, but he’s shown again he might be a key player in this series from a defensive standpoint if these teams face each other. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-7 shooting (1-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 block and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -7.

McLemore -- -- He sank a few threes, one with a kind bounce. Not a great shooting night, but put them up in volume. He had the bench low -13. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting from three to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a -13.

McKinnie -- -- He came in with a few minutes left in the third. Writing on the wall in this one, but also the back-to-back means we need to think about the next one. He had to hear the “hell no” any time he took a jumper from some Clipper. He sank a pull-up and a corner three. He also finished a lob dunk from Kuz. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-9 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 3 offensive boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +0.

Cacok -- -- In for the final few minutes of garbage time. He got a couple FTs. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-1 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 2 offensive boards and no fouls in 4 minutes. He was a -2.

Antetokounmpo -- -- They brought him in for the final minute so I’d have to add him here. The Stats: He had 1 turnover and 1 foul in 3 minutes. He was a -6.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: For this game, it really happened prior to tipoff with our depleted roster. Then we added AD to that in the first half on an ankle twist/back spasm that kept him in the locker room. Your three best players gone? Not going to happen.

Key Substitution: McKinnie in with a few minutes left in the third? Start thinking about the game tomorrow.

Key Stats: Eh, hard to take anything in this game seriously. They won the third quarter 29-27 without three
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2021 8:54 pm    Post subject:

Bah
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"One thing I admire about Kuzma is his unwavering confidence. He truly has no idea that he’s not as good as he thinks." - Killer_Z
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Thu May 06, 2021 8:59 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

To win this game I had posted Lakers needed AD to play MVP level; THT to play well; Stop the clipper 3; and play D

Ayup...none of that happened. Injuries have been the bane. And of course DS was playing CoD.

I have nothing else to add at the moment. I think I'm just going through the motions and coming to terms that this season may very well end alot sooner for this team than I'd like.
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"One thing I admire about Kuzma is his unwavering confidence. He truly has no idea that he’s not as good as he thinks." - Killer_Z
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danzag
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 3:42 am    Post subject:

Can we have a game without any injuries, please?
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akgolf
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 4:32 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB (
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