LAKERS -at- SUNS - 5/27 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings
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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 10:24 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- SUNS - 5/27 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Home Sweet Home... Playoff basketball in front of the home crowd. The Lakers championship run missed that.

Tonight, they were able to feel a taste of that playoff atmosphere in front of a partial Staples crowd.

The Lakers didn’t give them a lot to cheer about early on as the two teams had a 16-12 scoring/defensive battle in the second quarter. By halftime, the Lakers scratched out a small lead, but it wasn’t until LeBron came out with a different intention in the second half that things changed.

LeBron had 10 points in the third and AD poured in 18 as the duo was aggressive to take a 13-point lead heading into the fourth (both choked uncontested dunks, too). But LeBron, for the first time in this series, made an emphasis to try to get to the rim and was having some success.

At home, you expect a little more out of your role players. Wes Matthews sank two big threes early in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers pushed out to an 18-point lead with 9:34 to play.

Staples got loud as LeBron looked to go to work against Crowder. With the bench on its feet, he spun away from Crowder in the post and reversed around the help D. The bench went crazy as the Lakers stretched the lead to 21 with 7 minutes left.

With some unforced errors and Suns made threes, the lead was trimmed to 12 with 4:16. Vogel called a timeout. Time for the closing lineup. He sat Gasol and brought in AC (no KCP who tweaked a knee, so Wes in). It was an ugly stretch and felt like turnover after turnover after turnover by the Lakers as they played with fire and the Suns hit threes.

But a huge make by Schröder on a drive over Ayton pushed the lead to 11. He hit another midrange pull-up next time down. A steal by Schröder, but he was called for an offensive foul on the break, and the Lakers couldn’t quite get that comfortable separation.

The Lakers bum hunted Booker on D when they needed scores late. Lebron drew FTs on him with 1:34 to go up by 10. They went after him on another possession. Then they got him in the crosshairs as Dennis called for Booker’s man to bring him over. Booker took a hard foul on Schröder on the drive, pushing him for a flagrant-2 with 35 seconds left. Booker was ejected. Before we could even take our FTs, Crowder was tossed, too. It wouldn’t surprise me if that left a bad taste in the Lakers mouth in the next game. It certainly did after this one.

“It’s a dirty play,” AD said. No one likes getting pushed while in the air on a drive. It’s dangerous.

Despite the antics from the Suns, the Lakers held on for the 109-95 win.

“We fed off the crowd tonight,” AD said.

Good to see LeBron flex a little in that second half to get us the separation.


LeBron -- -- Well, we’ve been talking about it. Again, tonight, no drives in the first half. He had a layup off a spin move in the post. He had just 5 points on 2-6 shooting in the first half. His 4 assists came with 4 turnovers. Hard for the Lakers to stay afloat without LeBron being LeBron. So in the third, he got aggressive. The first several plays he was in attack mode. The Suns felt it as the Lakers forced two timeouts on a 16-6 run to start the quarter. It wasn’t that LeBron was especially explosive. He was just aggressive. That got them their separation. If he’s healthy and able, he’s a problem for the Suns. It seemed like he was really testing it tonight to see what he could do in that third. “He set the tone in the third quarter. He’s feeling good. He’s telling me he’s still got another gear,” AD said. Yep. We didn’t see that other gear yet, but he certainly changed gears in the second half. He was having a little fun going at Crowder in that fourth and the fans loved it. A lot of talk going on. Eventually, Crowder got tossed yapping at Schröder after that flagrant. Loved seeing LeBron call for Wes to come over so he could get Booker switching on him. Look for the Lakers to take that up again in the next one. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-19 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 9 assists, 1 steal, 7 turnovers and no fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +15.

Davis -- -- He scored 10 points in the first quarter as we found him in the paint on some nice passing sequences (two-man game with AC, lob from Kuz, b bounce pass from LBJ as the Suns looked to help). Our offense died in the second quarter and he had just 2 points, getting to the line once. He had a great block from behind on Booker, but came down on a foot to twist his knee slightly. “A little discomfort but not enough to keep me out,” AD said. He was a little stiff to start the second half. His teammates didn’t back down from throwing him some lobs and AD went after them. “After the first couple minutes in the third, I didn’t even think about it,” he said. He was a beast in that third quarter. We were shelling the Suns and AD had an opportunity to help break the back with a massive throwdown down the lane, but choked it. Early in the game, AD took an elbow to the face from Ayton. Unintentional, but no call, either. I’d really like to see the Lakers get Ayton in some early foul trouble. The Suns are in trouble in those minutes when Ayton is off the floor. We start to get real aggressive at going at the rim. AD seems to catch Ayton for a foul or two every game when he gets mobile and on the move. AD got to the line 10 times in the second half. That’s what we want to see. The Stats: He scored 34 points on 11-22 shooting (0-2 from three, 12-14 from the line) to go with 11 boards (6 offensive), 1 steal, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a +11.

Schröder -- -- He had 9 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. That’s just huge. When you can manufacture FTs, get an occasional layup, hit a jumper or two, that takes a big load off your superstars. He had 8 points on 3-6 shooting in the first half. Most of his misses from three were way short tonight. He hit one, but his legs weren’t in his other ones. Some good setups for AD in that second half. He found him for a lob on the break and another time for FTs. Some big buckets from Schröder tonight. Regarding the Booker stuff, you could see Booker yapping at Dennis from behind a few minutes prior to that while Dennis shot FTs. We started hunting Booker. After feeling like a chump after a few of those, Booker did what chumps do and pushed him hard. “Anytime someone gets airborne shoving them in the air can be dangerous,” LeBron said. Booker had 19 points on 19 shots, Denns had 20 on 11. We got 34 from AD, 21 from LeBron and another 20 from Schröder. You would think the Suns would really try to make an effort to take Schröder out of that equation, but he’s crafty with that speed and causing problems. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 6-11 shooting (1-4 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a +6.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- The Lakers said it was a quad contusion with 4:16 left in the third quarter and he went to the locker room. KCP said afterward he hyperextended his knee. I’d much rather have it be a contusion. It happened Booker went to put him in jail with an abrupt hostage dribble play. He may not be shooting well, but KCP has been hounding Booker relentlessly. Hopefully, he bounces back quickly, but I could see them sitting him a game to help. He said they are going to see how it reacts tonight and will know more tomorrow. That certainly isn’t going to make finding his shot easier. KCP had a couple of layups in this one. The first came off a perimeter steal, the second was an offensive board in a crowd. He’d also sink a tech FT. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +10.

Drummond -- -- He destroyed Booker on a drive early on. Just ate that up and spiked it. Ayton was able to do his usual damage on us early on. We’re trying to defend the three line and and help on the screens so it’s not going to be easy on our bigs. In the second half, the shots for Ayton were a few feet further from the rim and that made a big difference. If we can get a body on him a few feet outside that restricted area, it makes a big difference. Offensively, we saw LeBron find him on a lob when Ayton was out and we attacked the back up big. He scored on a spin move in the post and in the second half another bucket off a LeBron feed. They kept him off the offensive glass a little better but he still kept some alive. With LeBron not being aggressive in that first half, we really need Drummond to hit those boards hard and get us extra possessions. When Lebron is in attack mode, then he needs to get out of the way and crash off of those drives. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting to go with 11 boards (3 offensive), 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +12.

Gasol -- -- No real integration of him in the first half. The only standout play was a recipient of a bogus foul, standing there as a man ran into him. He had 3 fouls in the first half in 6 minutes (-2 in the half). We started to run our corner sequences in the second half, but our screens and cuts were a bit sloppy. And we also saw Gasol get blindsided for a steal. He hit a big three with 8:15 left and then stripped a man on the other end to get a stop. The Lakers are really searching for ways to help those non-LeBron minutes. Trezz is out of the equation now (although he did manage to pick up a tech from the bench in this one.) We had a good stretch in the third where we extended the lead by 3 when LeBron sat. Our offense should have other sequences for Gasol than we see, but it’s still really basic. Once teams see those corner plays, we don’t have a lot more drawn up like we should. We saw the Suns try to disrupt that initial high entry post pass by fronting him a little. That was a new wrinkle on the defense there. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting from three to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -11.

Kuzma -- -- Great job on the offensive glass tonight (and glass in general). Clear intent to get him going more in this one. He got 16 first half minutes and scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting (1-5 from three...although one of those was a running three attempt at the buzzer). Defensively, his mobility was really effective. On that three, it came after an ATO. We also ran a couple sequences just for him to cut. So there was a more concerted effort to get going. His most aggressive play was circling around the key and then attacking baseline to throw a lob up to AD for a dunk. Late in the game, he had a huge offensive board and foul for FTs. Loved seeing him hit the offensive glass late in this one. This is what we mentioned he needs to do. He’s finding that part of his game again as he’s playing off his stars. Let’s see if he can have a double digit effort in the next one. Kuz hit another three when the game was over on an inbounds. He’s finding some things and we’re trying to help him. We just need the shot to drop. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-12 shooting (2-8 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards (3 offensive) to go with 3 assists and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a +14.

Caruso -- -- Love seeing him cut when the ball is in LeBron’s hands. If you cut hard and with purpose, Bron’s going to find you. They teamed up early on for a couple of layups. AC is generally trying to do something on the weakside. Sometimes those hard cuts can turn into screens and will trigger passes from LeBron to others. He stripped Booker once defensively and had a couple of blocks in this game. If KCP can’t go in the next game, I assume we start Wes over AC, but maybe not. We may want AC on Booker to start. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a +5.

Matthews -- -- Man, a couple of big threes early in that fourth to push the lead out to 18 points. That was huge. The bench went 5-15 from three. I’ll take average shooting at this point. Do that and it makes a difference. Defensively, we put him on both CP3 and Booker. I’ve been a little leery about the Booker matchup as he’s played well against Wes at times in the past few years. We saw Booker try to take him into the post on iso and Wes got the stop. We also saw Booker called for a clear-out foul on a recovery by Wes on D. Scrappy two-way minutes from Wes and that’s what playoff wins are about and why we got him. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-5 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +8.

McLemore -- -- He came in midway through the second quarter. Not quite taking THT’s spot in the rotation, but filling 4 minutes of those to provide some floor spacing. We put him on Crowder defensively, which meant he could stand on the perimeter on occasion. The lack of Suns zone defense was apparent in this one with no THT out there. Ben missed his only attempt from three (he had a man on him). The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three and had 1 board to go with 1 foul in 4 minutes. He was a +0.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Let’s look at the start of the third and the start of the fourth. To start that second half, we clearly had intention to get LeBron attacking. Once he did, the game changed. We had that 16-6 run and got a little separation. “His mindset change the whole course of the game,” Vogel said. Second moment was in that fourth quarter when Wes Matthews hit a couple of threes in a row. We needed a bench player to step up and those were big. That gave us that second push to get a little more separation.

Key Substitution: Let’s go with some Vogel thinking in that third quarter. First, he was concerned about AD and wanted to pull him from the game. He wasn’t moving well. Vogel talked to his medical staff and they said it was just pain AD needed to play through. So we kept him in and he dropped a big quarter on the Suns. Second key moment in that quarter was when KCP got injured with 4:16 left in the third. We were able to bring in AC and run Wes more and not skip a beat during that stretch.

Key Stats: Holding the Suns to 95 points. We scored just 16 points in the second quarter. That could be devastating in a game, but the Lakers held the Suns to just 12 points in that quarter. Another key stat, CP3 played 27 minutes and was a -20 with 7 points. They didn’t give him any easy ones and CP3 is not a good defender these days, either.

Coach’s Challenge: First dang play of the game, just 15 seconds in. This has to be a record for the earliest challenge ever. AD goes to close out to Crowder in the corner and is called for a foul on a three. AD was ticked. Vogel was ticked. Challenge unsuccessful. Glad they didn’t need it later.
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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 10:34 pm    Post subject:

first
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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 10:34 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

First playoff win at Staples in a long time.
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PostPosted: Thu May 27, 2021 10:53 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Great second half surge to punish the Suns. Their aggressive nature on both ends reminded me of last year. AD yet another big game, and LBJ showing us a bit more than the first two games.

Hats off to DS for how he broke the Suns momentum as the 4th wound down. Also, despite some questionable hands, Dre also did pretty well with defense and boards.

Have to say, while I was frustrated with the dirty play, I got some satisfaction seeing the Suns melt down as the 4th came to an end. Hopefully the Lakers can push that next game and put a real choke-hold on the series. And just imagine if the team starts hitting 3s...if they do that and keep being assertive on both ends, Suns will be in trouble.

Onto the next one - let's do this!
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 3:40 am    Post subject:

Felt after game 2 there was some chemistry built with the big 4 of AD, LBJ, Dennis, and AD2.

We are further seeing that now.

Drummond (AD2) is a guy that has a real role now. He is the rim protection guy who controls the glass and is physical. A lot of Dwight Howard style physical play, only with much better game around the basket. Or, we just trust him more and actually look for him on lobs.

Dennis, again, attacking the basket. Knew the Suns would adjust a little, and we saw 1st half they were packing it in. He had some questionable TOs and passes. But he cleaned it up, and finished very strong. Especially when AD sets picks for him, it is a load for the other team as they do not want to leave AD to go help on Dennis driving. They fear AD will roll and get easy action around the basket. Those layup attempts have to keep coming.

AD is just a monster, and we are looking at him like a #1 option. Love how we are playing around him, and love his activity rate and confidence. Bron, is just who he is. I was saying after the last game. I do not think Bron not getting to the basket is injury related. For sure he is somewhat limited, but he also picks apart the opposing team on offense as the series goes on, and keeps them guessing, what way he will attack. When they began to fear his passes, he just destroyed them with penetration.

Overall, our bench (or role guys) still sucks at shooting the ball. We won this game, again, by having a coach like Vogel who has this team playing exceptional D. I was hoping that this would kick in the playoffs. Vogel style D, Bron IQ and AD unleashing his playoff level. Not only are we getting those 3 (The core of our success and identity) we are now getting AD2 and Dennis to shine in their roles as well.

We just need to keep at it. I do not expect a title, but damn do we have the talent and when we play defense and run, it is scary to face us.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 5:27 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!

The Suns are on the ropes. Let's finish them on Sunday.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 5:44 am    Post subject:

Quote:
“He set the tone in the third quarter. He’s feeling good. He’s telling me he’s still got another gear,” AD said. Yep. We didn’t see that other gear yet, but he certainly changed gears in the second half.


I wanted to smack Charles Barkley at half-time because he was ragging on LBJ for not showing up. I thought, you fool, he's saving it for the second half. And the rest of the playoffs. LBJ is smart to conserve his energy and body until the team needs it the most. It reminds me why I never take anything Charles says seriously.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 5:57 am    Post subject:

Another little thing, not sure if others picked up on it. But later on in the game, in his second stint.

Marc was fantastic at a little intangible that will not show up on the stat sheet at all. He was getting the ball at the 3 point line, and AD was cutting, and he would get AD the ball at PERFECT timing on the pass each time.

Post entry, or feeding the ball into the paint, is one of the skills the majority of the NBA has lost. For our team to be successful, we have to have some players who do that. Bron is definitely one of them. But when Bron sits, we need Marc to be that guy.

I love those little sequences where AD comes off the ball and Marc is feeding him. That is what I envisioned when we signed Marc.

He got a lot of heat all season from some, but I defended Marc, feeling his skills would showcase. Even now, it goes mostly unnoticed. The little things he does, that a typical Center can not even think of doing. Those 15 minutes Marc plays, are a must, for us to establish winning habits and consistencies that are otherwise only established when Bron is out there.


Last edited by wolfpaclaker on Fri May 28, 2021 5:59 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 5:58 am    Post subject:

ChefLinda wrote:
Quote:
“He set the tone in the third quarter. He’s feeling good. He’s telling me he’s still got another gear,” AD said. Yep. We didn’t see that other gear yet, but he certainly changed gears in the second half.


I wanted to smack Charles Barkley at half-time because he was ragging on LBJ for not showing up. I thought, you fool, he's saving it for the second half. And the rest of the playoffs. LBJ is smart to conserve his energy and body until the team needs it the most. It reminds me why I never take anything Charles says seriously.


Chuck doesn't know (bleep) about basketball. He's only there for comedic purposes.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 6:01 am    Post subject:

danzag wrote:
ChefLinda wrote:
Quote:
“He set the tone in the third quarter. He’s feeling good. He’s telling me he’s still got another gear,” AD said. Yep. We didn’t see that other gear yet, but he certainly changed gears in the second half.


I wanted to smack Charles Barkley at half-time because he was ragging on LBJ for not showing up. I thought, you fool, he's saving it for the second half. And the rest of the playoffs. LBJ is smart to conserve his energy and body until the team needs it the most. It reminds me why I never take anything Charles says seriously.


Chuck doesn't know (bleep) about basketball. He's only there for comedic purposes.

Remember, he picked the Blazers to beat us last season, and then sweep us. Now I am not saying he is wrong about the Lakers this year, they have had a very tough season and a championship run may not be realistic. Especially before these last 2 games. We did not show any of this chemistry and execution all season. But after these 2 games, I think we can start to sense we may be legit ready to do some damage if we can stay healthy and focused.

Chuck, is just there for the contrarian argument and comedy IMO.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 6:52 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
danzag wrote:
ChefLinda wrote:
Quote:
“He set the tone in the third quarter. He’s feeling good. He’s telling me he’s still got another gear,” AD said. Yep. We didn’t see that other gear yet, but he certainly changed gears in the second half.


I wanted to smack Charles Barkley at half-time because he was ragging on LBJ for not showing up. I thought, you fool, he's saving it for the second half. And the rest of the playoffs. LBJ is smart to conserve his energy and body until the team needs it the most. It reminds me why I never take anything Charles says seriously.


Chuck doesn't know (bleep) about basketball. He's only there for comedic purposes.

Remember, he picked the Blazers to beat us last season, and then sweep us. Now I am not saying he is wrong about the Lakers this year, they have had a very tough season and a championship run may not be realistic. Especially before these last 2 games. We did not show any of this chemistry and execution all season. But after these 2 games, I think we can start to sense we may be legit ready to do some damage if we can stay healthy and focused.

Chuck, is just there for the contrarian argument and comedy IMO.


Barkley is a stooge and should be an automatic "ignore" when it comes to Lakers analysis or takes.

Las night... that Lakers styfling defense was a thing of beauty, LBJ getting in the paint, AD with another monster game

I still scratch my head on why the Lakers are having a hard time containing Ayton, he's nothing special more like Elden Campbell 2.0

Lakers are in the Suns cubs heads!!! No mercy on Sunday. If the Lakers can get one or 2 of their role players to hit some shots, it will be lights-out Shmuns
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 7:03 am    Post subject:

TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Thanks DB!

First playoff win at Staples in a long time.


And much needed! Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 9:04 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
Felt after game 2 there was some chemistry built with the big 4 of AD, LBJ, Dennis, and AD2.


We've got out starters and our closers figured out this series. It's the in-between, especially non-Bron minutes, we're searching for answers. Which is expected. But the fact that we don't have to worry about starters/closers means we're likely going to fine tune those other lineups and squeeze the Suns more.


Quote:
Bron, is just who he is. I was saying after the last game. I do not think Bron not getting to the basket is injury related. For sure he is somewhat limited, but he also picks apart the opposing team on offense as the series goes on, and keeps them guessing, what way he will attack. When they began to fear his passes, he just destroyed them with penetration.


Like I said, he was aggressive, but not explosive. That made a big difference. This is still very much an issue for me as he basically just went from like 60% LeBron to maybe 70%-75%. Playoff Bron is a beast because of how much he gets to the rim. Other teams are going to be a little more equipped to deal with him depending on who we play, so we will need him to get to that next gear he hasn't shown yet. Hopefully, it's just a matter of time and healing more.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 9:26 am    Post subject:

I was wondering if Lebron received some treatment during the half. While he wasn't explosive, he was less tentative about penetration in the third. He was parked in three point land for much of the first, which limited both scoring and facilitating.

Lebron energized that team the second half. The game started out well for the Lakers as Davis asserted himself, but outside of Schröder there wasn't much aggression. The team seemingly contented themselves with over-passing and jacking up threes, which led to wasted first half opportunities. In particularly it felt like the game was there for the taking in the second quarter but the team wasn't seizing on the opportunity
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 10:03 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Great win punctuated by the Suns hotheads, Bratty Booker and Crappy Crowder, losing it and being ejected.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 11:24 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Felt like a real playoff game, noisy fans and testy opponents.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 12:06 pm    Post subject:

DS has been a revelation.

Can't believe how well he's playing
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 12:46 pm    Post subject:

angrypuppy wrote:
I was wondering if Lebron received some treatment during the half. While he wasn't explosive, he was less tentative about penetration in the third. He was parked in three point land for much of the first, which limited both scoring and facilitating.


In my mind, he's seemingly seeing if he can be effective from the perimeter early on and going with that if he can. I think teams might start playing him as a passer in the first half, then look for him to drive more in the second half.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 12:49 pm    Post subject:

lordtrapula wrote:
DS has been a revelation.

Can't believe how well he's playing


He had some good moments in the playoffs last year.

What we want from him is a more consistent "Playoff Rondo" type of impact than we got last year. We really need to figure out some ways for him to carry the team when LeBron is resting.
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:15 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
lordtrapula wrote:
DS has been a revelation.

Can't believe how well he's playing


He had some good moments in the playoffs last year.

What we want from him is a more consistent "Playoff Rondo" type of impact than we got last year. We really need to figure out some ways for him to carry the team when LeBron is resting.


Doubt he can replicate Rondo's playmaking but so far it seems like he's a better defender/scorer so far which has been nice to see.

There are not many great guard defenders teams have out west besides the Lakers so hopefully he can keep this up.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 4:39 pm    Post subject:

lordtrapula wrote:
DancingBarry wrote:
lordtrapula wrote:
DS has been a revelation.

Can't believe how well he's playing
He had some good moments in the playoffs last year.

What we want from him is a more consistent "Playoff Rondo" type of impact than we got last year. We really need to figure out some ways for him to carry the team when LeBron is resting.
Doubt he can replicate Rondo's playmaking but so far it seems like he's a better defender/scorer so far which has been nice to see.

There are not many great guard defenders teams have out west besides the Lakers so hopefully he can keep this up.
Agree that DS's responsibility should be to make a positive impact on games on a greater length of time given that he is the starting PG.

With Gasol playing with DS in the second unit . . . . . . . with hopefully Kuzma hitting at least 30% of his outside shots
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PostPosted: Fri May 28, 2021 6:55 pm    Post subject:

I've been tough on DS all season, but he's been great lately.

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sat May 29, 2021 3:30 am    Post subject:

Do not love the 3:30 start time for the next game tomorrow. Actually 12:30 PST. So the Lakers need to be ready for that, they lost game 1 at a similar start time. Gotta correct that mistake, bring that energy right from the get go.

What adjustments do the Suns make?

One, they may play with their series on the line, with more urgency than us. This is a concern (especially with game being a 12:30 start time). We have been the more physical and active team, this should not change in game 4.

Two, with our shooting issues, they may run a lot of zone.

I believe we have the Suns figured out and know what it takes to beat them. As the great Kobe would say, it is just about execution now. However, Lebron and AD have to ensure the team does not take it's foot off the pedal at all. We are in this position because we are physically dominant, and can not take it for granted it will just show up.
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PostPosted: Sun May 30, 2021 12:03 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
What adjustments do the Suns make?

Two, with our shooting issues, they may run a lot of zone.

I believe we have the Suns figured out and know what it takes to beat them. As the great Kobe would say, it is just about execution now. However, Lebron and AD have to ensure the team does not take it's foot off the pedal at all. We are in this position because we are physically dominant, and can not take it for granted it will just show up.
If the Suns go to a match-up zone, important for either AD2/AD/Gasol catch the ball at the high post (Gasol) or low block (AD2) to force the Suns' defense to collapse with constant player movement with backdoor action.

This should be Kuz's time to shine but he isn;t available to deliver with the necessary shooting. Hence the need to have either DS, LBJ and/or AD on the court to be the knockdown shooters.
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Sun May 30, 2021 3:44 am    Post subject:

Agreed.

The start time, I hope we do not make the same mistakes as last Sunday. Did not start off or play with the right energy. The Suns are going to be playing for their playoff lives. We have to match that intensity. Now that we have the chemistry and formula a little figured out, it is all about our effort level.

Some injuries on our end to KCP and Anthony Davis.

At some point in this series, our bench and role guys need to get going.

Look forward to this one, want to get on the Suns and not let them even think that they have a shot at coming back.
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