SPURS -at- LAKERS - 11/14 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 5:08 pm    Post subject: SPURS -at- LAKERS - 11/14 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Return of THT... The Lakers finally had a little more of the cavalry return to the battlefield with THT back in the uniform and suddenly thrust into the starting lineup.

AD gave the Lakers a monster 19-point first quarter to get them off to the start. Vogel switched up his lineup, going with AD/Melo/THT/Bradley/Russ to get more floor spacing while trying to play both Russ/THT on the floor at the same time.

The Lakers never shook the Spurs despite pushing out to double digit leads at times, but they also never fell back big or had any scoreless stretches like the ones that killed them in the last game.

Credit some of the bench for that. Excellent production by Ellington and Monk as Ellington helped space the floor with 5 threes and Monk gave them a well-rounded scoring threat.

THT provided some much needed pressure on the rim in LeBron’s continued absence, No score was bigger than his drive from the wing with 2:15 left and the lead just 2 points. Vogel subbed him in after a Westbrook turnover and put the ball in his hands on multiple possessions while Westbrook stayed off ball.

Melo provided a back-breaking three, and the Lakers took the 114-106 win over the Spurs.


Davis -- -- After calling out the team in the last one, he led the way in the first quarter tonight with a huge 19 points. He’d finish the first half with 27 points on 12-15 shooting. He was going after the rim. He missed his own jumper, followed it up and had a putback jam. He threw a lefty pass off the backboard to himself (hope they didn’t call that one of his misses), then dunked it back down. The team worked their horns strong handoff play for a lob dunk to him. He tipped in a lob from Bradley. Russ found him rolling for a layup. Monk worked the sideline out of bounds actions to set up AD for more scores at the rim. The perimeter touch was also there as he hit a couple of threes, one came off a gaggle action where he popped out to take the pass. In the second half, he drew double and triple teams. A lot of standing around by the team on some of those, but the team took advantage enough (a big kickout to Melo late). I liked seeing the inverse screen action where he attacked off THT’s screen, spun and drew FTs (should have finished the And-1 because that was a highlight reel play for a big). Defensively, he caused problems on switches. I would have liked to see a little more crashing back on the defensive glass at times off of some of those. The Stats: He scored 34 points on 14-24 shooting (2-3 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 15 boards (5 offensive), 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 40 minutes. He was a +0.

Westbrook -- -- Let’s dip into the strategy on the offensive end and why I’m sometimes optimistic that we have the right intention at times with Russ. It’s just not done with the frequency we need. That three by Melo late in the game, you might have noticed that Russ cut just before that. Cuts force defenders to think about you and will carry a defender with you. So we want to see more cuts, screens and dunker positioning from Russ to help with floor spacing (especially when others have the ball and he’s on the weakside). But it’s hard to tell whether something like that cut is intentional. Shortly later, Russ would score a big bucket off an interior feed from AD. This was definitely done with purpose/intention. The positioning of Russ in the dunker spot was exactly what we want to see. You’ve got Melo, THT, Ellington on the perimeter. AD on one side of the paint, Russ on the other. Help goes to AD on that from the baseline, AD finds Russ and we score. After that Russ score, we saw the next possession down the floor that Russ purposely went to that spot again. So it’s crunch time and we want the ball in the hands of others, these are the kinds of actions we want to see. With Russ on the ball, that’s where we want to see more of that side to side passing so he can attack off the screens. We saw some of that, too, but the execution was weak. Come playoff time, you want a lot of reps on this stuff during the regular season. We don’t get enough of it now, but it’s early. Scoring wise, we saw Russ knock down some threes. A couple were at the top of the arc where he seems to shoot better (one just beating the shotclock, which is ideal). He also hit another from the wing. It wouldn’t be a Russ game if we didn’t see something ridiculously head scratching. After that three against the shotclock, Russ had a great steal, took it the distance and went up to throw down a monster dunk and was blocked by the rim. Sigh. He also had 7 turnovers, still a mess there. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-11 shooting (3-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, 7 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +11.

Horton-Tucker -- -- With THT’s return, we sat Bazemore who had been awful of late. (And not just offensively, but having issues on D more than he should have.) We are a little less reliant on others for creation offensively with him on the floor, and it’s a significant increase in impact on that end compared to Baze. This came to play big with the shotclock low, the Lakers up by just 2 and 2:15 left. THT attacked off the three line, hung past the defenders and flipped in a layup over the front of the rim. That was a huge make right after Vogel called a timeout. Note we put the ball in THT’s hands quite a bit in the final couple of minutes. It went reasonably well until he lost the ball with 40 seconds left. The question is how much can we play THT and Russ on the floor together as both have had floor spacing issues. If THT hits his threes enough, problem solved. If not? Then you’ve really got to execute with perfection. The above discussion in Russ’s section is a big part of that. But hard to say how doable that is if it’s LeBron with the ball in his hands instead of THT, a situation where you’ve got both Russ and THT off ball instead of just one. That’s not easy (THT just 1-5 from three tonight). So, hit your threes Talen! Good job attacking in transition for layups. He also worked the horns strong handoff play into a lob to AD. “He’s able to play both sides of the ball,” Vogel said, mentioning how much pressure he puts on the rim. Points at the rim and also drawing help D to him on the drives, that stuff opens up our bigs. On the defensive side, we saw some good challenges for THT on iso D. He also drew a charge and stole a bounce pass under the hoop. The team D we will give a few more games for him to get back into the swing of thighs to see where he’s really at. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-14 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +14.

Anthony -- -- He got the start tonight. I’m assuming when LeBron is back, Melo returns to his bench role. But the Spurs were certainly a team we could play a little smaller against (even if we didn’t look great at it sometimes). His aggressiveness offensively and floor spacing causes the D a lot of problems. If they give him space of any kind, you’re in trouble. Very efficient tonight. He had a 4-point play getting hit on a three. He hit a huge backbreaker of a three with 1:45 left on a kickout from AD. Defensively, I still see him communicating and scramming smaller defenders as he takes bigger ones on switches. So some continued good moments there. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-7 shooting (2-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -6.

Bradley -- -- Quiet night from AB as he didn’t score, missing a couple of corner threes. Defensively, he blocked a baseline drive. Fouled another player on a baseline rotation (rim collision is what Vogel wants even if you are small). Smart teams will position our guard in the help rotations at the rim, so you might see more of that. This is one of the areas missing AC hurts or a guy like Green at the SG, but we also hope that THT with his huge wingspan could help with some of those rotations. It will be a factor on whether AB stays in the starting lineup when we are completely healthy. Vogel will likely want to get more size in our guards out there. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +0.

Howard -- -- A lot more of AD at the C. There was a brief overlap with Dwight and AD but not much. Dwight got his only bucket off a SLOB action that gets us into a quick screen and roll. Some good pressure on the offensive glass from Dwight. His other point was off a FT after grabbing an airball. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards (3 offensive), 1 block and 1 foul in 10 minutes. He was a +2.


Monk -- -- Nice one from Monk again. He put quite a bit of pressure on the rim in transition and in the half court. He had some great moments running pick and roll off some SLOB actions that we run. One resulted in a layup for Dwight and another to AD for a dunk. After that AD one, he hit AD next time down court with a bounce pass as he rolled for another dunk. If they don’t close on him, he’s got that floater in his game that can cause problems, as well. He had a tough, highlight finish on a baseline attack that was over a couple of defenders and reaching back from behind the backboard to score over them. A couple threes tonight, including one to just beat the shotclock. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +8.

Ellington -- -- Having him able to cover a guy like McDermott is good for us. He can stay out on the perimeter or play to his strength in lock and trailing shooters. When we can get minutes for him, then the three ball threat opens up the floor. We got him 30 minutes, he got us 5 threes. He sank three threes in the first half. I like those ones that come off an AD double where the ball moves and we make them pay for sending that help. He also hit an inside-out three from AD to bust the zone in one sequence. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-8 shooting (5-7 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +12.

Rondo -- -- At least a couple of those threes from Ellington came off Rondo passes. One was a kickout to a swing to Wayne. Another was Rondo orchestrating the break and finding Wayne after the D had to take away other threats. Rondo didn’t score himself, missing both threes he took, which I believe were both in transition. Once Nunn is ready, those Rondo minutes will likely end. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting from three to go with 1 board, 7 assists, 1 steal, turnover and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -1.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: After a Russ turnover that led to a transition three to cut the lead to 2 with 2:39 left, Vogel called a timeout. He brought THT in and he got us a key bucket.

Key Substitution: Let’s dig into that above substitution a little more. Russ coughed it up, the Spurs then took advantage for a big score. When THT came back in for Bradley, we put the ball more in his hands and moved Russ off ball. Vogel seemed acutely aware of Russ killing him, lol.

Key Stats: The Lakers shot 15-31 from three (48.4%). They softened the middle with AD early on, then got consistent perimeter shooting from the team. I’d like a bit more improved execution against some of those AD double teams that were sent in the second half. We have a great tendency to do nothing, standing around the perimeter instead of running any designed actions.
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pio2u
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 5:15 pm    Post subject:

Thanks again DB!!
    GO LAKERS!!
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mhan00
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 5:45 pm    Post subject:

Always an adventure, lol. Just glad we got the win.
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 5:54 pm    Post subject:

mhan00 wrote:
Always an adventure, lol. Just glad we got the win.

No lead is ever safe, no play is ever sustainable lol

It's because we play at such a high pace now, the possessions are so much more. When we get cold on O, the opponent can go off and get that many more possessions. Now factor Russ is a high TO point, and we are a high TO team, it's just asking for leads to be taken away.

It can get better when we have a PG that can manage the game. Already just with THT you saw some secondary guard action vs Bazemore. We saw more playmaking and less reliance on Russ in those minutes.

Got the win overall which is key, because tomorrow we face a tough Bulls team.
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 5:57 pm    Post subject:

Melo, Ellington, Monk - if they continue to defend as they have been (although I felt Melo struggled in this one a bit on D against the smalls) which is solid enough - they are staples in lineups. We probably need at least 2 of them in all our lineups with Westbrook. Sometimes, we should run all 3. As the season develops, I think Frank has to iron out who is 2 good reliable shooters are for each lineup. There has to be at least 2 good shooters out there in each lineup, IMO, because we're such a paint dominant team.
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 6:26 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Didnt watch this one (just listened on radio or watched the numbers on gamecast), will hopefully get some viewing on replay tonight.
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 6:29 pm    Post subject:

For once we played pretty well in the 3rd quarter, outscoring SA 30-24. We took a 5-point halftime lead and stretched it to 13 at one point, and won by 8. Not bad, especially without LeBron.

I have a feeling the Lakers will be up for the Bulls tomorrow and will at least compete hard.
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 6:36 pm    Post subject:

THANK YOU, DB!
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:04 pm    Post subject:

They are a completely different team with Talen Horton Tucker instead of Kent Bazemore
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:07 pm    Post subject:

Thank you DB!

Regarding AD's performance, while he was awesome in the first quarter and the first half, it seems either the Spurs found a way to stop him after halftime or he just faded into the law of averages (2-9 in FG)
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 9:27 pm    Post subject:

Just gotta say, it's good to see THT came in and immediately made a difference. Very happy to see this. I'm hoping he can dial in that 3, at least enough to draw defenders, don't care if he's elite at it.
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 10:17 pm    Post subject:

Interesting Westbrook observation, DB. Some good stuff to keep an eye on going forward.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 4:04 am    Post subject:

Koalita wrote:
Thank you DB!

Regarding AD's performance, while he was awesome in the first quarter and the first half, it seems either the Spurs found a way to stop him after halftime or he just faded into the law of averages (2-9 in FG)


He was getting doubled on every possession after that big first quarter

Thanks, DB
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manlisten
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 7:30 am    Post subject:

DB, what observations do you have about how the team performs without DeAndre Jordan? AD seems to have a lot more freedom to work in the paint and was dominant in the 1st when DJ would normally be out there.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 12:39 pm    Post subject:

manlisten wrote:
DB, what observations do you have about how the team performs without DeAndre Jordan? AD seems to have a lot more freedom to work in the paint and was dominant in the 1st when DJ would normally be out there.


I think I mentioned this way back in preseason, but anytime he's with another big like that, it will push him further from the rim obviously. And his three shooting last year was sub par, so I don't see him as a full floor spacer. But the paint is a bit packed if you want lobs and two-man actions. Harder to get running starts at the rim for him. The help will be bigger/longer.

But there is also a domino effect. We can struggle to put pressure on the rim from guards with two bigs out there. Teams can keep their shotblocking big back in the paint more often instead of out high dealing with screens, etc. I want Russ/LeBron/THT to be able to overpower smaller defenders with fewer opportunities for help. I want help on AD to be smaller.

We don't need to be bigger than other teams big lineups. We need our small ball lineups to be much bigger/stronger than other team's small ball.

Defensively, we can be more switchy. I really want to see guards try to go at AD and bigs trying to do something with Westbrook, who is strong and can hold his own. We are uniquely built. That causes teams issues when their bread and butter plays become tougher.
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 1:20 pm    Post subject:

We outrebounded SAS, we outscored SAS in the paint and we had more fast break points than SAS.

Formula for a win.
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