LAKERS -at- THUNDER - 12/10 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 10:43 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- THUNDER - 12/10 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Taking Care of Business...Finally... OKC. Our nemesis. We should be 16-11, not 14-13, but two painful losses while choking big leads against OKC cost the team.

Once again, the Lakers got off to a strong start in this one, pulling together an 11-0 run midway through the first quarter behind 8 points from an unlikely source -- Avery Bradley, who would finish the night with 22 points. Bradley knocked down 6 threes on the night.

The Lakers would extend to a 25-point lead in the second quarter, but like the last couple games against OKC, they saw that lead trimmed down as it fell to as low as 12 when the Thunder put on a 12-0 run.

Unlike the previous OKC games, the Lakers had LeBron and rallied back at the end of half as he scored 14 points in that second quarter.

“I’m happy the way I’m feeling as of late,” LeBron said of his health. He’s stringing together games finally and also finishing strong at the rim. He’d finish with 33 on the second night of the back-to-back.

The Lakers would carry that momentum through to the third quarter with continued contributions from Bradley and also rookie Austin Reaves.

“We really bought into that morning film session...and moved the ball beautifully,” Vogel said of the 116-95 win.


LeBron -- -- Beastly at times. He was finishing strong. No soft finishes, dunking on guys with some extra pop and explosion around the rim. He had one play from the elbow where he just muscled right to the front of the rim and hammered on his man. Just too big, too strong. He had another Boston-roll from the wing with Dwight where he put his man in jail, patiently waited for Dwight to get the lane sealed, then finished the easy layup. We get that rim pressure and then he also knocks down the 4-6 from three. The threes look so much better when he’s stepping into them and not stepping to the side and firing. He’s really made a concerted effort on that the past couple of weeks. He had 14 of his 23 first half points in the second quarter as the Lakers met the Thunder’s energy with his energy. We needed that with AD not able to go (and really having some bad individual moments in the last game). “We had the ball popping tonight,” LeBron said. When it’s not, he’s sometimes the reason as he slowed the game down too much during stretches. None of that tonight. The Stats: He scored 33 points on 13-20 shooting (4-6 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +19.

Westbrook -- -- Not a lot of scoring from Russ. He had a board and push out for a layup. His midrange he buried was the ideal situation -- clock low, we need to create a good look. The D will give those up for him anytime. Only time I like them is when the clock is low. A bit sloppy at time spraying the passes around the court or into the stands. If you told me we’d have no AD and Russ would score 8 points with 5 turnover, I’d think that would a loss. The other Laker guards stepped up to carry the scoring load. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-8 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 9 boards, 7 assists, 1 block, 5 turnover and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a +18.

Bradley -- -- It was kind of like having another superstar out there. He destroyed from the three line, just on fire. He had 11 points in the first half and another 11 in the third quarter. Absolutely automatic from three and he mixed in a couple of drives, attacking the hard closes. He had a swing pass in the third that I was wondering why aren’t you shooting that?Great game offensively, but he was disruptive on three, as well, with 4 steals. His hands were aggressively harassing the ball. His most steals in 4 years. SVG didn’t toast us this game. Love keeping a team under 100, but it’s nice having some outside punch from a guard offensively, which really makes me miss Nunn as a weapon on this team. Usually Monk is the guy giving the Lakers the big game from the shooting guard spot. It’s just not consistent from anyone (which is why you hope the addition on Nunn at some point helps get that for you). The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-14 shooting (6-8 from three) to go with 2 boards, 4 steals and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +13.

Howard -- -- Into the starting lineup with AD sidelined. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious because we need AD and we need him to elevate his game. Dwight had some pressure on the offensive glass. His only point came from earning FTs on a putback attempt. One of his offensive boards led to a Bradley three. Set good screens, get boards. He did that tonight. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-1 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +14.

Horton-Tucker -- -- He knocked down a couple of threes. We need so much more of this since he’s been dead from beyond the arc. One was a high arching three from the right side. Another was a wing three on a drive and kick from Russ. We’ve got to have that from him if he’s playing with Russ on the floor. A couple of buckets from layups, including running the inverse screen with LeBron to roll to the hoop for a layup. With Ellington/Monk, we see them pop on the inverse screens. With THT and Reaves, they roll effectively. We’re extremely effective on those plays and need to run them more. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting (2-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +12.

Anthony -- -- His one make was a three on a kickout. I think he even airballed a wide open three. The shot just wasn’t there from distance. No post work to get into his turnarounds. Defensively, he and LeBron worked that centerless lineup decently. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 1-6 shooting (1-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +12.

Reaves -- -- Strong night for the rookie and he got in the mix early (he’d finish with the third most minutes). Well-rounded offensive effort. He’d sink a three, knock down a floater, muscle in a drive, shovel a nice pass to LBJ for a layup. Then show a hell of a move in the fourth quarter. He crossed over, then changed directions between his legs, froze the D with the hesi and then attacked for the layup. Um, what?! So nice. But look at all that, such a well-rounded offensive game there. Defensively, he’s glue for the team. Always making the right rotations, anticipating, looking for guys to box out (especially important when others aren’t). Good to see him get the minutes and make an impact. Career high scoring night. “His NBA body is not there yet, but he’s playing with force,” MWP said in the post game. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-7 shooting (1-3 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +17.

Monk -- :skpetical: -- Quiet night. His one three was off a flare screen. His other score was on a floater. Surprised he only had 1 turnover, seemed like he had back-to-back turnovers in the first half. Defensively, he needs more Austin Reaves in his game. Box out, make the hustle plays and right reads on rotations. It’s especially important for his game, but even more so when the shot isn’t falling. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-9 shooting (1-6 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -2.

Ellington -- -- He hit three threes, but didn’t really have a strong impact in this one. In a blowout, he was a -1. You could feel Bradley’s threes as we were getting stops and the lead ballooned. Our teams from the last two years, you’d feel those threes when they hit them because we weren’t a great shooting team but we got after it on D and got stops. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting (3-8 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover in 18 minutes. He was a -1.

Jordan -- -- He pulled down his 10,000th rebound (only 45 NBA players to hit that mark). We ran him at some backup C, but also went centerless, as well. He scored his bucket on a lob pass from Russ. I liked the flare screen he set for Monk to free him up for a three. We need to do that more for our shooters. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 11 minutes. He was a +1.

Bazemore -- -- In with about 4 minutes left got garbage time. He hit a three for his bucket. Good to see him getting some minutes. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-1 shooting) to go with 2 boards an no fouls in 4 minutes. He was a +2.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Finishing the first half strong after giving up some of the lead. We regained momentum.

Key Substitution: The glue guy. Great to see Reaves get big minutes and lead the bench with 13 points and a +17. More of that, please.

Key Stats: The Lakers shot 10-17 in the first half from three, the Thunder just 3-17. The Lakers didn’t give up any FTs in the first half. They'd hit 19-42 from three (45.2%).
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Koalita
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:35 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB for another excellent write-up!

A decent win against OKC finally.....
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 4:02 am    Post subject:

Bradley, THT and Reaves made up for a bad shooting night from Monk and Melo, who combined for 3 for 15 from the floor.

Lakers were outrebounded and outscored in the paint (by small margins) but had outstanding three point shooting compared to OKC to get the win.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 4:23 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!

The rollercoaster ride continues. Play a (bleep) game, play a good one. Waiting for a debacle for the next one.
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cathy78
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 4:32 am    Post subject:

danzag wrote:
Thanks, DB!

The rollercoaster ride continues. Play a (bleep) game, play a good one. Waiting for a debacle for the next one.

I don't know if I would call that a good game, sure there was more effort and some better ball movement. But if AB would have had an average shooting night this would probably not have been a W.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 4:55 am    Post subject:

cathy78 wrote:
danzag wrote:
Thanks, DB!

The rollercoaster ride continues. Play a (bleep) game, play a good one. Waiting for a debacle for the next one.

I don't know if I would call that a good game, sure there was more effort and some better ball movement. But if AB would have had an average shooting night this would probably not have been a W.


I'll take a 20+ point win with no AD. But it was a "good" game, not a great one.
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 6:01 am    Post subject:

Can't say enough about Reaves. Such a good role player prospect. Brings the IQ of this team above 7 grades, and boy do we need it. The effort is always consistent.

This was a really bad showing by the OKC team. I think they're on a different level (gotten worse) since we last played them. But, we also have made a ton of defensive improvements since the previous 2 games. You're seeing in this game at least way less uncontested dribbling being allowed and much more second and third rotations in line with contesting a shot. OKC had to work a lot harder in this game.

But we still have those casual parts. It happened yesterday again. OKC had so many wide open 3s at one point, I was just fuming. We play well very well for spurts. Then we suddenly completely stop. Like we paused. It didn't hurt us yesterday because OKC couldn't buy an open 3. We do that against a team that's making their shots or a good team, and we've blown our lead and good work.

I still feel the defense slips significantly when Melo, Ellington, Monk all play together. That combination, something's just not right there. They bring our defense down to the toilets. Melo, I love his sniping. His jumper is beautiful. However the combination of Ellington/Melo/Monk. I feel we need to play them with AD/Bron. Or AD/Rondo. There's got to be some lockdown D around them, and some great IQ. Otherwise it's like we're just asking for trouble, as when Melo/Ellington/Monk aren't hitting shots, we start to bleed, especially on D, and allow the other team to get a flow. Once we do, the guys that helped establish good defense, come back in but now are facing a team that's on.
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pio2u
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 6:06 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PenG_
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 7:48 am    Post subject:

We really lucked out with Reaves. Love that dude
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:13 am    Post subject:

PenG_ wrote:
We really lucked out with Reaves. Love that dude


Elite scouting, not just luck, AC is made from the same cloth.
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deal
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:48 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB !
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 10:40 am    Post subject:

Yay Winning!

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:03 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 11:30 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
Can't say enough about Reaves. Such a good role player prospect. Brings the IQ of this team above 7 grades, and boy do we need it. The effort is always consistent.

This was a really bad showing by the OKC team. I think they're on a different level (gotten worse) since we last played them. But, we also have made a ton of defensive improvements since the previous 2 games. You're seeing in this game at least way less uncontested dribbling being allowed and much more second and third rotations in line with contesting a shot. OKC had to work a lot harder in this game.

But we still have those casual parts. It happened yesterday again. OKC had so many wide open 3s at one point, I was just fuming. We play well very well for spurts. Then we suddenly completely stop. Like we paused. It didn't hurt us yesterday because OKC couldn't buy an open 3. We do that against a team that's making their shots or a good team, and we've blown our lead and good work.

I still feel the defense slips significantly when Melo, Ellington, Monk all play together. That combination, something's just not right there. They bring our defense down to the toilets. Melo, I love his sniping. His jumper is beautiful. However the combination of Ellington/Melo/Monk. I feel we need to play them with AD/Bron. Or AD/Rondo. There's got to be some lockdown D around them, and some great IQ. Otherwise it's like we're just asking for trouble, as when Melo/Ellington/Monk aren't hitting shots, we start to bleed, especially on D, and allow the other team to get a flow. Once we do, the guys that helped establish good defense, come back in but now are facing a team that's on.
On Point

As shared in the Post Game Show, let’s put a moratorium that they have “turned the corner.”

Again, the most important game is the next one plus the next three before they face tougher opposition. On the other hand, maybe they need to face playoff bound team to get their attention - either by winning or routed by the upper echelon teams to confirmed the stark reality that they are very far from where they think they should be. This is also a critical time for team leadership from AD to LBJ with Westbrook’s help

Melo/Ellington/Monk hopefully will provide consistency in putting the needed effort so that the Team D will improve

Reeves is a breathe of fresh air with his consistent effort displaying his high basketball IQ. Reeves and THT’s energy often compensate for their inexperience
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LakerSD
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 3:38 pm    Post subject:

Didn’t see any showboating from SGA and company. Finally humbled a trash team, with the help of their own trash shooting lol.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 2:16 pm    Post subject:

------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Bradley THT Lebron Dwight +8
Monk Bradley Reaves Lebron Dwight +2
Monk Bradley Reaves Lebron DJ -1
Russ Monk Reaves Melo DJ +5
------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Ellington Reaves Melo Lebron +3
THT Ellington Reaves Melo Lebron +4
Bradley Ellington Reaves Melo Lebron +4
Bradley Monk Ellington THT Lebron -6
Bradley Monk Ellington THT Dwight -2
Russ Bradley Monk THT Dwight -2
Russ Bradley Reaves Lebron Dwight +1
Russ Bradley Reaves Melo Lebron +3
------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Bradley THT Lebron Dwight +6
Bradley Monk THT Lebron Dwight +1
Russ Bradley Monk Melo DJ -1
Russ Monk Reaves Melo DJ +0
------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Ellington Reaves Melo Lebron -5
THT Ellington Reaves Melo Lebron -1
Russ Reaves THT Melo Lebron +0
Monk Ellington Reaves THT Baze +4
Monk Ellington Reaves Baze DJ -2
------------------------------------------------------------------
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MikeTrout
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 2:23 pm    Post subject:

------------------------------------------------------------------
Russ Bradley THT Lebron Dwight +14
Russ Monk Reaves Melo DJ +5
Bradley Ellington Reaves Melo Lebron +4
Russ Bradley Reaves Melo Lebron +3
THT Ellington Reaves Melo Lebron +3
Monk Bradley Reaves Lebron Dwight +2
Russ Bradley Reaves Lebron Dwight +1
Monk Bradley THT Lebron Dwight +1
Russ Reaves THT Melo Lebron +0
Russ Bradley Monk Melo DJ -1
Monk Bradley Reaves Lebron DJ -1
Russ Ellington Reaves Melo Lebron -2
Monk Bradley Ellington THT Dwight -2
Monk Bradley Ellington THT Lebron -6
------------------------------------------------------------------
Monk Ellington Reaves THT Baze +4
Monk Ellington Reaves Baze DJ -2
------------------------------------------------------------------
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