Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 9:55 pm Post subject: LAKERS -at- CLIPPERS – 3-3-22 - DIY Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
Wolf has the recap tonight. Props to him pushing through the this one.
wolfpaclaker wrote:
When the going gets tough, just, QUIT.
That's just how I describe this team right now. No fight, no passion. A team that knew perhaps that Lebron/AD wanted them traded for better pieces, but that the front office wasn't willing to give up the draft picks. A team where the only guys that try, are borderline NBA level rotation guys. The minute there's a little bleeding, it becomes a massive all out blood bath. There's no cohesive group mentality on this team. Even when they play well, it just takes a few minutes of hurt to cause an all out destruction. Good teams can weather through those little parts of the game where they struggle. This team cannot.
Starters: Howard/Lebron/Reaves/Monk/Westbrook. 1 change, Howard in for Stanley. Second half we started Lebron/Melo/Reaves/Monk/Westbrook.
Lebron: Great chase down block, got a putback off a Monk missed 3. Great pass to Reaves in transition. When he came back in the game to close the 1st Q, really bad job. Didn't close the Q strong as a leader. The Clips did. Better close to the 2nd Q, and helped bring the Lakers back in the game. 3rd Q, he had a play where he was ticked off they didn't count the and 1. That hurt us, but so did our energy. Lebron isn't really moving on defense, and neither are the other guys. This is the second season out of 4 where Lebron led Lakers are completely giving up. You never saw that with Kobe when Kobe still could play. Sure, when Kobe was physically finished, yes. Lebron can still play. He's still a top 10 player. I really question his leadership at the moment. Lebron, is he playing for a championship or the scoring record? Certainly he could want both and it can come organically, but it seems there's no focus on defensive commitment like we saw in Vogel's first year from Lebron. A lot of 3 ball attempts/settling from Lebron as well. As good as Lebron was playing in December when AD was out, this second run without AD. Lebron has been basically been a guy putting up stats on a bad team. A lot of non-impact play from Lebron. It pains me to write that, as Lebron is a proven Laker champion. But he isn't showing leadership. The team without AD has completely crumbled into a team that may not even be able to win more than 5 more games until the RS end.
Westbrook: Found a few spots to iso, scored a few layups. Played effectively and within his limits in the 1st half. Some nice layups. However it does seem often when he goes one on one the defense knows exactly what he's trying to do and they're rejecting/stuffing his layup attempts at the rim more and more. There's not a whole lot Westbrook does for the team. He's not a good defender, he's a horrible shooter and his scoring usually is in situations where players are watching him go to work in a 1 on 4 situation where he's trying to score at the rim. Not his worst game, however a rather uninspired effort.
Monk: Two layups around the basket by off the ball movement. Monk was active in the game to begin the game ... on offense. Pretty much a one way game. A lot of good action where he catches the ball and fakes the 3 and can drive. He's a very effective secondary attacking guard. However I question if he can be a starter. Not consistent enough. and his defense leaves a lot more desired. His IQ as well. A play that you saw Lebron get ticked off at. He's running the break and Lebron is open on the wing and Malik just allows the opponent to foul him instead of making the pass to an open Lebron. Cost the team 2 easy points.
Reaves: Two catch and shoot three pointers made from the corner to start off the game in the 1st Q. Ran the floor and got a basket (and the foul). Made some solid plays, but defensively we're seeing some rookie struggles. Our defensive energy as a whole is bad but Reaves has some limitations as well even though he's one of the few who tries each possession. Hard to get on Reaves, you just like his effort and his high IQ plays. You would love to see him play on a good team with some other high IQ stars. Maybe next year. While there are some good moments between Monk and Reaves, neither should be starting on a team looking to make the playoffs.
Howard: Did a good job in his first stint to set screens and stay out of the paint when needed. Would have liked more presence on defense. But Howard is not the same Howard we had 2 years ago. Second half didn't start and came back in for a stretch when the Lakers were down 25+.
BENCH:
Melo: First in for Howard. Nice offense from him in the mid-post. Two scores in a row with some pop. Scored well, but was part of the 2nd unit that (along with Lebron) really allowed us to lose the lead and momentum we had early. Closed the half with Lebron/Reaves/Monk/Westbrook and did well.
Stanley: In for Lebron. Nice steal and rim drive coast to coast. Other than that, some awful plays on both ends. Just total low IQ plays. Getting tough to see Stanley at times.
Bazemore: Came in the first half, had a pretty non-impact stint. Second half came in when it was garbage time, Clippers already having blown the game out. A better 2nd half where they were trying to eat at that huge Clipper lead.
Augustin: Came in his first stint, for a THT replacement. Didn't really make any impact other than bringing the ball up and initiating some passes. Second half in garbage time got some scores. Nothing impressive.
Vogel: Started Howard, brought Stanley off the bench. This move seemed to backfire as Stanley's minutes were really bad in this game and the bench struggled. But we're trying to get Lebron his scoring title, and Westbrook needs his spacing, so it's pick your poison. Each lineup that doens't have AD has a weakness. When you run Howard, you have size and some rebounding, but you don't have 3 point shooting. When you run Stanley, you have some more speed and spacing but less defense inside. No matter what we run. it seems nothing works this year.
With yet another blowout I keep waiting to read on ESPN or some news that the Lakers have fired Vogel and hired Fizdale as interim. I feel it's coming. You feel this is a team that can probaby stay at or above .500 when AD is available. Without AD, they're a lottery team.
Key numbers:
Clippers shot the ball exceptionally well at 17-27 from 3
Lakers shot the ball ordinarily at 11-34 from 3
This team is too selfish to win. It starts with the captain whose aim is to pad stats and 44 mil PG who can't shoot and doesn't care. Then our most important player is never healthy. Dumpster fire of a game and the season officially ended today. _________________
"Through the legs to the left, through the legs to the right, we don't run them Laker plays, we just Kobe fadeaway..."
Lebron straight up said Clippers are a better team. Look in the mirror dude. That’s not a way to lead a team.
His leadership really is leaving a lot left to be desired. I know we are all spoilt by Kobe, but when Kobe was playing on Lebron's level, he would demand excellence from his teammates and compete at a level of intensity on both ends. Take for example the D'Antoni year, Kobe wanted a different head coach and hated Dwight. Lamar was traded away for a TPE which means Kobe lost his 6th man of the year and 3rd best player on ring runs for nothing in court value. Instead of pouting or gowing for records, he put the team on his back.
I think Lebron is an all time great, but I totally get now why MJ chose Kobe over him. Lebron's got the stats and great when things are going great. But when things aren't going great, and the situation is difficult. As we saw in year 1 and now in year 4. Lebron simply load manages and saves his body and puts up stats. Kobe broke himself. I will always appreciate Kobe more. Legend. His Laker legacy is untouchable. And Jeanie better not even think of giving Lebron a farewell tour. He does not deserve it and has not earned it as a Laker. We need to move on forward in a year. Let AD/Bron play the next year out and then we have massive capspace to make moves. All our draft picks seem to be in tact as well. No more Lebron first moves. He gave us a title and I'll be forever grateful, but it's clear to me he doesn't have Lakers best interests at heart.
I only watched (endured) this game because DB was out. It's been rough. I mean, they compete. Then they literally give up. It's been going on for a while. They simply can not deal with any sort of bleeding. It's a team chemistry thing as well. Teams less talented compete harder. The main reason is I think there is no more belief in each other (or maybe there never was). You look back at game 2 and Dwight is being attacked by AD. I mean that sums up our season. We had a group that didn't want to play with each other or for each other. There's been something off all season.
I give credit to guys like Reaves he does try. But the talent is limited there. He's also a rook. If we could get a few guys with more capability who had Reaves energy, we'd be able to balance it out. Unfortunately we traded away those sort of guys like Caruso, Kuzma, KCP. We have no one who can play at a starting level who has a high motor. Only older vets like Lebron, Melo, Westbrook. It clearly shows.
I've watched probably 80-90% of every game since the 85 season. This year I haven't watched a single game and have had no desire to. This team has killed the joy and I hope someday we have a team that I can once again be excited about.
I only watched (endured) this game because DB was out. It's been rough. I mean, they compete. Then they literally give up. It's been going on for a while. They simply can not deal with any sort of bleeding. It's a team chemistry thing as well. Teams less talented compete harder. The main reason is I think there is no more belief in each other (or maybe there never was). You look back at game 2 and Dwight is being attacked by AD. I mean that sums up our season. We had a group that didn't want to play with each other or for each other. There's been something off all season.
I give credit to guys like Reaves he does try. But the talent is limited there. He's also a rook. If we could get a few guys with more capability who had Reaves energy, we'd be able to balance it out. Unfortunately we traded away those sort of guys like Caruso, Kuzma, KCP. We have no one who can play at a starting level who has a high motor. Only older vets like Lebron, Melo, Westbrook. It clearly shows.
When teams have players that just give up during crunch time, its a leadership issue and that falls on Lebron.
When a team has a reputation of not giving, at least, 100% effort - isn't that something that Westbrook said that he will make sure that is something that the team has?
That Dwight and AD went after each other doesn't bother me, it means that somebody cares enought about winning to makde sure things are done right
Reeves is a rookie with limited talent, but an unlimited motor and high basketball IQ - like Caruso (hope that he is able to be playing very soon)
Great that Kuzma is doing well - along with KCP and others, though inconsistent. Amazing how former Lakers are seemingly doing better when far away from the glare/pressure/scrutiny/expectations of LakerLand
Since LBJ/AD were very influential in obtaining most of the veterans on this team, lack of chemistry and accountability is a very curious scenario.
Isn't it amazing that the two teams many expected to be playing in The Finals (Nets/https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kevin-durant-does-everything-in-his-power-but-his-time-with-the-nets-has-been-a-disaster-so-far/ and Lakers) could be very easily to be eliminated from even the "Play-In Games!" It should be noted that when Durant and AD are not playing, their respective teams have done terrible
Since most teams are playing their 5 on Westbrook when we are in our small ball lineup, how can we take advantage of that. One proposed solution is to have Westbrook be the screener, then do a series of backcuts/backdoors while being in the "Dunker Spot" on the floor. What other ways can be explored?
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Great chase down block, got a putback off a Monk missed 3. Great pass to Reaves in transition. When he came back in the game to close the 1st Q, really bad job. Didn't close the Q strong as a leader. The Clips did. Better close to the 2nd Q, and helped bring the Lakers back in the game. 3rd Q, he had a play where he was ticked off they didn't count the and 1. That hurt us, but so did our energy. Lebron isn't really moving on defense, and neither are the other guys. This is the second season out of 4 where Lebron led Lakers are completely giving up. You never saw that with Kobe when Kobe still could play. Sure, when Kobe was physically finished, yes. Lebron can still play. He's still a top 10 player. I really question his leadership at the moment. Lebron, is he playing for a championship or the scoring record? Certainly he could want both and it can come organically, but it seems there's no focus on defensive commitment like we saw in Vogel's first year from Lebron. A lot of 3 ball attempts/settling from Lebron as well. As good as Lebron was playing in December when AD was out, this second run without AD. Lebron has been basically been a guy putting up stats on a bad team. A lot of non-impact play from Lebron. It pains me to write that, as Lebron is a proven Laker champion. But he isn't showing leadership. The team without AD has completely crumbled into a team that may not even be able to win more than 5 more games until the RS end.
Found a few spots to iso, scored a few layups. Played effectively and within his limits in the 1st half. Some nice layups. However it does seem often when he goes one on one the defense knows exactly what he's trying to do and they're rejecting/stuffing his layup attempts at the rim more and more. There's not a whole lot Westbrook does for the team. He's not a good defender, he's a horrible shooter and his scoring usually is in situations where players are watching him go to work in a 1 on 4 situation where he's trying to score at the rim. Not his worst game, however a rather uninspired effort.
Two layups around the basket by off the ball movement. Monk was active in the game to begin the game ... on offense. Pretty much a one way game. A lot of good action where he catches the ball and fakes the 3 and can drive. He's a very effective secondary attacking guard. However I question if he can be a starter. Not consistent enough. and his defense leaves a lot more desired. His IQ as well. A play that you saw Lebron get ticked off at. He's running the break and Lebron is open on the wing and Malik just allows the opponent to foul him instead of making the pass to an open Lebron. Cost the team 2 easy points.
Two catch and shoot three pointers made from the corner to start off the game in the 1st Q. Ran the floor and got a basket (and the foul). Made some solid plays, but defensively we're seeing some rookie struggles. Our defensive energy as a whole is bad but Reaves has some limitations as well even though he's one of the few who tries each possession. Hard to get on Reaves, you just like his effort and his high IQ plays. You would love to see him play on a good team with some other high IQ stars. Maybe next year. While there are some good moments between Monk and Reaves, neither should be starting on a team looking to make the playoffs.
Did a good job in his first stint to set screens and stay out of the paint when needed. Would have liked more presence on defense. But Howard is not the same Howard we had 2 years ago. Second half didn't start and came back in for a stretch when the Lakers were down 25+.
First in for Howard. Nice offense from him in the mid-post. Two scores in a row with some pop. Scored well, but was part of the 2nd unit that (along with Lebron) really allowed us to lose the lead and momentum we had early. Closed the half with Lebron/Reaves/Monk/Westbrook and did well.
