LAKERS -at- SUNS - 4-5-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:14 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- SUNS - 4-5-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

All She Wrote... The Spurs won as this game was going on. That meant a loss here by the Lakers would eliminate the Lakers from the playoffs.

The Lakers took an early lead, faded a little in the second quarter, then got thumped in the third.

Watching Westbrook during this stretch in the third versus CP3 was just night and day. CP3 began to pick apart the Lakers surgically in the third, stretching the lead to 20+ points as his team got easy look after easy look. Meanwhile, Russ was too often his frustrating self, and the Lakers had little chemistry.

The quality of shots between the two teams in the third quarter couldn’t have been more different. The Suns would compromise the Laker D easily, make one or two passes and it was like they were shooting alone in a gym. Meanwhile, the Lakers had hands challenging every shot and often forced passes into traffic.

The Lakers eventually fell 121-110 with LeBron watching from the sidelines.

And with that, it was all she wrote for this Laker team. No playoffs for you.


Davis -- -- The perimeter shot struggled tonight, as it has for most of the season. It didn’t matter whether it was from three or the midrange, his jumper wasn’t there. Aside from the injuries, AD’s inability to hit the jumper made the Westbrook acquisition tougher. Ideally, the Lakers can find a true stretch bigman. I’m not sure to what extent he was hampered by his injury or just playing it safe in this one. There were sequences we threw it up for him and he finished like his usual self. There were other plays where he just kind of went through the motions and was getting beat to balls. A lot of head hanging for AD in the past two games. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 10-18 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 13 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 turnovers in 36 minutes. He was a -19.

Westbrook -- -- He led the team with 18 points on 6-11 shooting in the first half, getting that lefty bank to drop, hitting a three and a few finishes at the rim. Third quarter was just Westrbook using the hammer on offense when sometimes a screwdriver or pliers were needed. It was blunt and ugly at times. The turnovers to assists, just gross -- 3 assists with 6 turnovers. Meanwhile, CP3 had 12 assists with 1 turnover. Some of Russ’s misses on drives clanked hard and turned into breakaways for the Suns. The effort was there, though. Despite Russ scoring at a decent clip (28 on 20 shots), it was this other part of the game --the floor general work -- where the Suns beat us like a drum. CP3 was just cutting us apart. We didn’t know how to do that to the Suns at the same level. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 10-20 shooting (2-3 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 6 turnvoers and 2 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -9.

Monk -- -- He picked up three fouls in 5 minutes and was done for the first half. He had a nice SLOB lob to AD. On those plays, he typically gets middle as he comes off an AD screen to take the inbounds pass, this pulls the help defender over as Monk is curling downhill toward the rim and that leaves the open lob for AD with no weakside help. One of our more consistent SLOB plays. He’d knock down a three and then sit after his 5 minutes with a +5. He’d find Dwight for a lob in the second half, but also get picked on the perimeter for a layup and throw a pass out of bound later. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 2 turnover and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -5.

Howard -- -- Some good moments early on as we looked for him as we drew Ayton over. Dwight would sink all six of his FTs. Props for that. But we’d get picked apart with CP3 getting into midrange area and Dwight caught in no-man’s land in drop coverage trying to defend the big and giving CP3 space. And, of course, we can’t switch with Dwigh to take away that simple two-man execution that CP3 is a master of execution. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -15.

Bradley -- -- He kind of took over Reaves’ role in the starting lineup. He’s been knocking down some shots lately and knocked a couple threes down in this one. Reaves needs to get that three ball consistent. That’s kind of what opened up the door for AB. Reaves kind of fought back in this game being more aggressive and showing more of his game that he holds back at times to a fault..The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -16.

Reaves -- -- Perhaps the only section some will read of this recap. One of the few entertaining players on the floor for the Lakers. He came in for Monk in the first quarter after Malik picked up 2 quick fouls. He had a pretty insane bucket in the second quarter. Attacking in transition, he spun on a reaching defender, attacked, switched hands in air to avoid a second defender trying to swat him from behind him and score around a closing third defender. That And-1 dropped and had the bench on their feet. Some struggles with the three ball early on, but he sank an open one on a swing pass. He’d also hit a pumping short jumper in the paint on his next trip down.Next time down, he’d set up Gabriel for FTs (who missed both), get the O board the second miss, then hit Melo for a three. He’d lose a defender with a behind-the-back dribble to change directions and score an And-1 in the fourth. He’d knock down another three. He’d break down the D and set up AD for a dunk. He’d throw an underhand lefty outlet to Monk for a breakaway score. He’d get middle and hit Gabriel for a dunk on the two-man game. He’d cross over and hit a floater on iso. In the 17 minutes, he didn’t play, the Lakers were a -20. I want Reaves playing aggressive. Don’t sit back and defer too much. Now that we are out for sure, he and THT should get some good reps to close the season. None of this DNP-Coach’s Decision stuff. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-10 shooting (2-6 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +9.

Johnson -- -- Not a lot of notes. He had a nice bounce pass backdoor to Monk cutting late in the game. I feel like he plays well with LeBron, but takes a big stepback without him. Again, no fouls. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-4 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -7.

Gabriel -- -- Reaves broke down the D and set him up for FTs shortly after entering the game. Gabriel would clank both. He’d then get blocked shortly later on a dunk attempt. He’d score on another Reaves setup later. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting (0-2 from the line) and no other stats. He was a +11.

Anthony -- -- Two steals for Melo in the first half, one snagging a bad cross-court feed. The other was using his hands to strip under the hoop. The defense late in the game had him two-hand pushing a player out of bounds before sitting. Melo didn’t seem to like the stiff arm he got, so he sent the player out of bounds. Vogel sat him. Not a very efficient game from Melo. He sank a couple of threes and got one his turnarounds to drop. Missed the rest of his shots. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-10 shooting (2-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -2.

Horton-Tucker -- -- I’d like us to sit Russ and let THT start. Get him some reps with the ball in his hands. Season is over. Let THT work on his game without having to play alongside Russ like we do with regularity. He hit a step-back wing three, but is typically just hanging out there asking for the ball as defenders sag off from any number of places in the lineups Vogel is throwing out there. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a -2.

Augustin -- -- Not hitting shots, not making an impact. Anytime you see him on the floor, that’s really Nunn’s spot that never materialized. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a +0.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: A lot of talk prior to the game about Vogel’s imminent demise. Key moment that got us here? Trading for Westbrook. That did him in. Let’s go back even further, though. I’m curious where we’d be right now if it was Lue as head coach with Vogel as an assistant. I’d wager Lue/Vogel also wins a ring that first year. Fast forward to now. Would we be underachieving? I don’t think so. The names mentioned as replacements: Doc Rivers (kill me now) and Quin Snyder (I’m good with that). Quin is strapped with Gobert, who is the Jazz’ version of Westbrook -- easy to game plan for come playoff time.

Key Substitution: Reaves coming in after the DNPs. Kid played hard and was one of the few bright spots.

Key Stats: The Suns had 38 assists in the game. Made it look easy at times.
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dabask11
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:19 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB for keeping up with this season.

Lebron wrote:
Keep talking about my squad, our personnel ages, the way he plays, he stays injured, we're past our time in this league, etc etc etc. Do me one favor PLEASE!!!! And I mean PLEASE!!! Keep that same narrative ENERGY when it begins! That's all I ask


It began and ended in the same fashion.

Most disappointing laker team in the last 30-40 years IMO.
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:25 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. IMO, you should take rest of this season (all 3 games of it), off. Well deserved rest. Too bad the Lakers organization does not recognize that your efforts actually keep interest in the team (I know your summaries are often what I first look for to get a real breakdown).

In any event, 10-29: That is the Lakers record after they pushed themselves to 21-19 on the season and there was still a small glimmer of hope. This squad likely now to end up with 50 losses. I do not think any of us - or at least most - saw this coming.

Lots of work for the off season. Vogel is done here. Too bad the FO will unlikely have any major changes. The Westbrook contract will be a challenge as well for any trades.

Sad to watch the organization go from out of playoffs for several years, to making it and winning it all, to just then immediately become fodder shortly thereafter. I'm sure pundits will have fun breaking this all down for years to come.

Anyhoo...Onto other things. Maybe, somehow, someway, this team can get fixed this offseason.
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TooMuchMajicBuss
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:56 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Welp, 3 games to go and this season is done.
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Lakesh0wtime
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 10:16 pm    Post subject:

Agree. Sit Russ and Avery and start THT and Reaves for the last 3 games.

Get them reps for next year.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 5:57 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB.

At least the nightmare is over. What a (bleep) show of a season
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pio2u
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:00 am    Post subject:

Thx DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:34 am    Post subject:

dabask11 wrote:
Thanks DB for keeping up with this season.

Lebron wrote:
Keep talking about my squad, our personnel ages, the way he plays, he stays injured, we're past our time in this league, etc etc etc. Do me one favor PLEASE!!!! And I mean PLEASE!!! Keep that same narrative ENERGY when it begins! That's all I ask


It began and ended in the same fashion.

Most disappointing laker team in the last 30-40 years IMO.


When I tell you seemingly all of Twitter was tweeting screenshots of that last night... Ah boy...

Thanks DB
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PenG_
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 7:34 am    Post subject:

This season hurt... a lot. Glad it's over tbh
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ThePageDude
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 9:29 am    Post subject:

The most disappointing Lakers team in my experience.
Hats off to you DB, you're a true gem for suffering through this season seeing the same horrible plays over and over again and then having to write yet another game summary enumerating them.
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 10:40 am    Post subject:

DrDent wrote:
Thanks DB. IMO, you should take rest of this season (all 3 games of it), off. Well deserved rest.


Yeah, I may. It's not easy.

To me it's not so much the disappointing results. It's more the entertainment value I'm getting for my time. And by entertaining, I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say that doesn't mean we need to be fastbreaking and scoring big. I just mean guys getting after it, giving extra effort, moving the ball, playing with fluidity and flow. Having a team on the same page on both ends of the court. Seeing your stars shine through that. Stuff the basketball gods tend to reward. That's enjoyable ball.

Instead, there's been a lot of selfishness. An ill-conceived roster that somehow refuses to do the kinds of things with consistency that would play to strengths and mitigate weaknesses. Really curious what's been going on behind the scenes with the coaches/team/management. I'm not sure if it's too many chefs in the kitchen, stubborn players or what. But the underachieving has come from that.

Health certainly interrupted the process, but the process itself really morphed into something ugly as the season went along.

The most frustrating thing for me as fan is watching "stupid" basketball. And then with Spectrum, it's usually followed by stupid analysis of stupid basketball, which doubles down on the lack of entertainment.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:11 am    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- SUNS - 4-5-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
Vogel -- -- Key Moment: A lot of talk prior to the game about Vogel’s imminent demise. Key moment that got us here? Trading for Westbrook. That did him in. Let’s go back even further, though. I’m curious where we’d be right now if it was Lue as head coach with Vogel as an assistant. I’d wager Lue/Vogel also wins a ring that first year. Fast forward to now. Would we be underachieving? I don’t think so. The names mentioned as replacements: Doc Rivers (kill me now) and Quin Snyder (I’m good with that). Quin is strapped with Gobert, who is the Jazz’ version of Westbrook -- easy to game plan for come playoff time.
Interesting question

I M H O
If Lue was the HC, the records would be very similar. The Clips had PG/Kwahi out, as oppose to being in and out of the lineup multiple times. Team had the chance to work with a set lineup without the superstars that meant that the roles were clear and they knew that effort and execution was always needed.

What would Doc, Lue, Quinn or any other coach do different with Westbrook with this roster - not much.

Same question as it applies to Bazemore, Ellington, Melo, Dwight, DJ and Bradley?

Would any of these HCs be able to be on the same page (in a far greater sense than Vogel) with LBJ/AD plus Westbrook - don't think so.

Rob/LBJ/AD went "All In" with Westbrook for this year and probably next year. How will they fill the roster next year?
How/Will/When can they trade Westbrook?
How LBJ/AD (Leaders of this team, on the court) make this Big Three work?
How will Rob/Jeanie/Kurt work with Vogel to bring a strong defensive presence and reputation to the Lakers?
How will management treat the final games
Will LBJ/AD be shutdown or will they use this time to try things to see if this Big Three can be effective together
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LakerSD
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:24 am    Post subject:

ThePageDude wrote:
The most disappointing Lakers team in my experience.
Hats off to you DB, you're a true gem for suffering through this season seeing the same horrible plays over and over again and then having to write yet another game summary enumerating them.


Same. Worst season I can ever remember.

We are Knicks west now until proven otherwise.
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:50 am    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- SUNS - 4-5-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

A Mad Chinaman wrote:

What would Doc, Lue, Quinn or any other coach do different with Westbrook with this roster - not much.

Same question as it applies to Bazemore, Ellington, Melo, Dwight, DJ and Bradley?

Would any of these HCs be able to be on the same page (in a far greater sense than Vogel) with LBJ/AD plus Westbrook - don't think so.


It was a fundamentally flawed roster for sure, but yes, I do think other coaches (excluding Doc) would have done a better job in how they used Westbrook.

We still would have had issues, but I could see up to an 8- to 10-game difference in the W/L. We had an egregious amount of self-inflicted wounds starting from training camp. We're still a middling team, but a playoff team in some alternatives coaching scenarios.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:36 pm    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- SUNS - 4-5-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:

What would Doc, Lue, Quinn or any other coach do different with Westbrook with this roster - not much.

Same question as it applies to Bazemore, Ellington, Melo, Dwight, DJ and Bradley?

Would any of these HCs be able to be on the same page (in a far greater sense than Vogel) with LBJ/AD plus Westbrook - don't think so.
It was a fundamentally flawed roster for sure, but yes, I do think other coaches (excluding Doc) would have done a better job in how they used Westbrook.

We still would have had issues, but I could see up to an 8- to 10-game difference in the W/L. We had an egregious amount of self-inflicted wounds starting from training camp. We're still a middling team, but a playoff team in some alternatives coaching scenarios.
It's a question that can never be answered - lol!

To activiate LeWestBrick's best via playing at a much faster pace, only playing much better D and LBJ being ok with LeWestBrick (with all its pros and cons) have a much higher ball usage rate. With Dwight/Jordan playing the 5, with a slow Ariza/Basemore/Ellington/Melo guarding the perimeter - hard to imagine these players executing on defense.

Wondering what people's thoughts on how Vogel could have coached this team differently, with AD/LBJ constantly going in and out of the lineup.

Clips (with Powell and PG13) vs the Suns' bench (https://global.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=401361014) possibly showed what might have happened. Noteworthy that in this game, MhGhee gave a tongue-lashing at his teammates, something that never happened much this year with the Lakers/LeBron.

Sadly, somebody has to take the blame for this season and the logical/unfortunately only choice is Vogel since LeWestBrick will be back nexg season at $47M for next season.

Should AD and LBJ play these final games, recognizing that LBJ needs to play 2 games to qualify for being the NBA Scoring Leader for this season????
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