LAKERS -at- KINGS - 10/14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:17 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- KINGS - 10/14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Ready Or Not... Here we go.

The Lakers tightened up some of their execution heading into the regular season, but their defense has consistently been poor with brief flashes.

Good start for the Lakers, but once they started shuffling their lineup with their substitutions, they allowed the Kings a 20-5 run and the Lakers trailed 35-23 after the first quarter.

To start the second quarter, we ran a lineup with both LeBron and Westbrook. LeBron getting out in transition, Melo hitting threes. This unit cut the lead to 3 and forced a timeout. Ideally, our ability to put star power on the floor more than the opponent should wing a lot of games. A couple stops out of that timeout and the Lakers regained the lead.

L.A. had a soft, sloppy close to the half and the Lakers trailed 71-65. That’s way too many points from your defense.

“I think our pace is really good. I think we’ve really committed to it,” Vogel said, but added that it’s pushing them to exhaustion and getting them into game shape. You could see that on D at times.

LeBron led the way with 30 points, Westbrook looked more like himself for the first time, but AD had little impact at times. The Lakers shut things down with a few minutes to go after losing the lead and fell 116-112.

Now the games start to count.


LeBron -- -- He was just a load in transition. Whenever he got downhill, whether on the break, a cut or even attacking from the post, it was a score. He had 19 points on 7-12 shooting in the first half. We’re seeing him score quite a bit in transition off made baskets. If he can get the ball advanced to him and has a single defender, it’s trouble. That’s an advantage of having Russ in the backcourt to quickly get the ball up court. The jumper looked pretty strong tonight. He’s getting really, really good looks. Lots of open shots to gather himself and knock them down. A lot more minutes, but we let him rest down the stretch. Hard to tell if he was tired on D or it was just a preseason game in the second half, but there was definitely some standing around. Glad to see him get some extended run. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 12-20 shooting (2-5 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls. He was a +17.

Davis -- -- Really poor start to this game. A lot of off-balance or midrange stuff and not a ton of setting him up early. We did see a nice little bit of chemistry between him and Russ later in the half. Russ put the pressure on from the corner on the two-man game and threw it up to AD for the And-1 lob, leanfing from Rondo already. In the second half, we had an ATO where we worked the ball from strong to weak and as we did, AD ducked in the paint, sealed his man and we found him. He missed the easy one, but a nicely executed play (DJ cleaned it up, too). But that’s a way to keep the defense occupied without giving the help defenders time to do anything. Really an off game from him. He missed a lot of shots (18 to make 14 points). Freethrow shooting was also poot. Not sure why we’re letting him shoot tech FTs. Guys did look slightly more comfortable in working with purpose with him in this one. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-18 shooting (4-7 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 2 blocks and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a -22.

Westbrook -- -- He’s slowly going from Rust to Russ. He’s always a slow starter, of course, but we need him to be more like himself. First play of the game, he came off a high screen from AD, bumped off Fox and scored a layup. Second bucket of the game was off a SLOB where he inbounded, cut off Bazemore’s backscreen to get the ball under the hoop one-on-one to score. We started to see Westbrook looking like Westbrook. He had 13 points on 6-11 shooting and 3 assists in the first half. Some bonehead plays to close the half cost the Lakers. He choked a point-blank layup and then threw a lazy backcourt pass right to a King and they hit a three off that. The score went from about even to trailing by 9 in a matter of a few possessions to end the half. Those kinds of things clear up with just more ball. In the second half, we had a nice sequence where Russ curled weakside off a screen, got the ball, gave it back up to LeBron at the top of the key who faked the action to AD, then gave it back to Russ. He attacked, drew the D and set up DJ for the easy dunk. Again, side to side, occupy defenders, attack. We also had a nice duck-in play I mentioned above in AD’s writeup that doesn’t allow the D to double in the post off Russ because it happened so quickly. The intent and purpose of these plays is very sound and very aware of our strengths/weaknesses. Late in the game, we saw some nice sequences where he manufactured points at the line while LBJ was sitting. These will be key moments this season. Defensively, several steals from Russ. You could see his explosiveness to get to passes off ball. He also nearly had a block that the bench was on their feet for. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-12 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +7.

Bazemore -- -- He’s kind of taking over that KCP role. Hit threes, play D and hustle in transition. He hit a couple threes later in the game, one transition and another in the corner off a kickout from Russ who collapsed the D in the paint. There’s going to be a lot of that. The team has some issues, though, at the moment. Problem right now, Bazemore got into foul trouble with a minute plus into the third quarter and we had to call the number of our undrafted rookie, Reaves. Previously, that would be Caruso. If Reaves can turn into that for us real quick that would be great, but even if that’s THT coming off the bench, we’re pretty green behind Baze with our best guard defenders. Guys are going to have to grow up quickly on the defensive end. With these starters tonight and Baze playing him at SG, we’re definitely a big lineup. Hopefully, they get comfortable and disruptive, but if we want to go smaller, we need more D from our guards. Is it there? The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (2-6 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -17.

Jordan -- -- Feels like this could be the starting lineup -- DJ, AD, LBJ, BAze, Russ. It allows AD a little more time at PF which allows LeBron more time at the SF where we’re a bit short. Melo comes off the bench. This is the big unit and DJ gets in some action to play the McGee role, feel good and build teamwork. They had a good opening shift. DJ tipped in a missed shot from behind his man and he also kept a board alive that led to a LeBron three. He and Russ also had an excellent touch pass sequence that led to a DJ dunk. He had another tip-in early in the third getting to the front of the rim. Defensively, we saw him get out on the perimeter when he had to help on a shooter off those high screens. Great read on an ATO defensively to break up a play jumping out there on one play, then recovering to deflect a pass. You don’t expect that when drawing that play up, and it led to a dunk by LBJ. You can’t argue with the results tonight. He was a +14 with a double-double. His best outing of the preseason. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-7 shooting to go with 11 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a +14.

Howard -- -- Quite an adventure of fouls given and drawn by Dwight during the second quarter. He regained possession on the offensive glass. Then had a sensational hustle back in transition to swat a drive. Things started to pick up from there. He’d get called for a flagrant shortly later, getting caught in the air and coming down on a man. He picked up his fourth foul of the second quarter on the offensive glass, called for pinning his man’s arm against his body. The game changed in our favor when he was out there, but we both got in the bonus and the penalty early. Like DJ, Dwight also finished positive with a +12. Traditional C lineups looked good against this team.The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards (2 offensive), 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +12.

Anthony -- -- Back to the bench where he should be more effective on both ends. He sank a couple of threes early on as we went on a run in that second quarter. One was as we moved the ball side to side, the other off a Laker steal. He got some post work in that quarter, as well, bailing out the offense with a late clock post fade. He’d hit another three later and also knock down a short one in the paint. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-8 shooting (3-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -13.

Rondo -- -- For a moment, I liked how we used him tonight, giving Russ a little rest and helping with our offensive flow and continuity for a few minutes at a time. We need that currently. But when we tried to go without our star playmakers, it was not good. Rondo had the -30 with some of these wonky bench lineups. He also didn’t do a whole lot productive. He had one pass from across the backcourt to AD in the front court post. Awful angle (AD was poor sealing tonight), but that was an easy turnover. He also had a double dribble. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -30.

Reaves -- -- Second most minutes on the team. He’s trying to work his way into the rotation with the injuries and is definitely getting the opportunity. Just keep making the right plays and play tough D and good things follow. Love that he looked off LeBron on the perimeter and swung it the other way to Melo for the open three early on. He later found LeBron in transition after taking an advance pass from him, he attacked, went behind his back to lose a defender, then fed LeBron for the open FT jumper. He also had a very composed attack off the three line that fed DJ for a layup. In between that, a layup on the break and a nice switch on Barnes to deny him and then he battled on the box out well. Lots of little stuff going on in his game. That run helped the Lakers regain the lead in the third. He’d hit a three to cap off a 17-3 run. We needed the three ball to drop more. A couple of his eight attempts were trying to beat the shotclock. He’s often making great reads on offense. He swung a ball to Melo again for a three and he found Queen cutting with a bullet feed from the three line for a layup. The three ball may not have been working, but he led the team in assists with 7 and no turnovers. Man, wish the three ball went down. He had been a 40%+ three shooter in the preseason prior to this. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-9 (1-8 from three) to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 7 assists and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +4.

Brown -- -- Just 3 minutes and he got a couple shots up. He missed a jumper and was blocked on a drive. Let’s see what happens with his contract situation. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting in 3 minutes. He was a +2.

Queen -- -- He scored a couple times in the final 3 minutes, including a nice layup off a baseline cut where Reaves found him. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting to go with 1 board and 1 turnover in 3 minutes. He was a +2.

Ayayi -- -- Looked more active out there, almost bigger and managed 4 boards. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and had 4 boards, 1 assist in 3 minutes. He was a +2.

Oliver -- -- He was tapped on a corner three. The Stats: He didn’ score on 0-1 shooting from three. He was a +2.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: With 6 minutes to go we had an AD, Bazemore, Reaves, Russ, Rondo lineup. Weird. AD couldn’t finish a lob on one end that he should have had and then we gave up an open three on the other end -- 5 point switch to go down by 5. They faded from there.

Key Substitution: Let’s look at the early subs. Russ out at the 6 minute mark for Rondo. Melo then came in for DJ. Then with 3 minutes left we brought in Reaves for LeBron. So now neither of Russ nor LeBron for a possession. Russ entered shortly later for Bazemore. So AD, Melo, Reaves, Russ, Rondo. During this stretch of substitutions, the Kings went on a 20-5 run and the Lakers trailed by 9. We’re missing some personnel.

Key Stats: Turnovers were a respectable 15 in this game. Despite our size, we gave up 12 offensive boards.
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PLATNUM
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:23 pm    Post subject:

thanks for the write-up, DB.
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slavavov
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:30 pm    Post subject:

Watching our spurts of good defense, it looks like we'll have our most success defensively by harassing, swarming, trapping, having active hands and forcing turnovers instead of playing traditional positional defense.

We just have to get better at recovering and helping the helper on D, as well as limiting turnovers.
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TooMuchMajicBuss
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 11:45 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Excellent write-up.

At least it was still a game half ways through the 4th.

Turn the page, just happy none of these games counted.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:48 am    Post subject:

Regular season Rondo showed up a game early
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 2:06 am    Post subject:

Lakers are smart, using the preseason correctly by experimenting and figuring things out with an almost entirely new lineup instead of worrying about winning games that don't matter.
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governator
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:15 am    Post subject:

From Rust to Russ

That’s all I need to hear, defense will eventually clicked once AD is back to form
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:22 am    Post subject:

Reeves can actually play
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Halflife
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:04 am    Post subject:

Obviously it would have been nice to win 1, but there were spurts in this game where we showed our power. We are a a really physical team team
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:47 am    Post subject:

Another one of those games where the little things matter.

LAL 31.0% from 3
SAC 36.2% from 3

LAL 62.5% from FT line.
SAC 80.8% from FT line.

5 more FT's or 2 more 3 Pointers and this is a win.

Perimeter defense was weak. 3 point shooting was weak. 15 turnovers is too many.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:33 am    Post subject:

Russ- is coming around.
Melo- potent scorer on the second unit.
DJ- looks like he s rounding into a role.
Bron- READY
AD- no aggressive enough. Too many jumpshots
Dwight- Still and athletic freak and good rim protector
Baze- 3 and D
Reeves- Kid can play. Think he's going to play a bigger role, than expected.


Once we get Nunn, Monk, THT, Ariza and Ellington back, we are going to be incredibly deep.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 9:03 am    Post subject:

I hope they get the defense working soon, games are so much more watchable then...
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:20 am    Post subject:

"Group-schmoop... On to the Formal Wear!" (line from Best in Show)

So yeah, pre-season. But there were signs of life last night so it'll be much more interesting to see what's what come Tuesday.

Thanks for the write up DB!
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 5:18 am    Post subject:

ElginBaylor wrote:
Lakers are smart, using the preseason correctly by experimenting and figuring things out with an almost entirely new lineup instead of worrying about winning games that don't matter.


Agreed. Preseason is the time to experiment. From start to xmas is the time to build chemistry. From xmas to All Star game is the time to tighten up the line up and figure out last minute adjustments. From All Star to playoffs is the time to bring it all together and find that stride. Post season? Bring on the championship.
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ContagiousInspiration
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 12:48 pm    Post subject:

danzag wrote:
Reeves can actually play


Keeps his head in the game and his feet moving

GRIT! He knows to FIGHT for the win.. nobody is going to give it to us

Luckily he has the BBall IQ to stay active and actually accomplishing things

Sky is the limit for HBK
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 12:49 pm    Post subject:

Tick wrote:
ElginBaylor wrote:
Lakers are smart, using the preseason correctly by experimenting and figuring things out with an almost entirely new lineup instead of worrying about winning games that don't matter.


Agreed. Preseason is the time to experiment. From start to xmas is the time to build chemistry. From xmas to All Star game is the time to tighten up the line up and figure out last minute adjustments. From All Star to playoffs is the time to bring it all together and find that stride. Post season? Bring on the championship.


Very well said.
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LakerSD
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:12 pm    Post subject:

I hope you guys are right. I’m not worried so much about the offense as there is too much talent there…but that defense worries me. The best defender might be Bazemore followed by Reaves if AD doesn’t return to 2019-20 AD.

There is huge drop off in defense after Bazemore, Reaves, Dwight and AD.

Lebron can be a top defender, but that’s a big ask for a 37 year old who will be doing everything else including the offensive burden if Russ and AD are bricking shots.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:16 am    Post subject:

danzag wrote:
Reeves can actually play


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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan
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