LAKERS -at- PISTONS - 1/28 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:35 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- PISTONS - 1/28 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Detroit in January... The Lakers rested AD, hoping to cruise in this game, and that’s how they played.

Suffering their second-straight loss, this time at the hands of one of the worst teams in the league, the Lakers looked progressively worse as this game went along.

The tide turned midway through the third quarter. Up 5 points, the Lakers gave up a 5-point possession off a flagrant foul by KCP. The Pistons turned that into a run.

In the fourth, the wheels fell completely off. THT was sparking some offense off the bench, scoring a reverse, setting up Trezz for an And-1 and hitting a wing three. The Pistons called timeout, THT touched the ball once after that and LeBron struggled to make anything happen.

The Pistons were able to plug the paint with Trezz out there instead of AD. They went on a 19-2 run to take the 107-92 win over the Lakers. Just 14 points in the fourth quarter by the Lakers.


LeBron -- -- He was on fire going 7-7 to start this one. He had 20 points on 7-10 shooting, including knocking down 4-5 from three in the first half. The one miss, he airballed and wanted a foul as he shot in a crowd. With how he was shooting, he probably was. As the game went along, he faded a bit. He settled into playmaking and scored just 2 points in the second half and was scoreless in the fourth. He’s the guy who should be taking the night off, not AD. Near triple double, but we burned 36 minutes in a loss. "Our legs got to us a little bit on the second night of the back to back," LeBron said, although denying it impacted him. He said they are still learning combinations of lineups and it's been a process. "I think we're all learning on the fly because of lack of practice time," he said, mentioning the games are like practices. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-19 shooting (4-8 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 10 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -11.

Schröder -- -- Excellent first half with 10 points and 4 assists without a turnover. He was attacking the rim and not floating. He set up teammates, Kuz a couple of times -- one on a drive and dish, another hitting Kuzma cutting for a layup. And he also swished a three in the left corner. Uh, then he went scoreless in the second half. Between the last two games, he’s been great for a half. We need a full game. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-8 shooting (5-7 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists and no fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -16.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Frustrated with missing an inbounds layup on one end, he took a flagrant yanking Plumlee down under the hoop on a mismatch on the other end. Lakers were up 5 midway through the third. It was tied up by the end of that possession. They’d trail by three by the time Vogel called a timeout off that sequence. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (0-1 from three to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls. He was a -20 in 28 minutes.

Kuzma -- -- With AD out, we slid him into the starters. Big scoring third quarter. Good energy out there hitting the boards and getting up and down court. In that third, he started out swishing a three against the shotclock to start the quarter. He also had a pretty step-through later in the quarter on an iso play. Three offensive boards tonight on his way to his 22-10 double-double. It feels like his floater has been off for quite a while. He missed several of those that he’s usually pretty good at. He played with the kind of effort we needed as a team. Second night of a back to back, we should be leaning more on the young legs than the old ones, me thinks. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-17 shooting (3-7 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -16.

Gasol -- -- Okay, I know he’s a reluctant three shooter but, he had a play in the first half where passed on an open three, LeBron threw it back to him, then he up-faked and attacked in order to airball a turnaround from the elbow. The Gasol up-fake and drive is easily the worst option in his arsenal. He moves so slowly, there are grandma’s sitting in the stands who could recover on him. It’s the slowest up-fake and attack I’ve seen in my life. Kills me every time I see it. Where are you going, Marc? Defensively, they missed AD out there. Gasol got in on some good challenges and plugged the paint well early. He got extra minutes as he and Trezz tag teamed that C spot. But by the time he returned in the fourth it was over. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 7 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a -6.

Harrell -- -- Late in the game, LeBron wants to get to the rim. Having Trezz in there allows opponents to plug the paint and zone up. When LeBron gets past his man he has to deal with a crowd and that’s an issue. It’s why we usually didn’t close with our traditional C’s last year as this just stagnates everything. The Lakers fell back big during the fourth, unable to be productive. By the time he brought Gasol in, the Lakers were down 11 with 4:13 left after a 4:28 scoreless drought. Things were a little chippy out there in the first half among Trezz, Morris and the Piston bigs. As a result, the Lakers went to Trezz multiple times on iso. He wasn’t always successful despite shooting great percentages in those situations so far this season. He managed to power in a short one on some contact for his only points in four attempts in that half. I did like that right after he was tagged with a double tech with a Piston, we got him the ball, he iso’d but then hit a cutting Caruso for a layup instead of trying to do it himself. In the second half, he’d score off a floater with LeBron and his man also left him open under the hoop to double LeBron and that was an easy dunk. Inefficient game tonight. When Harrell’s out there, I’d like to see him with the AC/THT backcourt. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-10 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -9.

Caruso -- -- A team high +7 in his first half minutes. He’d finish with the team-high +4. We brought him in a little earlier in this one than the last couple. Vogel took a lot of questions about AC only playing 16 in the last one. He ran him 10 minutes in the first half of this one and 10 more in the second half. Vogel said he’s both trying to get others minutes and trying to keep Caruso fresh and healthy for the playoffs by reducing the impact on him considering how many bumps and bruises AC gets. So we will take some bumps and bruises ourselves not committing more minutes to him. AC missed his only three and scored 6 points. He’d swish a pull-up at the elbow to just beat the shotclock. He scoop in a layup over the D on a drive. He also had a nice cut off Harrell’s isoing for a score. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +4.

Horton-Tucker -- -- Excellent first half minutes. He sank back-to-back threes, one on a swing pass, another a pull-up in semi transition next time down. You could tell he was feeling it. He also attacked off the three line and scored a layup for 8 points in 8 minutes. Despite how good he looked, just 6 minutes in the second half. He’d reverse for a score immediately after entering the game. He set up Harrell on a drive and dish for an And-1. He’d then sink a quick-fire three in transition that forced the Pistons to call a timeout. Out of that timeout, we pretty much ignored THT the rest of the way. Very productive timeout by the Pistons to get that from us. He’d finish with 13 points in 14 minutes. I really don’t know what we’re doing with him. Anytime he gets it going, we pull the rug. He and AC had some great chemistry a while back and we got rid of that combo. THT got it going tonight and we ignore it. That’s got to be extremely frustrating for him. Maybe we’re thinking about next year, the potential contract and the rights we have, but I doubt it. I really wanted us to throw him out there early this season to make mistakes and just grow his game. It would help the coaches get comfortable with THT, too, which clearly they aren’t. This game with our offense flatlining and we don’t try to run the ball through him? I just don’t get it. Coaches did not put use in a situation to succeed all night. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting (3-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -1.

Morris -- -- Some good work on the offensive glass. I’m not shocked that he was a +1 when looking at the +/-. I would have rather seen him out there late than Trezz with how LeBron was trying to work. We’d be able to go 5-out offensively and Morris can probably battle Plumlee on the other end. He didn’t sink either of his three attempts, but just having him as a threat would have been more useful when our offense was stalled out. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +1.

Matthews -- -- He scored just 2 points on 7 shots in his 17 minutes. The worst was blowing a layup on a backdoor cut. In the last couple of games he had some moments. This one, he brought very little to the table. He sank a three off a handoff for his only points. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 board and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a -7.

Cook -- -- He dribbled into a turnover and missed a couple of garbage time shots. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board and 1 turnover in 2 minutes. He was a +2.

McKinnie -- -- Nothing to report. The Stats: No stats. He was a +2 in 2 minutes.

Cacok -- -- With AD sitting, Cacok was on the active roster. A rare garbage time where we are on the losing end. He dunked cutting to take a pass out of an ATO. The Stats: He had 2 point son 1-1 shooting in 2 minutes. He was a +2.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: I’m going with that 5-point possession. Things seemed to change from there as the Pistons kind of took control. In the fourth, there wasn’t really one moment, just a long half-quarter scoreless drought that killed L.A.

Key Substitution: “I got to do a better job putting guys in the right spots to be successful and use our depth,” Vogel said. I think his lack of usage of AC in the last one and his lack of trust in THT in this one cost them. He’s struggling to find combinations and units playing with a rhythm. THT had 13 points in 14 minutes. Not featuring him when the offense went dry was a mistake.

Key Stat: Let’s go with the 2 steals by the Lakers. The Pistons were comfortable most of the night. We definitely missed AD’s presence and constant defensive pressure when he’s on the floor.
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Laker7
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:52 pm    Post subject:

First

I have made the argument the THT should be getting more playing time than Matthews and this game supports that argument. Just not enough from Matthews especially blowing the layup.

I think the thing that frustrated me the most on this game was the missed or blown layups. I can remember at least four that we should’ve had but just missed.

I don’t want to hear anybody blame Kuzma for this loss. 22 points and 10 rebounds is a damn good stat line.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:59 pm    Post subject:

Thanks for the write-up.

This is far and away the most disappointing loss in quite some time for me.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:00 pm    Post subject:

The ultimate trap team, beating the Suns, Celtics, Sixers and Lakers in four of their five wins.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:02 pm    Post subject:

Thanks for the analysis, DB! Not really much to add to this. It is, what it is. Hope the Lakers figure it out, soon. On to the next...
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:14 pm    Post subject:

Wow what face is that for Matthews? I don't know if I've ever even seen that face before. Proof that this game just kinda defied description...

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:17 pm    Post subject:

Ugh
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:23 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Not happy with the meltdown in the 4th. At all. We can say it was "not having legs", fine, but the team we played was on a B2B as well. They were 22nd in offense and defense, and had the second worst record in the Association, and proceeded to blow the team off the floor in the 4th.

This particular squad is very inconsistent with adversity. I felt last year's team handled it far superior, even early in the season.

I really want to see these guys play with consistent energy and execution throughout several games in a row. Right now its hit and miss.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:39 pm    Post subject:

At times the team plays better without Bron. At times the team can not play without Bron. I don't envy Vogel trying to figure out when is which?
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:59 pm    Post subject:

Laker7 wrote:
First

I have made the argument the THT should be getting more playing time than Matthews and this game supports that argument. Just not enough from Matthews especially blowing the layup.

I think the thing that frustrated me the most on this game was the missed or blown layups. I can remember at least four that we should’ve had but just missed.

I don’t want to hear anybody blame Kuzma for this loss. 22 points and 10 rebounds is a damn good stat line.


I won't blame him but I just re-watched the 4th on replay (will post seperately), and on at least two defensive possessions Kuz just got lost and it was his guy that got open. In one instance, his man sets a pick, THT is guarding the ballhander, and goes under the screen, so stays with the ballhandler...and Kuz took a big step towards the ballhandler as well instead of staying with the screen setter, which allowed that player to get loose and had a step on Kuz for a bucket. It's small in the grand scheme of things, but hurt in that situation.


Last edited by DrDent on Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:07 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:07 pm    Post subject:

DB:

Some observations about the Lakers in the 4th:

1. To start, Pistons went heavy high screen and roll with Rose / Plumlee vs THT / Trez. Both seemed to have some issues here. THT in staying with his man when going over the screen. Trez in handling Rose.

2. This issue changed when AC started guarding Rose. In fact, AC was doing a better job in handling the roller (e.g. Plumlee) and even staying with Rose.

3. Around the time of 88-87 AC was a huge impact on defense. Causing guys to have tough shots, and of course taking a charge. But, alas, was taken out.

4. Kuz came in and almost immediately Griffin drilled a 3 in his face, he also (see above) messed up a switch letting his man get an easy attack at the basket.

5. Trez was just not very good on a number of possessions. Having trouble stopping guys going at the rim, or alternatively in one play he fell asleep on his man (Plumlee or Blake) while both were above the 3 point line, and his man made a straight shot for the hoop to get ready for a pass/layup and Trez could not catch up.

Looking back and playing armchair quarterback, I would have removed Trez, played Kuz with the rest of the guys to keep AC in there, and had LBJ or Kuz play "small ball center"

BTW, AC needs 30 minutes. Watch the 4th quarter of this game, he had his imprint on alot. I do believe him being removed made things fall apart as he is just "that guy" that gets involved in things on both ends constantly.

(EDIT: Above from watching replay so I could slow some plays down and see what happened)
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 3:13 am    Post subject:

The really hot starts from Lebron have given me slight PTSD ever since the playoffs. He had quite a few games in which he came out swinging only to look flat in the 2nd half. Game three against Houston he scored 29 in the first half, and 6 in the 2nd. Games 2 and 3 against Denver were a similar story. He'll go into FT PG mode and completely lose his rhythm.

I get it, he was clearly tired, but wow. You'd think with our offensive firepower we'd be able to create in his absence. I don't know if this loss is more disappointing than the Warriors game, but it feels like it.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 5:26 am    Post subject:

Could be interesting to have a look at some lineup changes. Since Gasol is refusing to shoot even wide open 3s. It also sets our identity a bit as a softer team on offense.

Trez has been hit and miss off the bench. Dennis has not been potent as a starting level PG, even though he has been solid on D. Wesley has given the team nothing off the bench. Gasol often being questioned.

Wondering if we would be better served

Trez-AD-Wesley-KCP-Bron starting

Allows us to establish some identity of being more physical inside. Wesley goes from useless, to a 3nD guy around Bron-AD-Trez.

Dennis has full freedom coming in to be more aggressive and assertive. He has had a niche role in his career to be that guy, he has proven himself as a high quality 6th man, but as a starter in his career his results are not as good. Plus, we really need a bench shot creating weapon.

2nd unit - Gasol-Kuz--Dennis-Caruso (with one of AD-Bron) or all bench with THT.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 5:48 am    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- PISTONS - 1/28 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

DancingBarry wrote:


Morris -- -- Some good work on the offensive glass. I’m not shocked that he was a +1 when looking at the +/-. I would have rather seen him out there late than Trezz with how LeBron was trying to work. We’d be able to go 5-out offensively and Morris can probably battle Plumlee on the other end.



Great idea, great observation.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:18 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
Could be interesting to have a look at some lineup changes. Since Gasol is refusing to shoot even wide open 3s. It also sets our identity a bit as a softer team on offense.

Trez has been hit and miss off the bench. Dennis has not been potent as a starting level PG, even though he has been solid on D. Wesley has given the team nothing off the bench. Gasol often being questioned.

Wondering if we would be better served

Trez-AD-Wesley-KCP-Bron starting

Allows us to establish some identity of being more physical inside. Wesley goes from useless, to a 3nD guy around Bron-AD-Trez.

Dennis has full freedom coming in to be more aggressive and assertive. He has had a niche role in his career to be that guy, he has proven himself as a high quality 6th man, but as a starter in his career his results are not as good. Plus, we really need a bench shot creating weapon.

2nd unit - Gasol-Kuz--Dennis-Caruso (with one of AD-Bron) or all bench with THT.


That proposed starting lineup means less space for LBJ with Trezz down there, and LBJ having to create for everyone out there due to a lack of another person who can create/attack the rim. Trezz would likely foul out every game too.

I think we need to stagger better. Dennis should be the 1st sub, bring in AC. When LBJ sits, bring in Dennis. Pretty simple modification to our current lineup. We leave LBJ/Dennis out there too long together IMO.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:21 am    Post subject:

Booooo
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:18 am    Post subject:

PenG_ wrote:
The ultimate trap team, beating the Suns, Celtics, Sixers and Lakers in four of their five wins.

Damn that’s there wins? What the hell happened in all the other games lol
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:44 am    Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:
wolfpaclaker wrote:
Could be interesting to have a look at some lineup changes. Since Gasol is refusing to shoot even wide open 3s. It also sets our identity a bit as a softer team on offense.

Trez has been hit and miss off the bench. Dennis has not been potent as a starting level PG, even though he has been solid on D. Wesley has given the team nothing off the bench. Gasol often being questioned.

Wondering if we would be better served

Trez-AD-Wesley-KCP-Bron starting

Allows us to establish some identity of being more physical inside. Wesley goes from useless, to a 3nD guy around Bron-AD-Trez.

Dennis has full freedom coming in to be more aggressive and assertive. He has had a niche role in his career to be that guy, he has proven himself as a high quality 6th man, but as a starter in his career his results are not as good. Plus, we really need a bench shot creating weapon.

2nd unit - Gasol-Kuz--Dennis-Caruso (with one of AD-Bron) or all bench with THT.


That proposed starting lineup means less space for LBJ with Trezz down there, and LBJ having to create for everyone out there due to a lack of another person who can create/attack the rim. Trezz would likely foul out every game too.

I think we need to stagger better. Dennis should be the 1st sub, bring in AC. When LBJ sits, bring in Dennis. Pretty simple modification to our current lineup. We leave LBJ/Dennis out there too long together IMO.

I was thinking out loud, in general I do not think Trez should be our starter. I was hoping that we were able to see AD-Bron dominate 1st units, and Trez-Dennis-Kuz-THT dominate 2nd units. Unfortunately, we are not seeing that, and I would like to see some lineups changes happen soon. 30% of the RS is done.

I am saying if Gasol is going to refuse to shoot open 3s and take weak shots around the basket, having Trez instead makes a little more sense as he would not let the team off the hook around the basket if left open to go help on a Bron-AD move. That said, I keep saying, our playoff go to 5 has to be AD.
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