LAKERS -at- PISTONS – 3-15-19 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:54 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- PISTONS – 3-15-19 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Tour de Tank… Load management, err tank management, for LeBron tonight. Play him in the game that will be hard to win (Toronto), rest him in the one more likely to get a W. Well done.

Would the Lakers miss his 27 points per night? They scored just 40 points in the first half and trailed by 6. With LeBron, they might have had a lead there.

They battled back in the third, but a 14-0 run got them on their heels, and they were never able to recover, falling 111-97. Excluding KCP, the rest of the Lakers shot 3-19 from three. Meanwhile, the Pistons sank 17-39 from behind the arc (including three guys with four makes a piece).


Kuzma -- -- Some great passing by Kuzma in this game. He wasn’t scoring at a high clip but he was doing a good job finding teammates. The Flint Boys especially seemed to be looking out for each other as he set up McGee for a number of scores, including some nice lobs in transition. Some SF briefly tonight across McGee and Wagner. That unit seemed to get drilled by several open threes. He and Blake largely covered each other tonight. Kuzma kept him from getting a rebound for another three straight quarters (seven straight) before Blake finally got one off a missed Kuzma freethrow. Kuzma’s shot was off missing all his threes and half his FTs. Love the passing, though, to lead the Lakers in assists with a new career high. LeBron not dominating the ball probably played into that some, but Kuzma wasn’t ball dominant or anything like that tonight. He never is. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-14 shooting (0-4 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 10 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnover and 2 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a wing face-up jumper. He crossed over Ellington and then scored easily at the rim over him. He missed a wing three in transition next time down. He forced a missed layup in transition. He missed a runner in the paint after facing up in the post. He hit a short one off the drive and dish from Moe. He missed a wing three. He set up McGee for a score after working the post. He scored an up-and-under layup around Drummond and just beat the shotclock in the process. He missed a layup on the break, but McGee cleaned it up. He ball-faked and traveled off the three line. He hit KCP for a three. He attacked with speed and couldn’t finish the layup. Second Half: He attacked and hit the push shot from about 12 feet out. He posted up and scored a layup over a smaller man. He pushed out and hit Caruso for an And-1 layup. He set up Williams for the short one in the paint. He fed KCP for the And-1 throwdown in transition next time down. Weak foul call on a meaningless push off on the perimeter, turnover. He found McGee on the rim run for a dunk. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he missed both (Blake finally got a rebound off that). He attacked in transition and lobbed to McGee for the dunk. He plowed through Blake on the break to earn FTs, he made both. He missed a step-back corner three. He attacked in transition and lobbed to McGee for the dunk.

Rondo -- -- He had 5 assists in the first half but was scoreless on 4 attempts. He picked up the scoring a bit in the second half, scoring 12 points in the third quarter. He was attacking the rim aggressively in that third. He’d swish a three to finish with 15 in that second half. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-13 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -20. The Action: Baseline probe and he handed off to Bullock for the layup. He attacked a closeout and dished to McGee for the dunk. He missed a drive in transition. Awful post entry pass to Kuzma, easily picked off, score the other way. He fed Williams trailing the break for the dunk. Great job stealing a pass and one-handing an outlet to KCP for what should have been a score. He attacked and airballed a hook. Quick outlet to McGee on the break for a layup. He setup Bullock for a midrange jumper. He attacked the break and lost the ball. Second Half: He hit McGee coming weak to strong for a score. He attacked and threw it out of bounds expecting Kuzma to be there. He saw the paint open up and took it for the uncontested layup. He attacked in transition and drew FTs next time down, he made both. He couldn’t finish a layup on the break next time down. He attacked, probed and choked the layup. He sank a wing jumper. He attacked the paint, got into the defender’s chest (rare he does that) and scored the layup. He was blocked on a floater. He dribbled a ball off his foot, turnover. He attacked and muscled in a layup. He attacked a mismatch and scored the backhand layup. He overpassed at the rim instead of taking the layup, not sure what he was thinking there. He swished a three in early offense.

McGee -- -- Some really good energy for stretches of this game. On one play he recovered to reject a drive, his momentum going out of bounds as everyone changed ends, he hustled down court, caught up and cleaned up a missed Kuzma layup on the break. That had to take an extra gear to change ends like that to make that play happen. He led the Lakers with 10 points in the first half on 5-6 shooting to go with 2 blocks. He’d finish as the team’s leading scorer. Give some credit to Kuzma for setting him up a ton, but better energy from McGee in general. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 10-16 shooting to go with 13 boards (5 offensive), 1 steal, 3 blocks and 5 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -21. The Action: He threw down a dunk off Bullock’s drive to start the game. He dunked off the drive and dish from Rondo. He rejected a drive in transition D. He hit a floater off the dish from Kuzma. He challenged, leaked out, took the pass and finger rolled over the D. He blocked a drive on one end, then cleaned up the breakaway miss on the other. He got tapped on an up-and-under. Second Half: He cut weak to strong, took the pass and hit the running bank around his man. He gave up an offensive board and score on the other end. He missed a turnaround badly getting a bit intimidated by Drummond. Nice rim run and Kuzma found him for the dunk. He dunked off the lob from Kuzma on the break. He missed an elbow turnaround (I think trying to get Kuzma an assist). He faced up and hit a baseline hook. He threw down a lob pass from Kuzma on the break. He battled for an offensive board, then choked a layup (dunk that).

Bullock -- -- See what we can do to your shooters, Detroit? Impressive, right? To be fair, KCP did go 3-6 despite Bullock’s 0-5 brickfest. A lot of these are pretty good looks, too. Maybe they need to try to set him up with a couple closer looks first to get him into a rhythm early, but he did get into the paint a couple times early. He seems to be missing a lot of those threes short. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting (0-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He attacked and scoop-lobbed to McGee for the dunk. He scored a layup off a handoff under the hoop from Rondo. He threw an outlet away. He missed a wing three. Way short on a wing catch-and-shoot three. He attacked and dribbled the ball off his foot. Too late on a long pass in transition to Bullock, turnover. He ball-faked and bricked a three. He swished an 18-foot catch-and-shoot out of a timeout. Second Half: He blindsided a man on one end for a steal, then missed two threes the on other, both way short.

Muscala -- -- He got the start, but that was cut a little short in the second half when he banged knees with McGee. Really not a lot to write about here, which is the problem. He did hit a jumphook and a short jumper for his scores. But really no impact. Must…not…talk…about…the…trade… The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He flashed to the ball in the paint, took the pass and hit the jumphook. Second Half: He sank an elbow jumper flashing to the ball. He missed a wing three.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He had a big sequence in the fourth where he hit a three, was fouled on a three and then threw down and And-1 dunk for a traditional three-point play. That helped cut the Pistons lead in half and force a timeout. The Lakers had too little of that, though, from others. The rest of the Lakers shot 3-19 from three. Awful. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-9 shooting (3-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He fumbled away a sure layup off a great feed from Rondo down court. He missed a corner three. He sank a three coming off a screen. He missed a three. He pushed off and stepped out of bounds. He attacked and kicked to Caruso for the open corner three. He sank a three, just beating the shotclock. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He fouled a three shooter. He choked a short floater at the front of the rim. He sank a sideline three on a kickout. He was fouled on a wing three, getting under cut, he made all three FTs. He hammered down an And-1 dunk over Thon Maker on the break, he made the FT. He got tapped on a wing three out of a timeout. He scored a layup when no one matched up in transition and Caruso fired a pass to him.

Caruso -- -- Really putting in a great effort and showing a strong two-way game in the past couple. He was hitting the floor and hustling on D, but also played aggressive offensively and got the line to lead the Lakers with 8 attempts. Good energy and effort on the second night of the back to back. When the PGs were out earlier in the season and the team went sideways, they could have used minutes from AC. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 4-11 shooting (2-4 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +0. The Action: He attacked and couldn’t finish over the D. He slapped a pass away and was fouled, clear-path, he made both FTs. He cut down the middle of the paint on the same possession and earned more FTs, he then missed both (could have had a 4-point possession). He sank an open corner three on a kickout. He missed a three from the top of the arc. He doubled the post off the first pass position and gave up a three. He crossed over, attacked and couldn’t get the ball over the rim. Second Half: He airballed a three on a low kickout. He pressured his man into a turnover. He attacked at the end of the quarter to earn FTs, he made both. He split a double team, attacked the paint and scored the And-1 layup around the third defender, he made the FT. He changed ends with speeds, took the pass and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He dove to the floor after a loose ball after he deflected a pass. Then on the other end, he one-handed a pass off the catch to Williams for FTs. Off the mark on a tough lob attempt to Williams in the paint. No-looker from half court to KCP open under the hoop for a layup. He missed a drive. He swished a step-back wing three. He was blocked on a drive trying score over a big.

Williams -- -- Rough getting thrown in there along with Moe to control the glass against Drummond. Neither of our G-League bigs has enough in his back pocket to stay with a bigman that size. Drummond backed him down for a miss, offensive board, offensive board and score on one post D sequence. Despite all that, he still lead the team with a +9 in his 15 minutes. So the team worked it out with him. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He dunked trailing the break when Rondo found him. Took too long to elevate and Drummond blocked his dunk attempt. Overpowered by Drummond for a score. He out-worked Drummond for an offensive board and foul on the other end, he made both FTs. He attacked off the three line and lost the ball. Second Half: He drew FTs on the one-handed corner feed from Caruso, he missed both FTs. He took a handoff and hit the short one in the paint.

Wagner -- -- He set a beautiful screen on McGee in this game, sending him to the ground. He seemed really confused in this game on both ends of the court, which is why it’s good to get minutes under his belt. Not a good game. Just sloppy execution on both sides of the floor. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 0-5 shooting (0-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed a three trailing the break. He attacked and lost the ball for a score the other way. He attacked off the three line and hit Kuzma for the short one in the paint. He attacked from the corner and drew FTs, he made both. He up-faked and attacked from the corner for more FTs, he made one. Poor challenge trying to recover and he fouled. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He choked a layup on the break around a smaller defender (just dunk that, sheesh). He attacked a crowd and threw a wild pass out of bounds. He missed an open three. He attacked and missed a layup.

Bonga -- -- He started the second quarter along with fellow G-Leaguers, Caruso and Williams. He quickly missed a few jumpers. He only had a brief stint in the second half as we played Ingram a little more. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards and no fouls in 5 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He missed an open wing three. He grabbed an offensive board and reset the offense, then attacked and got tapped on a pull-up jumper. He bricked an open elbow jumper. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Ingram -- -- He came in for the final seconds of the third. Still waiting for him to score. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting in 6 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a short runner.

Walton -- -- Moe in for McGee at the 5:24 mark, Lakers down 2. Good luck covering Drummond… Timeout down 5 after we gave up a dunk to Drummond a couple plays later… Williams in for Muscala… Caruso in for Rondo with a couple minutes left, down 4… The Lakers trailed 27-22 after the first quarter… Wagner, Williams, Bonga, KCP, Caruso lineup to start the quarter… Bonga out for Rondo, Lakers down 6... Kuzma and McGee back in for the G-League duo… The Lakers went on an 11-2 run to take a lead… KCP in for Caruso, who picked up his third foul, Lakers down 3… The Lakers trailed 46-40, giving up a three at the buzzer. Lakers just 3-12 from three, Pistons 8-21… Muscala quickly out for Moe after banging a knee and going to the locker room… KCP in for Bullock, down 7… Caruso in for Kuzma down 10… Lakers giving up a series of threes and Luke called a timeout down 12… The Lakers trailed 77-62 heading into the fourth… He started a Williams, Kuzma, KCP, Ingram, Caruso lineup… They trimmed the lead down to 8 with KCP coming up with a series of 3-point plays, but couldn’t pull any closer…
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akgolf
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:31 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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RYZ
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:29 pm    Post subject:

"He set a beautiful screen on McGee in this game, sending him to the ground. He seemed really confused..." The Lakers season in a nutshell: own goal after own goal.

It is nice to see Caruso maximizing the last 15 minutes of his two-way. I suspect he'll still be looking for a camp invite somewhere next year, but you can't say he's not getting the most out of what he has left with the Lakers.

Btw, impeccable timing with forgetting to DVR the one win in a sea of losses, DB! A glutton for punishment, you apparently are, sir!
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 7:09 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB for trudging through the dog days of Lakerdom!
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oldlakerfan
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 9:18 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB,

Luke should be taking time to find out what we have with Bonga
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