NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 12/22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 9:37 pm    Post subject: NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 12/22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Losing Streak... With no LeBron tonight, the Lakers would be hard-pressed to try to pull off a win against visiting Denver. The team just lacks the playmaking and Denver can make you work for your points.

hey slid Rondo in the starting lineup hoping he could help orchestrate offense in LeBron’s absence.

The Lakers would have more turnovers (19) than assists (18).

They fell apart during a Nugget 14-2 run in the third quarter when the D struggled to defend some side pick and roll action, and the team piled up some fouls.

To start the fourth, back-to-back turnovers killed the Lakers for good as they would go down by 18 and eventually fall 128-104.

They’ll need all hands on deck when they face the Clippers in the next one.


Davis -- -- On his fourth foul in the third quarter, he had a slight hyperextension of his knee which seemed to bother him when he went to the bench.They worked on him over there for a bit, but brought AD back to start the fourth quarter. The Lakers two stars are getting a little banged up. Their health is the key to this season. We ran a lot of offense through AD tonight. He worked the post to get past defenders with speed and footward. He’d also hit turnarounds. There was a baseline turnaround fade that just looked impossible to defend. Some putbacks hustling to crash the glass. Jokic could not stay with him when AD put the ball on the floor. He finally sank a three for the first time in three games. He had 4 blocks in this one. He had a block called a goaltend that we challenged and won. The problem with that is that it’s one of those momentum plays where the team gets hyped off, but it kind of went sideways there. The refs got back at him shortly later on a great block they called a weak foul on. He got tagged with more fouls and had four fouls with 3 minutes left in the third and sat. The Lakers gave up 73 points in that second half. The D just folded under the whistles, turnovers and lack of fight in the team. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 13-23 shooting (1-4 form three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 4 blocks, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -13.

Green -- -- He slid into the SF spot with LeBron sidelined. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the same Green as we saw in the last game. Really not a lot from him. I guess he played his great game for the month. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-4 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnover and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -4.

McGee -- -- Not much to this game. Other than I guess a pull-up three in garbage time. He had a couple scores at the rim earlier. One a drop-step for an And-1 layup against Jokic. Another he tip-toed the baseline for a reverse dunk off a feed from Rondo. Really didn’t like this game from him. Not much defensively. He broke off a play in the fourth for THT to take a 17-footer. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-1 from three, 0-1 from the lien) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -7.

Bradley -- -- We moved the Rondo/Bradley unit into the starting spot. Because it’s been so productive on the bench? We needed another scorer to step into this game and it wasn’t Bradley. KCP went back to obscurity on the bench. Bradley did sink a couple of threes off skip passes. That’s a positive since he’s struggled from behind the arc lately. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-8 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -6.

Rondo -- -- With LeBron resting, we bumped Rondo up to orchestrate the offense for the starters. Frankly, I often wonder if he’s not a third string PG that should be more in that Dudley role, where he sees limited minutes. But we just don’t have any quality playmaking from our PGs, so this is what happens. There was really no consistent threat of offense for him. If he had some set plays where he was the trigger man on the pass and we ran those with some more frequency that would help. He’s pretty good at delivering those on time and on target (nice one to Green on ATO). The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-8 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 4 boards, 8 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -7.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Off the bench tonight after stringing together some strong games as a starter. Nice sequence in the fourth where he hit a corner three, helped out getting a stop on D, then on the other end, found Daniels with a cross court pass off the dribble for a corner three. We really needed one of those 16- to 18-point outings but chilled him bringing him off the bench. I wouldn’t have messed with what was working for KCP. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -12.

Kuzma -- -- “He had good energy. Our team as a whole didn’t have good energy,” Vogel said. Good to see him back in the mix. One of the positives in this game is that he got to play a little freer with LeBron not out there. He gives us some spark off the bench when he’s on the move. Some nice runners, a three off a kickback and layup working a spin move in the post. He had 9 points on 4-9 shooting and 2 blocks in the first half. Some drives to his left in the second half and another score off a spin move. He just played a lot looser and more aggressive. Hopefully, he can keep that play up when LeBron returns or LeBron can let Kuzma have a little more freedom to play his game. Something to watch for. He’s on a minutes restriction. They brought him in later in the first and pulled him midway through the second when AD returned to run at the PF with Howard. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-15 shooting (1-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a -16.

Caruso -- -- With LeBron out, we saw the more aggressive AC out there early on. Great job early on manufacturing points at the FT line as a result. But he didn’t maintain that when he returned to the game in the third. He pushed out a rebound in the fourth and was fouled on a throwdown attempt that got him M-V-P chants from the crowd. Defensively, some good moments stealing a pass and changing ends. He also pulled the chair in the post and swiped a ball. Always good rotating and challenging. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 0-1 shooting from three (8-8 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 block and no fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -14.

Howard -- -- Some good work cleaning up the offensive glass (5 offensive boards) for some scores early. He also had a faked handoff that he attacked, spun and scored off the glass with. I’ve been wondering if we’d see that a little more if he gets any room to play with from the top of the key. Kuzma had a couple of great feeds to Dwight. One he was fouled on (and bricked his FTs...those have been bad lately). The other he fumbled. No LeBron, so Dwight had to run minutes without AD and had the team-low -19 as a result. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-4 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -19.

Daniels -- -- We brought him in for the fourth when we were trying to shake things up a little. He had a couple of nice off-ball dives to get passes for scores at the rim and sank a three. Good to see some better moments offensively. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -4.

Cook -- -- We went with Cook in the mix as more of a ballhandler and creator with that second unit versus running Daniels out there with LeBron/Rondo. Cook’s shot was not dropping early on as he missed multiple times from behind the arc. He got an over-the-shoulder layup to somehow drop in a crowd, but the shot was off tonight. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -7.

Dudley -- -- He got his first two-pointer to go in this game. A corner jumper off a kickout from THT to get him an assist. So much for being the only guy in the NBA with as much as he’s played to not score a two. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 1 board in 5 minutes. He was a -4.

Horton-Tucker -- -- He came in for Kuzma with under 3 minutes left. Wish we would have brought him in sooner to get more run. Perfect opportunity. We ran our strong handoff play for him to come off the stagger screens and try to make things happen. He’d assist to Dudley for his make from two. I liked that they gave him the ball back to iso a little. Dang, just wish he had more minutes in this stinker. The Stats: He didn’t shoot or socre and had 1 assist, 1 steal and no fouls in 3 minutes. He was a -7.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: The whistles were going against the Lakers midway through the third quarter and Denver went on a 14-2 run. When AD went to the bench with his fourth foul in that third (he got tagged with a few), the Nuggets were able to extend the lead some more. They ran a lot of side pick and roll action which the Lakers tried to Ice and did a poor job of it. When we decided to bring back AD to start the fourth we immediately gave up two straight turnovers and 5 points to fall back by 18. Ball game.

Key Substitution: I guess bringing AD back in the game to start the fourth after that injury. When he had a ball stolen from him on the perimeter in that fourth quarter, he looked like he was in pain. We were down 23 with 9 minutes to go. A lot of faith in this team that they can come back I guess, but why keep him in as long as they did? He finally sat down 20 with 4:31 left. “I didn’t feel like he looked limited,” Vogel said.

Key Stat: Possessions in this one. The Lakers had 19 turnovers (with 18 assists), the Nuggets just 8 turnovers (with 31 assists). The defense wasn’t great, but bad offense will make it easier for your opponent. “Still turning the ball over too much which is a form of beating yourselves,” Vogel said. The Lakers had 15 offensive boards in the first half, which kept them competitive. Just 3 offensive boards in the second half.

Coach’s Challenge: Angry timeout by Vogel 5 minutes into the third after McGee tried to draw a charge (wasn’t called) and AD went up to block the subsequent shot and was called for goaltime. They won the challenge and got the ball. They also used the timeout to setup Green for a corner three off a screen-the-screener sequence. So a 5-point possession basically.
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lukewaltonsdad
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 9:45 pm    Post subject:

First.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 9:49 pm    Post subject:

“I didn’t feel like he looked limited,” Vogel said.

Ok, Frankie

Thanks DB
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Luminous8
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:29 pm    Post subject:

Big surprise,.. Luzma gets freedom to fire and he has a good game. Ask him to do anything else and he suddenly shrinks.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 3:30 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! There is no way that Cacok/THT/Kostas/Zach are not better than Cook. The kid is HORRIBLE.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 5:41 am    Post subject:

Tough one.

Liked ADs mentality, he was ready to take over and do his best.
But this team could not adjust immediately without Lebron.

The offense had issues, but I thought the defense is where we missed Lebron more. Lebron and AD keep the defense tight and in this one felt we allowed the defense to slip, a lot.

First half we competed well, but again late in the half some defense lapses.

And second half it was just brutal with the TOs. The Lakers could not get it going against the #2 rated defense in the league.

It is a long season. We have been fortunate to not have to load manage and we are dealing with some day to day stuff with AD and Lebron (I hope ADs is another day to day injury). 2 of these 3 losses have been without AD or Lebron, and one of them has been with AD hobbling back on a bum ankle and Lebron having a bad back. I just want the 2 superstars fresh in Aprill.

Meanwhile, if Rob can get some more 3 point shooters that would be great. Our 3 point shooting continues to let us down a lot. We had so many good looks yestetday, but at one point were 5-24. Finished off making 4 or 5 of the last 6-7, but until that point in the game, and the game was over by then, we were cold from 3. The TOs and 3 point shooting have been a consistently bad theme for us the last 2 weeks.
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 5:52 am    Post subject:

You sort of just felt with this one, that the guys did not believe they could win against a good Denver team. They came out with energy. But once they saw the same old flaws in their game (TOs, 3 point shooting) they sort of gave up, some of them. AD did not but others you could see some heads drop and confidence lost. Kuzma played for himself, which was a completely selfish Melo like game. I did not like it, but if it gets him going, so be it. Kuzma is playing harder on D, which is good.

Frank has to figure out a way to reduce TOs and maybe cut down on 3 point shooting. I have not checked after this game, but up until 2 games ago we were the #1 FG% team in the NBA. We are probably the best 2 point shooting team in the NBA. We are middle of the pack at 3s. Why we shoot so many 3s when we are having nights like 5-24, or 3-18, to get into the 2nd half, I do not know. I know basketball has changed, but the reliance on 3 ball for a team that is not great at 3 point shooting concerns me. Maybe Frank and the staff think at some point they will get going by 3. I do not know. Danny Green, KCP, Troy. These guys should be shooting 3-5 threes a game. Rest of the team? Nah. I think we should be more active at getting the ball inside.

I liked how Caruso played. He was the only guard that gets it from the non-3 point threat group. Get the ball inside. This is the best paint scoring and 2 point shooting team, yet they hand opponents chances by shooting 20+ three pointers by mid-way of the 3rd Q, while they shoot less than 25% from 3. 5-24 three point shooting going into a 4th Q is pretty typical of us this last 2 weeks.

If this continues to be our game plan, we need another 3 point shooter, a sniper who can take 5-6 three pointers and actually warrant those type of shots.
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 5:54 am    Post subject:

One of the few games where we lost the points in the paint match up.
Fast break points as well, lost. Two key areas for us. These two areas we make up for usually when we are outmatched 3 point shooting wise.

Points in the paint Lakers 56 (-6)
Fast break points Lakers 9 (-13)
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Shaber
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 7:17 am    Post subject:

RI Laker wrote:
Thanks DB! There is no way that Cacok/THT/Kostas/Zach are not better than Cook. The kid is HORRIBLE.


Eery time I see the name Cook, a picture of Brian Cook emerges in my mind.
Seems to be imprinted forever.
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
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governator
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 7:53 am    Post subject:

Why couldn’t we run our offense in the 2nd half? I don’t remember Denver playing any differently
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 10:31 am    Post subject:

governator wrote:
Why couldn’t we run our offense in the 2nd half? I don’t remember Denver playing any differently


I think a good chunk of our offense was on second chances. Once Denver boxed out and got to the boards, we couldn't really compete.
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2019 6:34 pm    Post subject:

I mentioned defense
Quote:

To Davis' point, the only team that had a worse defensive rating than L.A. in the past week was the Phoenix Suns, and no team had a worse defensive rebounding percentage. It came to a head against Denver with the Lakers giving up a season high in points and tying a season high for points in the paint allowed (62).
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