SUNS -at- LAKERS - 4-7-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

One More To Go... While the last game was a schedule loss scenario, the Lakers caught a break in this one with the Suns resting their stars. So it felt like it should be an easy win going into it.

This was one of those games, however, where you could tell early on that the Lakers weren’t bringing their “A game” and their opponent was going to stick around all night.

They let the Suns build some small early leads. The Lakers were getting out hustled on the offensive glass, and that turned into second chances.

To close the first half, Malik Beasley caught fire (he’d finish the night with 21 off the bench). That helped the Lakers even things up.

“When we’re moving the ball, we’re a hard team to beat,” Beasley said.

While LeBron floundered and AD was mostly MIA on the offensive end, the Lakers starting guards were productive.

In the third, they put together an 18-4 run featuring Reaves scoring and playmaking. They’d push out to a 9-point lead, but the Suns stayed connected.

The Lakers couldn’t shake the Suns until late in the game when Russell connected on three straight threes, and that was the ball game. They won 121-107.

It’s been a strong finish with the roster makeover after that ridiculous 2-10 start. They’ll need some help if they are going to avoid the play-in.


LeBron -- -- Oof. Just a poor overall game. Very sloppy from start to finish. Defensively, he was barely moving at times. I could understand some fatigue after the last series of games, but it’s a little worrisome since we know the foot issue will still require some work this offseason. Just 6 points on 2-8 shooting in the first half. He sank a three and dunked, filling the lane on the break for his two makes. Some standing around on defense and that cost the Lakers some second-chance points. Three turnovers in the first half and a fourth to start the second half. Then picked up a charge a few minutes later. Later in the fourth, he tried to freelance the offense with AD, got caught in the air and tried to break the backboard with a 90 m.p.h. brick. Just no flow or much effort. Hopefully, he can get some rest before the next one. “I’m looking forward to possibly having the day off tomorrow,” he said. Of course, he mentioned he’s going to be flying to catch his son’s game. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-19 shooting (3-7 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 6 assists, 5 turnovers and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a +11.

Davis -- -- Poor first half, getting blocked twice on shots, unable to finish over Biyombo on another and then just choking another layup he should have had. He had just 5 points on 1-7 shooting. Slightly better scoring in the second half, but it was really just garbage work. We didn’t run offense through him. Biyombo was done for the night after they knocked knees. Good job by AD on the glass and challenging some shots. The Suns definitely stayed with him a bit so that some passes weren’t there. We tried to force some anyway with little luck. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 4-12 shooting (0-1 from three, 6-7 from the line) to go with 21 boards (4 offensive), 4 assists, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a +17.

Russell -- -- The three ball was dropping tonight. He closed the door on the Suns late in this game with three straight threes. He led the Lakers with 15 points in the first half, making three threes. He also got into the midrange off high screens for some jumpers. One layup on a drive that showed a nice touch high off the glass with his left. The passing was super sloppy. He threw some sort of lob looking underhand pass right out of bounds. Bron fired one into the crowd cross court. They combined for 11 turnovers. Just ugly. Still, he led the team in scoring tonight and did it efficiently to make up for some of those miscues. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 9-14 shooting (6-9 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 6 turnovers and 2 assists. He was a +9.

Reaves -- -- Ham gave him the “M-V-P” chant when Reaves was giving the postgame interview. This was one of those games where it looked the refs didn’t want to call the whistle for Reaves. There were a couple for sure that Reaves was expecting, but despite that, he still crushed it. Aggressive first half with 11 points on 5-8 shooting. There was a stretch where all three of LBJ/AD/DLo were all on the bench and he was in charge. A lot of that work in the midrange, including one he was looking for contact, didn’t get it but still made the easy one. He also swashed a corner three in translation. He led the team with 4 assists in the half, including a lob to Beasley in transition for a dunk. He also led the team with a +8 in the first half. He’d finish with a team-high +18. I love that he’s looking for his now. That’s really the difference. He’s just a constant threat to score and it’s elevated his game and opened up even more passing for him. A couple of especially crafty scores in this one. He had a step-through in the first half that you were sure he traveled on in real time, but he kept the pivot foot down and scored the layup past a bigman. In the second half, he had a subtle hesi where he looked like he was pulling it back, then kept going for the layup. The defenders legs on that play, they just went dead. So good. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-13 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-5 from the line) to go with 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 31 minutes. He was a +18.

Vanderbilt -- -- Really quite night. He was blocked on a dunk attempt and missed a floater. He grabbed a few boards, but not in the spotlight tonight at all. Again, when it came down to it, more minutes for Rui and Brown as they have more two-way game that doesn’t distort the offensive sets. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 4 boards and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a -7.

Hachimura -- -- Some good effort again from Rui, which was especially needed when the team was lagging a bit. As a result, he was a +17 in 23 minutes. He made his only three attempt. He attacked off the three line for a layup and had another one on the break. His hustle work cleaned up an AD missed three and a missed layup by Brown on the break. He’s stringing together some good games. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-8 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists and no fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +17.

Beasley -- -- We needed this one from him. Great close to the first half and he helped the team trim the 7-point lead to just 1. Most of his action took place in the final three minutes where he swished a couple of threes and finished a lob dunk on the break with Reaves. He had another three earlier and an And-1 in transition for 14 points on 5-8 shooting in the first half. He’d knock down another three in the second half, hit short one-hander on the baseline and drew some FTs in transition. Some moments, too, defensively getting his hands on some passes. Very nice. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-14 shooting (4-10 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +13.

Brown -- -- Good minutes. He buried both of his threes, including a crazy one where he was drifting to his left and had to compensate. He hustled to put himself in the right place at the right time to scoop up some loose balls. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-6 shooting (2-2 from three) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a +3.

Gabriel -- -- Not too much noteworthy. He used his length to poke a ball loose and ignite a Laker break. He also blocked a shot. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and had 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 turnover in 8 minutes. He was a -3.

Walker IV -- -- With Schröder not playing due to the neck strain, Lonnie moved into the rotation for a brief stint in the first half. He hit a three on his only shot. He had a nice recovery to block a jumper, as well. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting from three to go with 1 board, 1 block and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a -2.

Bamba -- -- He had a top-in for his only score. He missed a chuck from three in garbage time and was blocked in the post earlier in the game. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards (2 offensive), 1 block and 2 fouls in 6 minutes. He was a -2.

Christie -- -- Came in for the final minute. The Stats: He had no stats. He was a -2.

Reed -- -- Nothing to report. The Stats: He had no stats in 1 minute of garbage time. He was a -2.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: It took an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter for the Lakers to finally get this team off their backs. The offense was there all night from the guards, but finally getting the Suns to go scoreless for a 3-minute stretch was key. The Lakers held them to just 18 points in the fourth. They will face a Utah team that has hustled all season against them in the next one. They need to meet the right energy. Hopefully, Utah has a night out in L.A.

Key Substitution: Strong contributions from both Rui and Beasley. Rui has been giving them some consistency lately. Beasley is inconsistent but can pop games like this every now and then to give the team a lift. The team missed some of Schröder’s hustle and effort. A little lifeless at times, but good effort by these two.

Key Stats: The Suns had a 12-2 advantage in second chance points in the first half. They had an 8-2 advantage on the offensive glass. The Lakers would have a 10-5 advantage on the offensive glass in the second half. The Lakers won the second half 60-45.

[JUST-MING]

Morale victory for Phoenix

[drae]

[CandyCanes]

Best win of the season, taking down a juggernaut opponent even with the pressure of a close game.
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Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:

[slavavov]

This win proved nothing. It almost felt like we didn't lose rather than won.

The team seems to be losing steam. Hopefully it's only because of that long road trip. Sunday's game may tell us more about the state of the team, but Xs and Os-wise and physically.

However it also shows why it's so important to have depth. Our newfound depth got us the wins versus Phoenix and Utah, and Jeanie Buss better open her purse wide to keep all or most of this depth next season.
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Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers

[Startrout]

I wish they had given more minutes for Bamba to shake the rust off and get his wind back as we may need him in the playoffs. LeBron has looked terrible since returning from the injury. If he can’t get it together we’re not going to go very far.

[Nobody]

Not overly pleased, but a W is a W. Hopefully LeBron gets back to his normal self soon.

[PenG_]

Wasn't able to watch. I can't imagine the game thread given we were tied at one point in the 4Q.

[pio2u]

THX DB!

According to ESPN:
The Lakers are the sixth NBA team to start the season 2-10 (or worse) and still finish the season at .500 or above!

[danzag]

Thanks, DB.

I think the team is tired from this late push to get out of the hole. Our players have all sorts of injuries bothering them.

Hopefully we'll win Sunday and Tuesday and have a nice five day rest before the first round of the playoffs.

[tox]

Thanks DB!

Bamba doesn't get a ? lol

[ThePageDude]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB! Relieved to see a Laker win and a guaranteed finish above .500.

Lots of posters are mentioning this and it's bothering me too. After coming back from this injury, Bron is looking like crap. When we put the primary ball handling in the hands of DLO and Reaves, we do pretty well. Schroeder is backing them up well IMO. But when Bron stops ball movement, stagnates, and resorts to iso ball the last few games, we flat-out suck. On both ends of the court because he's not mobile on defense either.

It seems like Ham recognizes who the best Laker on the floor was in last night's game, judging from his post-game antics as Reaves was interviewed. But he has a problem on his hands.

I hope I'm overly pessimistic here, but I'm having a hard time picturing this team winning in post-season if Bron doesn't get his mojo back real fast, or at least starts thinking hard about trusting his teammates and not stopping the ball.

[Startrout]

I agree, I don’t think we are a team that can just give the ball to our best player at the end of games to let him create something. LeBron is just not that guy anymore. Instead we need to run the offense, move the ball and try to get good looks for Reeves, Troy, DLO from range or get the ball deep in the paint to AD/Lebron. Or Dennis could be an option in the mid range as well. But the most important thing is tons of motion, screens, and ball movement.

[venturalakersfan]

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB!
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[A Mad Chinaman]

[deal]

Thanks DB
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Lakers need to build a freaking team !