LAKERS -at- GRIZZLIES - 4-16-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Kick and The Close... “You dream about being on a stage like this,” Austin Reaves said after this game.

And you dream that you will respond like Reaves did today in his first playoff game -- 23 points and 14 in the fourth quarter.

He said it really started with how AD and Bron were locked in when the team met to start their prep for this series. AD set the tone early on today.

AD’s first quarter defense was next level, blocking three shots, altering others, poking balls away and the Lakers took a 30-20 lead. Memphis would cut that in half to close the first quarter.

The Lakers first turnover came with 8:41 in the second quarter as Bron threw a pass away. He then didn’t cover Kennard and gave up an open three. Next possession, he threw away an awful around-the-back bounce pass that Ja scooped up for a breakaway dunk -- just like that the Grizzlies pulled even again. They’d pick up momentum and the crowd noise surged as they made shots.

The quarter shifted here and the Lakers went on to commit 8 turnovers. When AD hurt his shoulder and went to the locker room with a minute left, the Grizzlies finished the quarter strong. L.A. was down 65-59 at the half.

Reaves mentioned afterward that they took that run from the Grizzlies and were okay with being down just 5 or 6 rather than 11 or 12.

After the trades were made, this team has shown an ability to put things into another gear on their kick to the home stretch. Late in the third quarter, Rui Hachimura gave the Lakers that next gear. He sank four threes and now the Lakers had the 6-point lead.

Rui allows the team to run a true five-out offense. If you want to help or sag, someone is going to be open and it was him tonight. He dropped 29 points on 11-14 shooting in 30 minutes off the bench.

While the Lakers locked in defensively, fatigue has been an issue for the team closing games. Today, they did not have to run the offense through AD or Bron down the stretch.

Midway through the fourth, Reaves had just 11 points and Ja Morant had to leave the game as he came crashing down to the floor after charging against AD. Ja was done for the day. Reaves was just getting started.

Huge plays by Reaves in the close tonight. The highlight reel is all him in the final minutes. He found Rui behind his back for a three. We put the ball in his hands to work off double screens and he nailed a huge three and then a pull-up elbow jumper.

He said he had more than 100 family and friends at the game to watch him. He gave them a great show. Before he came in the league, he was called Hillbilly Kobe, and in his first playoff game, a very Kobe-esque close from the kid in this one.

The Lakers slammed the door shut on the Grizzlies with a 15-0 run to close -- a 128-112 road win to steal home court advantage out of the gates.


LeBron -- -- The turnovers (5) took a little shine off the offensive game from Bron, but he sank three threes and was able to finish at the rim multiple times. The Grizzlies have to be careful on mismatches with him because he’s a lot to handle in the post against their smaller players. When he had those mismatches, we saw him go there quickly and the doubles would come (or he’d get a score like early in the game on a transition mismatch when Russell found him). To close the game, we had him off ball as a shooter to space the floor. Because the team was cranking, Bron only took one shot in the final quarter. Defensively, I really liked the effort. As in the previous game’s thread, on second watch I thought LBJ’s defense was better than it appeared (with Beasley causing problems not playing the scheme well). Aside from one or two plays where he didn’t close out, some very active moments from Bron. We were running some smaller lineups with Rui at C, so he got into shot blocking mode (he finished with 3 today) to go with a couple of steals. Some great moments just flying around the court and even securing big boards. Great to see. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-16 shooting (3-8 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 5 turnovers and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a +7.

Davis -- -- Loved his defense in the game. It caused so many issues for the Grizzlies. He set the tone early with steals, blocks and shot alterations in that first quarter. Look at the stats in this one -- 7 blocks and 3 steals. I think he even forced two travels. When guys came into the lane, they saw him. When they started to survey the floor to give the ball up, he reached in twice to take the ball away. He led the team with a +27 (so we really need to work on those 11 minutes or so he’s not the floor). Great job meeting Ja earlier in the paint and causing problems for him. He had everyone’s back tonight. Offensively, he saw a lot of double teams. We had a couple actions where he got downhill in the middle of the paint to stay away from doubles and help. Some dunks in transition. The Lakers killed Memphis on the offensive glass, AD and Rui with some buckets there. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 10-17 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 12 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 3 steals, 7 blocks, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 37 minutes. He was a +27.

Russell -- -- There was a lot of concern how Russell would show out in the playoffs. Quality firs game from him. He missed some shots early on, but would knock down three threes. He was finding Rui for some of those threes. He got into the midrange for a couple of scores. He had some difficulties when he overpenetrated, but strong outing regardless. I was hoping he’d be a little more into the flow on the road than he was in that last home play-in game. It just felt like he was putting too much pressure on himself in front of the home crowd. The Lakers had four guys score over 20 points in the playoffs. First time since Magic, Kareem, Scott and Worthy did. Russell had 19! So this game had some very well-rounded scoring throughout. That’s a problem for opponents. Hopefully, they can keep it up. “Everybody is capable on our team. That’s what makes us scary,” Russell said. I don’t know what is going on with him and Scott Foster. Remember, Russell said something in a huddle a few games back, just mentioning his name. He had Foster laughing about something he said to him tonight. And he even pointed at him after a made three, lol. “I know what it feels like to be 1-0 here. You’ve got to stay locked in and get the next one,” he said. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 7-17 shooting (3-9 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +20.

Reaves -- -- “My bad … Reaves like that,” Dame tweeted after this one. Mark Jackson during the game: “Austin Reaves is no fluke. He’s going to be around for a long time.” This was after Reaves stole the ball and hit AD for a lob over the other Jackson in transition. I felt like Reaves wasn’t quite comfortable in the last game. He passing a little too early, not getting as much penetration as he could. This game, the confidence just grew as the game went along. The replay of the game will be Reaves in the fourth quarter attacking a close out, drawing a second and third defender in the paint, then going behind his back to put the ball on the money to Rui for an open three. AFter that, he’d hit an elbow jumper working off the screens. He’d snake around the high screen, dribble away from Jackson who would fall and then score a layup (plays like that just remind me of Manu…that combo of herky-jerky play or just being slithery off the dribble to get the rim is quite a skill). So now in the fourth, we’re calling his number. The ball in his hands in the corner at midcourt so he could attack to his right off double screens. He’d work that and hit a big three with Jackson too far back to challenge. Big yell from Reaves after that. Next time down, he worked off that into the paint, got to the elbow area that Kobe like to pull up from and knocked down the jumper. Big time shots. “I’m him! “I’m him!” Reaves was yelling. The Lakers dropped 128 on the Grizzlies, so a lot of guys scoring, but in the heat of the battle we put it in the young man’s hands and he crushed it. Welcome to the playoffs. Imagine the Grizzlies, game planning for LeBron and AD down the stretch and it’s Reaves who is the closer. On the other side of the court, some great moments on D against Banes, including blocking one of his threes from behind on a great recovery. Really good help D and handled himself on the switches. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 8-13 shooting (3-5 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 31 minutes. He was a +15.

Vanderbilt -- -- He took on the Ja assignment. “The goal is to keep him out of the paint, “ a breathless Vanderbilt said in an interview midway through the first quarter. Asked about the match up, he said, “This is what I live for.” The advantage we have here is that he can go under the screens and try to use length to recover. If he’s going over the screens, he can try to crowd him from behind. With Ja hurting his wrist, who knows what that means in the next one. It’s certainly not going to help his three shooting if he does try to go. So Vando can really sag back and keep trying to level Ja off and challenging. If you look at the offensive board stats in this game, it’s just 10-6 in favor of the Lakers. There were at least 4-6 times, somewhere in that number, where the Lakers drew fouls on the Grizzlies as we battled on the offensive glass to regain possession. So the advantage there is probably much bigger than the stats show. Vando had a couple of those, himself. Scoring wise, he had a dunk in the middle of the zone early on as they tried to ignore him and help on AD. So now the Grizzlies had to pay attention to that. He’d also get a turnaround jumper to fall to beat the shotclock for his other bucket. Scheme-wise, though, we saw him very deliberate in setting those pin-in screens on the weakside for shooters. The Grizzlies may help off in a little more exaggerated fashion in the next one. However, if Ja doesn’t go, Rui will get more run since he spaces so much better. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards and 4 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -4.

Schröder -- -- He picked up 3 fouls in 6 minutes to start this game. We gambled, keeping him out there for a minute, then gambled again bringing him back in to close the half and cover Ja. He wouldn’t pick up another foul in the game. Defensively, he’d play some ball denial on Ja. But he’d also get caught on screens and go over them, allowing Ja to get downhill. This is where AD stepping up and causing problems really helped to contain Ja. Offensively, he drained a wing three and took the ball coast to coast to score a layup at the end of the quarter, scoping it up around a defender somehow. He also had a nice play drawing the D and dishing to AD for a dunk. Quiet night for Dennis compared to some of the other games. We had other guys stepping up, so he could step back a little without issue. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +6.

Hachimura -- -- “Since I got here, this team really believed in me,” Rui said afterward. He said he’s had the green light from players and coaches since arriving here. The Lakers have worked on his three point shot. It was mentioned a few games back and it looks like it has slightly more arch in it. He was money tonight. Twice he hit back-to-back threes. He had another off a Reaves behind-the-back pass. He mentioned the team was teasing him that his dunk package was kind of weak. Rui said he’d hammer on someone in this series. He got Jackson on one today. He attacked off the that three line and threw down as Jackson was trying to challenge. Some good moments as well using his size for putbacks or in the post for a turnaround when Bron was sitting and we needed to create some offense in that second half. He tied the Laker playoff record with Mychal Thompson for scoring off the bench with 29. He played our backup C today giving the team that 5-out look. The Grizzlies are going to have to react to that more in the next game, which should help others find more space. Obviously, we can’t expect big outings like this to happen every game. But we can hope one of our bench guys is a game changer. Dennis and Rui have both been going that for the team lately. The Stats: He scored 29 points on 11-14 shooting (5-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist and 1 foul in 30 minutes. He was a +12.

Beasley -- -- He missed a couple of threes in his 10 minutes. He also had the ball stolen from him on a sideline double. They top locked him defensive at times to avoid some of our pet plays. The team will have to be ready for the counters off of that to see if they can get him a couple layups in the next one. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting from three to go with 1 offensive board, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -4.

Brown -- -- He banked in a wing three to start the game. That was a sign of how his three shooting would go. He missed his next couple, both very open. He also choked a reverse layup. Need better minutes. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +1.

Gabriel -- -- Just came in for half a minute of garbage time as Rui took over the backup C spot to allow us to go 5 out. The Action: No stats.

Walker IV -- -- In for the final minute. The Stats: No stats.

Bamba -- -- In for the final minute. Wonder if we see him in the mix in this one at some point if we really want to keep the 5 out. The Stats: No stats.

Christie -- -- In for the final minute. The Stats: No stats.

Harrison -- -- In for the final minute. The Stats: No stats.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Rookie coach in his first playoff game trusting the second-year undrafted player to bring them home down the stretch. Credit to both of them. If you’ve watched Reaves like most Laker fans, you understand.

Key Substitution: Today, it was Rui. His role has been increasing as his defense and three shooting have picked up. As the back-up C, you don’t really have to run plays for him. Other teams really want to zone up or sag to the nail or help with their big in some manner. Run some primary action, pull Rui up high, force the D to either stay with him or leave him. Then just find him open or take advantage of the lack of rim protection. There was a brief stretch where Ja went down where we still had Vando out there. Ham didn’t let that last too long.

Key Stats: The Lakers hit 16-37 from three (43.2%). Grizzlies shot 13-36 (36.1%). There were a lot of good looks. The fouls were very even: 18 on the Lakers, 19 on the Grizzlies. The Lakers had 16 turnovers, Grizzlies 12. Let’s see if L.A. can improve on that in the next one.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

THANKS DB!! FIRST!!!

LAKERS ALL DAY BABY!

[pio2u]

THX DB!

GO LAKERS!!

[Nonamehero]

Keys to winning game 2:

If Ja is playing, have Vando guard him and let him shoot.
If he is not playing, Hui should get most of the minutes or even start.
We need some minutes for Bamba.

No more 3 guards lineup, that (bleep) isn’t cute.

DLo
Reaves
Lebron
Hui
AD

No more small ball lineup with Lebron as the sole creator.
Please have Bamba in there for 10 mins.

I am sure he can at least hit a couple of 3.

Schroder 20 mins
TBJ or Beasley depend on who is hot —> 18 mins
Vando 15 mins
Bamba 10 mins

Ham likes to start 2nd with
Lebron
Schroder
TBJ
Hui
Beasley

Which is usually when we give up a lot of point and score very little.

Change this to
Lebron
Schroder
Hui
TBJ
Bamba

A lot more size and defense while good spacing as well.

[ChefLinda]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

AD, LeBron, and a supporting cast with so many players capable of:

Playing smart

Playing tough defense

Involving teammates

Exploding on offense


Too many weapons to game plan, a great team attitude, chemistry and unselfish ball. I just love what happened to this team at the trade deadline. Wow.

[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".

[governator]

Rui-Vando is the 1-2 wing/big wing/small mobile big combo every team would drool to have

[DrDent]

Thanks DB, great write up.

One thing that stood out to me to close the game - ball was in AR's hands. He got to decide what to do with it.

Pleased with the W but the second half shooting was insane from 3, 11-19. Also, when AD was out for a bit we saw the team's most enormous weakness (long stretches minus AD) on defense exploited...my guess is that end up costing the Lakers during their playoff run (eg lack of a reliable back up big, or at least one they trust to use).

But, will enjoy this as it comes. I really have no expectation for this team because of how the past couple years went - but will take in all the W's they rack up.
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"One thing I admire about Kuzma is his unwavering confidence. He truly has no idea that he’s not as good as he thinks." - Killer_Z

[tox]

Thanks DB!

[Al13]

Great writeup as always, but I disagree on we stole the game, we freaking took it from them in the toughest Arena to play this season.

[lordtrapula]

Reaves and Rui deserve their props, but I felt AD was the best player on the court today.

That stat-line looks more absurd the more I look at it, duncan-esque.

He dominated the Grizzlies at every facet it felt like.

[Laker's Fan]

We were the best team of the playoffs this weekend. Memphis is a monster at home. They were playing their game. JJJ was balling. Didn't matter. Lakers rolled.
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Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[Hanging from Rafters]

Good write up, Thnx DB! I really enjoyed the confident closing from Reavs, Rui as the assassin with 3s, and bounce back game from Dlo. Schro was the PG enforcer last game so good to see it can be switched up in the playoffs.

Need Bron to value possessions with a better sense of urgency, especially in the 4th, 5 turnovers is too many. Also, We got away with limited size besides AD against a team without 2 of their man bigs out hurt but need to integrate Mo Bamba so he has chemistry when he is going to be needed. He could be a difference in the 11 minutes AD was out to keep a lead. Beasley needs the Lonnie Walker treatment now, his 10 minutes should go to Schro, we’ve seen enough. The 16 minutes TBjr got should go to Bamba. AD/Mo/LBJ/Rui/Vando/Reavs/Dlo/Schro = only 8 that should get minutes.
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“When it looks as if it is a realistic possibility, I want to focus on winning a ship like it’s a goal that can’t be denied. I didn’t see that this off season.”

[1995Lakers]

[Startrout]

Other than LeBron’s silly turnovers and poorly timed 3’s, I thought he was really playing hard on Defense. He was rebounding, double teaming, blocking shots, and making steals. It might be the best way to use him and let everyone else do most of the heavy lifting on offense. I like the ball in D-LO, Reeves, and Schröder’s hands with Lebron off ball.

[slavavov]

Thanks DB! Appreciate your effort and commitment to making these write-ups all season long.

We are seeing this Lakers team continue to grow and come together and progress toward becoming a really good or even a great team that could soon win a championship.

We finally have a consistent identity — defend, rebound and run. We outscored Memphis 26-17 in fast-break points, and that was triggered by great defense from AD and even LeBron. To win the chip either this season or next, we need consistent D, rebounding and fast-breaking from everyone.

I love how late in the game when we got those consecutive stops, we took the ball all the way and got those three straight breakways/fast breaks instead of just bringing the ball out and milking the clock. That shows the killer instinct needed to win it all.

I'm just a bit nervous that Jeanie Buss won't be able or willing to keep DLO, Reaves, Rui and Schroder this summer.
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Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers

[joeblow]

[forzaCOREA]

I feel Jared is getting absolutely no love and respect from the refs. He gets called all the time for these ticky tack fouls when he's playing good D. Any 50/50 type of call goes the other way. Meanwhile on the offensive side he's not getting any fouls called his way. Am I trippin?

Yo Jared we respect your hustle!

Cmon Ham, stand up for your boy.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Kblo247!]

[Kblo247!]

[unleasHell]

Great opening win...!

Might as well go for the sweep....!
_________________
“Always remember... Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.”