LAKERS -at- GRIZZLIES - 4-26-23 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Time to Defend Home Court... The Lakers weren’t favored heading into this game. Coming into a tough road environment after the overtime, that doesn’t favor the old legs.

With the Lakers down 23-20, they subbed in the Bron/Brown combo and took out AD/Reaves -- the small ball lineup with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. The Lakers stayed with them for a minute as they traded hoops.

But the offense stalled out as Beasley, Bron and Schröder all missed threes, while Bane got into the midrange against the drop coverages and they also gave Kennard space with some miscues on defense. (Ideally, with small ball you are more switchy on defense and space is the one thing you aren’t giving up.) The Grizzlies went on a 10-0 run to close the quarter.

The Lakers would still trail by 12 when AD returned (after the Lakers went bigger with Gabriel at center). Throughout the first half, the Lakers struggled matching up in transition. When Russell got lost in transition and L.A. gave up an open three, they fell back by 17.

They’d push back, however, as AD started blitzing screens instead of automatically hanging back in drop coverages. They would close the half on a 13-5 run and trailed by 9 heading into the half (despite LeBron turning the ball over like crazy and missing threes at a high clip).

To start the second half, Russell got out in transition for a midrange jumper followed by back-to-back threes. Meanwhile, AD started showing high on the screen and the Lakers forced a timeout cutting it to 1. It was 61-60 with 10 minutes left in the third. New ball game.

New ball game, same problems.

Down 1 with 4:10 left in the third, the Lakers sat AD. They didn’t bring Gabriel back and instead went with the Rui/Bron/Brown/Reaves/Schröder smaller lineup. They gave up a putback score, a layup with Bron not challenging, then a three and the Lakers were down 8 less than 2 minutes later. The run was on.

Ham brought AD back in but the Grizzlies transition game would pick up, eliminating his effectiveness in the half court defense. Memphis closed the quarter on a 19-2 run.

As Bron settled for missing more threes to start the fourth, the lead would balloon to 25. And that was that.

The Lakers would string together a 12-0 run, but were still down double digits with 4 minutes left. They fell 116-99.

“We ran out of time,” Vando said afterward. He said they need to throw the first punch and be the aggressor in the next game.


LeBron -- -- I bet climbing out of bed the last two days he made some old man noises. After the big overtime 20-20 and 45 minutes, he looked like he felt it. At the half, 6 points and 5 turnovers to just 2 assists. He was 2 of his last 19 from three coming into this game. So why not keep that pace going and make 1 of 9 tonight? Uggh. Just killed the Lakers. That’s 3-28? In the past couple games, we saw him cutting from that wing spot and taking passes while getting down hill. Those led to scores. In this one, he just fired away. Defensively, he’s missing boxouts, as well. This LeBron isn’t getting us anywhere. I wish we had gave him the hook down 25 early in the fourth to save a few more minutes. He was the first to sit, but still. LeBron sat on the bench nodding as the Grizzlies closed the game out. Hopefully, he’s recharging and ready to bring it. We need to close out in the next one so he can rest. Otherwise, back in Memphis for a game 7? No thanks. Hopefully, he and AD both bring their A games at the same time in the next one. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-17 shooting (1-9 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 1 foul in 37 minutes. He was a -1.

Davis -- -- We just can’t have him off the floor. Maybe he shouldn’t rest in the next one, lol. Seriously, though, when he sits the lineups Ham has just got destroyed tonight. He’s got a lot of responsibility on D and covers a lot of ground. The team plays almost the same way defensively when he’s on the floor as when he’s off. And that’s a problem. The small ball can’t hang with that approach. The Memphis offense is really working to try to neutralize AD as much as possible. We saw him shifting from drop coverage to some blitzes and high hedges. Memphis was good at moving the ball, but AD covers a lot of ground. I think he recovered all the way back to the corner off one of those sequences to block a JJJ three. Just a tremendous recovery. I think he scored an And-1 in transition on the other end of that, too. Memphis also pushed the pace to avoid him, as well. Despite those 19 boards there were plays where he would let guys get around him on the glass for offensive boards. Can’t take a moment off. Offensively, strong first half with 18 points, 10 boards and 2 blocks. He’d get back up to the kind of numbers we want to see with 31 and 19. We involved him a lot more. D’Lo did a good job finding him both under the hoop or on some two-man action. We needed Bron to join him tonight on both ends. The Stats: He scored 31 points on 14-23 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 19 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +6.

Russell -- -- On the plus side tonight, he had 10 assists with just 1 turnover. Really some nice efficient work there. We didn’t run nearly as many set plays tonight it felt like. In that second half when D’Lo got it going, it was largely in a transition situation. He got Ja into jail in early offense and hit a midrange pull-up. He then drained a wing thee in transition. Next time down he knocked down another transition three to cut it to 1. And just like that we had dug ourselves out of a hole. There was a sequence shortly after that where Ja got away with a foul on a D’Lo jumper and then scored an And-1 in transition the other way. Russell was pissed. Defensively, one of the lowest points in the game felt like it came in the first half when Russell was lost on defense in transition. He was on the wrong side of the floor, two guys covering one, he tried to get over to the other side and we gave up a wide open three. We had too many issues with the transition defense tonight. We’re also going to need more than one scoring outburst. Hopefully, the crowd gets him going in the next one because we need him to get to the next level here. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-11 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 30 minutes. He was a +0.

Reaves -- -- He had 10 points, hitting 2-4 from three, to go with 5 assists at the half. In the second half, he’d add another three and finish with 17 points on 4-13 shooting. He missed a couple short ones, he’s usually been solid on. I like that we are exploring the inverted screens with Bron more to give him some extra man advantages on the back side of that when he gets a pass. We should have been working on that more in the regular season and not sure why we didn’t since it’s been a bread and butter with LBJ since he’s been here. Going into the half, we saw Bron discussing the angles with him on that after a busted sequence between the two on that. It wasn’t a great game as he had 4 turnovers, but still, looking at the boxscore afterward and he had 17-8-6 on the road. If only some of our other guards could be a little more steadier, as well. Defensively, I think they tried to get him more reps against Ja in that fourth quarter to see what he could do there. The Bane issues really have to do with how we are defending the screens. In the second half in the last game, the Grizzlies started to pick on the drop coverage with some stack action and pull-ups. A lot more of that midrange and pull-up attack tonight. Finally, we started blitzing or high hedging to help. When we sat AD, we sat Reaves, so those two led in the +/-. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 4-13 shooting (3-8 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a +5.

Vanderbilt -- -- They put him in some higher positions on the floor tonight so he could flash to the paint in the half court. He had some moments with that. They also may have pushed pace more with Vando on the floor in order to prevent some of the floor spacing issues in the half court. That’s a tough strategy if we don’t have the legs to run with the Grizzlies. It felt like the team got killed all night on transition D as we tried to run. All of Vando’s offense came early. ON the first play, he was the trigger man to hit Bron for a lob. He also flashed to the middle to take a pass and hit AD cutting for a score. He hit a floater (this was right after the Bron dunk on the lob). He leaked out for a dunk off a Bron board. And he scored a layup in transition. He picked up a charge trying to Euro around Ja in transition. That was his fourth in the third quarter so he sat down as the team trailed by 3 at the time. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +2.

Schröder -- -- This is the kind of game where Dennis would normally be the guy to put the team on his back and give them a lift. With LeBron floundering and the team struggling, he’s had some great ones this season. Credit Memphis for play him well and packing the paint. Dennis missed a three and a leaner (should have had FTs on that leaner as Ja ran into him…Ja got away with some against our guards tonight). I’m a little concerned with our D against Ja. I think I mentioned it last time maybe in Vando’s writeup. But what I worry about is Ja not calling for screens and getting a running start at our guys. I think the screen actually slow Ja down, but when he can get downhill on iso and elevate, it’s looking more and more like trouble for the team. Additionally, I think you need to match up AD’s minutes more with Ja so he can help prevent that. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -20.

Hachimura -- -- Offensively, he had a brief flurry early on. He hit a jumper at the freethrow line, scored in the paint after knocking a man down and then dunked in transition. In the second half, he made a corner three on a swing pass. Not great, not awful. Sort of standard. Defensively, we’re just too small in those lineups and not switchy enough to play small. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 2 boards and 3 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -18.

Beasley -- -- In the fourth quarter, he missed an open three, we got it back to him and he finally made a three. Next touch, he misses another three, gets it back again, wide open and misses the three again. If he can’t do that, yikes. You can put up with the marginal D to trade it for some gravity (even if he isn’t hitting), but he wasn’t even guarded. We called a timeout as his man scored a layup on the leak out of that. Ham sat him. Beasley would come back and hit a three in garbage time and also throw a pass away. He had some great looks this game. They really aren’t running much for him since our pet plays went away with the top locking. Pretty sure both Lonnie or Christie could have gone 2-6 on those same looks from three in this game. Beasley has really disappeared and we’ve kind of let it happen, as well, with our X’s and O’s. “It’s a make or miss league,” Ham said. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting from three to go with 1 offensive board and 1 turnover in 11 minutes. He was a -23.

Brown -- -- The team low -26 in 12 minutes. Those 12 minutes were huge. The Lakers would bring him back with Bron while we sat AD. Brown played poorly, but the lineup construction has been problematic. So his +/- is more a symptom of that. Defensively, he’s been solid this series, but killed me when we went under a screen to give up a three. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting from three to go with 4 boards and 1 assist in 12 minutes. He was a -26.

Gabriel -- -- He was a -5 in his 8 minutes. That’s better than the -26 from Brown’s 12 minutes. I was hoping we were checking him in early in the last game as we saw him heading to the scorer’s table early on, but he never checked in. We gave him some minutes to start the second and fourth quarters. He gives you underrated rim protection but also more size to finish around the rim. Part of the problem with Vando in those dunker spots or middle of the paint what also be resolved by Wenyen’s abilities there, which are pretty strong. Defensively, he had a stop on JJJ in the post. He stripped him, as well, and also broke up a lob. Offensively, we ran a Bron/Reaves inverted screen action on the strong side, that created a little two-on-one attack situation for Reaves, who found Gabriel as he sealed the help defender in the paint for an And-1. Textbook. Hopefully, this created a little film for the staff to rethink the approach to small ball we’ve had this series. Ham mentioned they’d be reviewing that after the game. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 2 offensive boards, 2 steals and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a -5.

Walker IV -- -- With 4:40 left he came in for Bron down 14. It wasn’t quite garbage time, so he got a few reps in with the main rotation guys. I don’t know that we really ran anything significant during that time set-wise. It felt like a lot of high screen action. I think everyone was worried about the Lakers having dead legs coming into this one and wondered if maybe Ham mixes things up. But that didn’t happen. Lonnie missed a midrange jumper. Beasley went 2-6 from three on some wide open looks. Pretty sure Lonnie could do about the same on those types of looks. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting and no other stats in 5 minutes. He was a -3.

Christie -- -- He missed a corner three in garbage time. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting in 2 minutes. He was a -1.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: That third quarter when AD sat. They were even with the Grizzlies. Right where they wanted to be. But they got hammered. Fast forward just a few minutes and they are down 25 early in the fourth. So do you sit your guys, let them rest up for the next one and work on seeing if any of your deep bench can warm up for some possible minutes in the next game? It’s a playoff game..but you likely aren’t coming back on the road down 25 in the fourth. Probably should have kept Bron on the bench. The Lakers did rattle off a 12-0 run as the game got sloppy. They would cut it to 12 with 4 minutes left.

Key Substitution: Those Bron/Rui small ball lineups. I hate seeing us in drop coverage with small ball. Wenyen gave the team some better energy and size, but Ham’s not trusting that. At least, we got more minutes there that he can review. Ham did bring in Lonnie, but you really need to make sure you run some quality sets and action to get him going. That came with 5 minutes left and a few reps with the starters, but not much action there for him to evaluate.

Key Stats: The Lakers had 10 turnovers in the first half, the Grizzlies just 4. The Lakers made just 3-13 from three, the Grizzlies 8-24. The Lakers cleaned up the turnovers in the second half, but made just 7-26 three attempts. The Lakers gave up 14 offensive boards and way too many putback buckets.

[DrDent]

Thanks DB. Great summary. [FIRST!]

Two straight games where Lakers have given up some debilitating runs to the Grizz. Last game it was that 13-1 run by the Grizz before the half; this time an insane 26-2 run that covered end of third and beginning of 4th. This team has the unenviable trait of having being able to give up massive amounts of points in a short period of time. I mean, runs happen, but eesh.

Big debate in the game thread about when AD was sat and then avalanche came. Either way, it still comes down to this team lacking appropriate size outside of AD. Said it once, will say it again, the lack of a big the Lakers are willing to use behind AD is going to end this team's playoff run, whether in this series, or another. Real shame the team was unable to acquire someone who they can trust to play at C when AD sits. The LBJ/Rui C deal is just a roulette wheel.

I also started having flashbacks to the '06 series vs the Suns, when the squad back then was up 3-1 as the 7 seed versus the 2 (they lost game 5 114-97, how eerie is that?). Man I hope that is just PTSD from me.

In any event, game 6 is really a must win (no way you want to go back to Memphis, for what is likely a SUNDAY AFTERNOON game, and we know how those go). If there's a silver lining for the Lakers its that the team was still in this late in the third despite inconsistent to poop games by D'lo, AR, and LBJ. I'm Gonna have some major nerves going into Friday.
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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]

I'm concerned about these Desmond Bane PnR? I'm not the first person to note that the Grizz won Game 2 when they had to run the offense through Bane & Tyus (legit pullup threats). And now in Games 4 & 5 the Grizz have had success offensively running the halfcourt offense through Bane, while letting Ja do a lot of his damage in transition? It's noteworthy given how much they struggled offensively.

I noted that in the 2Q and 3Q, with Kennard in foul trouble, we blitzed the PnR and force Tillman to play the 4v3 a la Draymond, which he was very bad at. That's an option, but the question is whether we can do that all game. And whether or not the person in the corner in the 4v3 is Kennard or, like, Dillon Brooks?

[I Bleed P&G]

Lakers control the flow of the game for the most part but they keep giving Grizz these huge runs and the 26-2 was just too big to overcome. Had they stopped it earlier there was chance at winning this game. That’s the biggest thing to they need to focus on. Secondly have to limit Bane, he is starting to find cracks in the defense.

[Startrout]

I really felt like we were in a good place most of the game even while we were behind. But then the Grizz made that horrible run in the 3rd and just like that it was over. It feels like every game we get some great stops, but then can’t score on the other end. It seemingly happens over and over again. Our offense is concerning.

LeBron needs to just focus on rebounding, defense, and cutting off the ball. Let Reeves, Schro, and DLO run things. His turnovers and copious missed 3’s are killing us. Not having that backup shot blocking big, that most of us knew we needed all season, has been an issue. I don’t think Bamba is that guy (at least not yet).

Anyway, I’m still fairly confident we’ll win the series, barring an injuries.

[Laker's Fan]

Thanks DB!

This describes the decisions Darvin made that I felt deserved criticism perfectly (though not necessarily saying you're criticizing him). We had the chance to put Memphis on their heels by taking the lead. Get their role players thinking about taking that next shot. Missed opportunity. Once they saw the wide open lane with nothing but a tired LeBron on the backline, it was over. Once we were down big, only bad options from there.

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB - Thanks for the Write-Up

When Ja (31 points on 13-26) and Bane (33 points on 12-21) with both getting 10 rebounds, Grizzs will be very hard to beat at home in a deperation game.while playing 9 players over 10 minutes (hoping that their young legs will hold up better than AD/LBJ's legs. Only player NOT having a good +/- is the LBJ Killer - Dillon Brooks - lol!

For posters that wanted more PT for Bamba, Gabriel and others - this game showed that every minute can be very dangerous and lead to deadly runs that will/have just the fortunes of any playoff game

Lakers just didn't have the legs or energy to match the Grizzs' act of desperation with their home crowd behind him

Grizzs adjusted with various wrinkles on screens/drag screens, inverse screens, etc. to give Bane some clear air space

Ja is a mega star, hence the need to eliminate/limit his straight line drives to paint by walling off the paint or stand in for charges should be a high priority/highest priority. He will make spectacular plays by jumping over the moon, but he needs to feel the defender while influencing to go in one (not both) direction.

Hoping that Rui, DLo, DS and (maybe) Beasley will hit outside shots when playing at home.

LBJ won't have TWO bad games in a row and hope that AD will NOT revert to having off nights offensively, every other game.

[Laker7]

After 5 games my takeaway is the "other guys" have to do better.

Game LBJ/AD Others
1 43 85 Win
2 41 52 Loss
3 56 55 Win
4 34 83 Win
5 46 53 Loss

In the two losses the rest of the team scored 52 and 53 points. In the two big wins, the rest of the team scored 83 and 85. Game 3 the other guys cored 55 but because LBJ/AD scored a combined 56 the Lakers won. We can't expect LBJ /AD to score that many on a regular basis.
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[oaktown_dimond]

i'll say this much. Ja is just RIDICULOUS! he's like a supercharged Iverson 2.0. just RELENTLESS and his vert is INSANE!

we GOTTA beat them this year, because i think it's LIGHTS OUT for the league next year when they get Aquaman back.

[Alpha]

Thanks DB. Painful to watch the collapse.

[sonic the laker]

Thanks, DB.
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ZOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tlim]

[JM]

Is LeBron Toast?
Certainly his age and propensity to get hurt these days has to be a "planned for" in the next year or two?

[A Mad Chinaman]