WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 5-6-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Defending Home Court... Heck of a response from the Lakers on Saturday to regain the series lead 2-1.

Strong start to the game and D’Angelo Russell scored on 13 of the Lakers first 17 points and assisted on two others. Despite, that the Lakers would lose the quarter as defense once again fell apart as we shifted to the second units. The Warriors had an 18-4 run to lead 30-23 after the first quarter.

The Lakers fell back by 11 a few minutes into the second. As they rotated back to the starters, but this time with Lonnie instead of Vando on the floor, the Lakers reeled in the Warriors. They had more spacing offensively, executed some excellent plays to take advantage, but also had mobility on the defensive end. With Vando sitting, we stopped doing favors for the Warriors on the defensive end and went on a 13-0 run.

As the Lakers turned more and more stops into transition opportunities, they began to build separation. Momentum completely shifted as they took apart the Warriors on a dominant 30-8 run.

In the third quarter, the Lakers got AD downhill and drew the fourth and fifth fouls on Green, forcing him to the bench. Changes to lineups and play calls opened up the lane. With the lane open, the Lakers freethrow numbers went up. Combine that with changed matchups defensively, some switching and the Lakers getting out on the break on their terms and they dominated.

The Lakers made 28-37 from the line and hit 15-31 of their threes. The Warriors made 12-17 from the line and 13-44 from three. That will result in a blowout. The Lakers won 127-97.

On to the next one. Got to defend home court.

LeBron -- -- They were complaining on the broadcast that Bron hadn’t taken a shot, but we was drawing a crowd and finding teammates for scores. There was a great play (downhill handoff) in the second quarter where Bron came from the low post to take a handoff high post from AD, get downhill on the two-man with AD and that left Russell wide open for a wing three. With no Vando out there, the help didn’t leave Lonnie on the weakside. Shortly later, the Lakers ran the wide pin sequence with AD coming baseline for a layup. They put Bron at the elbow with the ball as the passer instead of having the ball up top. This makes it tougher to send help on the play because the ball doesn’t have as far to travel to AD. (Hockey assist next time down on this play for another AD score). His first bucket would came with about 5 minutes into the second getting out on the break. Still, he keyed multiple scores prior to this as the trigger man with 7 assists in the first half. Defensively, some good hustle moments in transition D to challenge a shot on one play and also deflect a pass before leaping over the crowd on another. He had the crowd going on that last play. Shortly later, he’d score a layup in transition, then follow that up with a basket saving block on the weakside that led to more transition points. Very measured effort offensively, executing versus chucking. Great effort defensively. Triple-double pace in this one. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 6-11 shooting (2-4 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 8 assists, 1 block and no fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +26.

Davis -- -- Defensively, he was deflecting passes and blocking shots like crazy. So disruptive. The Warriors had just 68 points after three quarters. We switched things up with matchups and he was a bit quicker on decision making. There were still a couple sequences where he needed to be up on a shooter and wasn’t. Defensively, though, just opening up the lane more and getting to the line stops a lot of that up and down transition action where we can’t get set up. That made a huge, huge difference. Offensively, a couple post ups to start the game (one led to a kickout three, the other an AD travel before a dunk). Some nice adjustments schematically as the Lakers countered the ice defense to get more action down the middle of the lane. In the previous game, they got iced over and over and AD was never putting pressure on the rim. I love the adjustment in the second quarter with the Lakers running their wide pin sequence. In the Grizzlies series, we saw that play shut down when Vando was out there as the Grizzlies would just leave Vando on the opposite side to send and extra defender, and that was that. With Lonnie out there, that’s not an option. Next time down, the Warriors were late sending help on the wide pin sequence and AD scored again (passing initiated from Bron at the elbow). Multiple times in this game, AD was going downhill against Green in the paint. Green’s third, fourth and fifth fouls were AD coming strong. Again, when AD gets downhill, the freethrows pick up and the defense is able to get set up more and more on the other end. He was really getting after it in that second half. When Dennis found him rolling behind Green for the oop dunk early in the fourth, this game was over. He needs more aggressive rolls like that. It’s there a little more than they realize. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 7-10 shooting (11-12 from the line) to go with 13 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +28.

Russell -- -- Great start to this one. First play of the game, we went to a repost to AD after a switch with Russell’s man. Once Vando cleared out and took the double away, that drew the repost, the help away from Russell and he buried the kickout three from the wing. Nice sequence for a good look to start. Next touch he buried a corner three in transition to give the Lakers a 6-0 lead. Shortly later, he’d bury another three. A couple possessions later, he’d attack Klay getting ready to ice to early and drive down the lane for a layup, Lakers up 11-4, Russell with all the Laker points. He’d set up AD on a pocket pass for FTs and an elbow jumper for the Lakers next 4 points. Then he’s lose his man with a spin and knock down a midrange jumper. So all 17 of the Lakers points to start this game involved Russell. He’d drain another thereof the surprise double drag in the second quarter for another three in the middle of a run. He’d follow that up with a score on the break to force a timeout. He had 21 points in the first half with 5 threes. Second half, I loved seeing him come off the Chicago action to get middle and hit Bron for a three. We’ve got to find more paint touches that collapse the D like that. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-13 shooting (5-8 from three) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +14.

Reaves -- -- First play of the game, he took Curry defensively and we put Vando on Green. Switching things up, had the Warriors come out slow. Some very good moments by Reaves on Curry. We give him more help here than we did against Klay. That’s a big, big difference. Team high +31 in this one in 30 minutes. Just putting in the work and getting a bit more help. Offensively, Reaves was drawing FTs and taking techs. He got his first field goal in the second half after getting an offensive board, he iso’d Curry and hit a short one in the paint. He also hit a three behind a screen. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-8 shooting (1-4 from three, 5-7 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +31.

Vanderbilt -- -- Prior to this series I mentioned putting Vando on Green defensively might be the best way to go. We did that in this one. Now, you’ve got the opportunity to either switch the pick and rolls or zone in the passing lanes. That helped the starters. But still… The offense is so problematic when he’s on the floor. If you review the game, just watch the star of the second half, watch the open threes he gets and misses. The Warriors are just taking away what we want to do again and again. Now look at one of the few successful plays. Shortly after missing a couple of those threes, he’d set a pin-in screen for an open Bron three off a Chicago action. If he’s going to play with the starters, we have to carefully execute his minutes to make him a threat and not a liability. Look at the starters +/-. Vando’s sticks out badly. Replacing him in that second quarter with Lonnie and Dennis was huge. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-5 shooting (0-3 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a +4.

Schröder -- -- Big three in the third quarter when the lead was trimmed to 10. Bron would score quickly after that and the lead was back to 15. Early in the fourth, he’d hit AD with a look-off lob for a dunk. He’d also swish an open three off a pin-in screen and cross-court feed from Bron. Those plays were backbreakers. Great job leading the bench effort in this one. His 3-6 from three is huge as teams sometimes sag off him a little more than other players and always go under the screens against him. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-9 shooting (3-6 from three, 1-4 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +13.

Hachimura -- -- Really not thrilled with what we are doing with him. First quarter, he got caught on Klay in transition and it was an instant three. They will hunt that whenever they can and may try to set up some sequences more in the next one. As we saw in the previous game, you really need to give Rui some help there and not get sucked into drop coverage. (AD sat back on a couple of Klay threes late in that first quarter.) Matchup-wise, we went small so that Rui wasn’t guarding the SF in the first half (that was the Lonnie sub to keep Rui at PF). When Bron came back in and AD sat, however, we then remained small so that Rui was the PF and could get some minutes. (We don’t want Bron or Rui chasing guys on these small lineups.) But they also aren’t winning any kind of advantage in small ball. So despite the rotation changes, the Lakers lost these minutes and lost the first quarter as a result. So Rui’s meaningful minutes were really limited in this game. If we aren’t starting him in place of Vanderbilt (who is now guarding Green, which Rui can do), you just don’t have a good matchup and you are stuck with small ball because we need to play Bron, too. We are struggling here. Some process changes to defense would clean up some things, but it seems very flawed conceptually. Basically, it’s run him when Bron sits and that’s it. In the third, he had to guard some smalls in the third (but we kept him off Klay, which was a big improvement, but still not ideal). In garbage time he was back in at PF and hit a three and a pull-up on iso. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +2.

Walker IV -- -- A key change in this game from Ham. Lonnie was in the rotation in the first quarter to run at the SF when Klay slid over to the SF spot. It wasn’t even a particularly brilliant game from Lonnie. It was just a better fit. Defensively, his speed to chase Klay (instead of Rui) in these second unit minutes was night and day. Offensively, in the third quarter we had him running some two-man actions where he was not aggressive enough and the action kind of fizzled out and the ball moved away. When he was aggressive on a screen from AD and got to the rim with speed that was an easy layup. More of that decisiveness. That one felt like a big play (moved the lead to 18), but it also just showed an element of attack we aren’t getting from Brown, Beasley and Vando. In garbage time, he had a nice hesi that he scored a reverse on. He’d swish a pull-up three off a screen. He’s going to be an important piece in the next game. It just reduces some really bad matchup situations with some of our other guys. Let’s go, Lonnie. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-6 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +10.

Beasley -- -- Garbage time. He missed a drive. He was stripped on another. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 1 board in 6 minutes. He was a +4.

Brown -- -- Only garbage time action in this one. He hit a baseline jumper. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to do with 2 boards, 1 assist and 1 foul in 9 minutes. He was a +4.

Gabriel -- -- He tipped out a missed FT to keep a possession alive. The Stats: He had 2 fouls in 5 minutes. He was a +2.

Thompson -- -- Garbage time run on the good side of the blowout. Looked like he was robbed of a tip-in that they said hit the wire. He hammered a two-hand dunk off a two-man game that got the Laker bench up. The Stats: He scored 2 point son 1-3 shooting to go with 3 boards and 1 turnover in 6 minutes. He was a +4.

Christie -- -- Nice garbage time action. He came in midway through the fourth and scored a layup on a BLOB pass under the hoop. He crossed over a man, and no-looked to a cutting Harrions for a layup. He attacked the hoop and scooped a layup around a defender, just too long. He followed that up with an attack of a closeout for a two-handed dunk down the middle of the lane. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-3 shooting to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +4.

Harrison -- -- Good work in garbage time. He scored a layup off a great drive and dish from Max. He drained a good looking sign three on the catch and shoot. He attacked and scored with his left. He blew past his man for a layup. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-5 shooting to go with 4 assists and 2 fouls in 9 minutes. He was a +4.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Let’s look back at that 13-0 run. With floor spacers out there offensively, the Lakers worked the wide pins to AD for scores. They ran a downhill handoff to get Bron and AD attacking down the lane. Some excellent scheming to put pressure on the rim, something we lacked badly in the last game. Defensively, we still had mobility on the floor with guards instead of Vando, but AD was also not getting caught back in the paint to give up some easy threes. They’d switch a bit more in this game on D and took away some of that short-roll action from the Warriors. But just finally combining mobility (meaning no Rui on an SF, more Lonnie and Dennis) and then spacing on the offense (no Vando), changed the game. Warriors turn to adjust. Still, so many areas where Ham can improve things.

Key Substitution: Not running Vando in that second quarter (except for some brief offense-defense subs). The Lakers got floor spacing along with mobility by going with Lonnie and Dennis to close the half instead of Vando.

Key Stats: I liked this stat they rolled out at halftime -- Points scored or assisted on: D’Angelo Russell 30, Curry/Thompson a combined 29. Way to go D’lo. With 3 minutes into the fourth quarter of this game, the Warriors went to their garbage time bench. They had scored just 72 points.

Coach’s Challenge: The Lakers challenged an AD charge against Green in the second quarter. Green wasn’t set. They won the challenge, got Green’s third foul with 3:32 left in the first half (forcing him to sit). And the Warriors picked up a tech on Green in the process. Strong challenge. Don’t know why Green is arguing with the refs after a review, lol. In the third quarter, Kerr would challenge a blocking foul on Green. If the Lakers didn’t challenge in the first half, Kerr probably doesn’t burn his challenge here. So that Ham challenge paid off more. The Kerr challenge was unsuccessful.

[DancingBarry]

Sorry for the delay. Couldn't watch the game until this afternoon.

[LakerSD]

Thanks, DB!

We must protect the crypt.

[danzag]

Thanks, DB!!!!!

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB!

TWO EDITS:

[DancingBarry]

Fixed. Thanks.

[Aeneas Hunter]

Edit: The title should be 5-6-23
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Internet Argument Resolved

[DrDent]

Very nice summary DB.

I felt Dubs lost their composure in this one during the Lakers second quarter run. That hold of AD's leg (sorry Dubs fans that wasnt a tap that was a hold similar to what Sabonis did to Draymond) seemed to start a downward spiral for them with silly fouls. Before you knew it, Lakers were up by 11 at the half.

I do not expect that sort of undisciplined game by them in game 4, nor do I expect the Lakers FT's to be +20 over the Dubs (regardless if warranted, I just have a hunch ref crew will have FT's be more "balanced"). IMO, it will then come down to if the Lakers can prevent the Dubs from going nuts from 3...I mean shooting 40% in game 1 is just above their season average; game 2 and the 50% was just ridiculous. They then shot poorly from 3 last game. So I expect them to probably shoot around that season average of theirs (38%) in game 4. Lakers will need to shoot at least "ok" from 3 and not abysmal.

Interestingly, going into game 4, I do not feel like I did for game 2 (where I just felt like a beatdown was coming to the team). Will likely be very close and how much of "every other game" AD can play at a better than "every other game level" as well as how well Lakers immediately counter any strategy changes by the Dubs. I have a sneaky feeling that 3 by AR in the 4th Q may carry over to game 4 as well. Will help alot that the Dubs cant feed off a home crowd.

Anyway, will just keep enjoying the W's. Literally not much expectation cuz our fellas can be all over the map at the moment with the product we see
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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

[RhodyRay]

[lakerlove123]

[ChefLinda]

[ribeye]

That effort by AD just might be the the best defensive effort I've ever seen. Now, of course, I might have a bit of bias, my memory is not what it once was, and I don't watch that many games anymore.

As for DLo, if he keeps it up, I might get on board with overpaying the guy.

And yes, better late than never is almost always good, but for DB, never can be OK as well.
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"A metronome keeps time by using a Ringo"

[DancingBarry]

Yeah, I think someone said AD had 11 pass deflections in the game. That's crazy.