LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 3/15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:05 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 3/15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

The Playmakers... The ball was moving tonight.

The Lakers led by 3 after the first quarter despite 8 turnovers. Once they cleaned it up from there, they methodically built on their lead and broke the game open. After that first quarter, it was never close.

Credit the playmakers in this one. LeBron had 11 assists, but THT, Schröder and Kuzma combined for 21 assists themselves.

Consistent dribble penetration broke down the D, and the Lakers made the right plays more often than not.

They tied a season high in assists in the first half with 19 and finished with 36 on the night on their way to the 128-97 blowout.


LeBron -- -- He had that turnaround fade dropping tonight. One of those swished from the rafters over some good D. That’s his go to when the shotclock is running down and there’s not much you can do about it. Pretty easy night for LeBron. He didn’t have to drive much or take contact. Vogel played him a little longer that needed as we let him stay in to get the triple-double after a timeout in the fourth. He got it and then took a foul after we scored. Bench had fun with that. Not a great start to this one. A turnover-prone first half with 5 on his 6 assists. Some were especially painful. The Lakers had an opportunity to go up 9 on the break, but he got a little loose with the bounce pass and it resulted in a three the other way, so a 5-point switch there. To end the half, he was pushing it up with speed, kicked it and the Warriors hit another three to end the half. Despite the high turnover numbers early by the Lakers, they were so efficient when they did get shots up that any sloppy play didn’t really factor in. Triple-double No. 98 for LeBron. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-13 shooting (2-4 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 11 assists, 6 turnovers and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +33.

Schröder -- -- Good passing first half with 6 assists and 3 turnovers. We had 19 assists in the first half, which tied our high for the season. Excellent job getting penetration and finding guys under the hoop or open from three. That helped set the tone of ball movement. Really, a pretty quiet night after that. He played strong D, took on some lifting by setting up the offense, but overall quiet after the first half. Passing wise, some better reads for Schröder as we saw skip passes that he’s sometimes struggled with. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +9.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Play of the night for KCP might have been knocking down a quick-fire corner three in transition without any hesitation. He had other great plays, but that one showed the confidence was there. Again, having that time off might be just what KCP needed. Let’s see if he can string a few together like this. If so, I’d try to get him some rest prior to the playoffs, as well. All of his 6 first-half points took place the last couple minutes of the half. One on a 4-play on a corner three. Another getting out on the break with speed off a Laker steal. He had a great look on the weakside when the D tried to send extra help strong side. We set the backscreen on KCP’s man, found him with the pass and he knocked it down. The Lakers have been getting better at that lately, which will help take their post game effectiveness to the next level. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting (3-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and no fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +9.

Morris -- -- He sank a couple of corner threes in the first half. He had a great screen to free up Schröder for a layup on the switch. He had another screen on the weakside that allowed Schröder to hit KCP on the skip pass for a three. He took contact to his knee and left the game early. They said he’d be fine to go if needed. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-5 shooting (2-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +7.

Jones -- -- First play of the game, we set up a lob for him off the screen-roll with LeBron. Later, THT set him up for FTs on a dunk Jones couldn’t finish in the fourth. He had a putback jam, as well. Defensively, a mixed bag. He fell asleep once on a screen and gave up a three to Steph. But he did have a nice switch on Oubre and forced a turnover on iso, which the Lakers turned into a fastbreak. That’s where his combination of length and lateral quickness are disruptive. An easy block later when he ate up a guard drive in garbage time. Some sloppy screen work at times, either bad decision on the angle or getting his hands involved too much for illegal screens. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +9.

Harrell -- -- Great first shift from Trezz, dropping 19 points on an efficient 7-8 shooting in his 16 first half minutes. LeBron, KCP, Kuz, Wes and Schröder all set him up off drives. Dribble penetration was consistent and he feasted as a result. Schröder was the most frequent on the assists early on. Good to see those two making it work. In the second half, he started his scoring on a fake handoff to Schröder, then attacking for the throwdown. He’d hit a jumphook off a THT drive and dish. More dunks off passes, but I love the touch around the rim on floaters and jumphooks. Just get him the ball around the hoop and it’s trouble. The Lakers did a great job drawing defenders with a consistent basis. Trezz had just one assist himself, but it was a smart one. The ball came to him on the perimeter and he didn’t hesitate. He found LeBron on the kickback, set the screen and LeBron had a wide open three as Trezz’s defender was slow to react. That’s how you turn a non-perimeter threat into a perimeter threat. Defensively, he drew a charge on Green just seconds after entering the game. A lot of his work in this game was on those soft hedges making sure he had shooters in territory where he could challenge off the screens. He also had a nice pick on the perimeter on Oubre to ignite a break. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 11-14 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +16.

Kuzma -- -- Okay, let’s get this out of the way. He walked up to the line in the first half to take a tech, like “I got this.” Then airballed, wide left. What the heck? You should never take a tech again after doing that. Shaqtin’ Moment for poor Kuz, who has been absolutely balling. “San Francisco had a 3.5 magnitude earthquake and I just got scared,” he said of the freethrow. Again, strong defense. Loved seeing him stay tight on Curry on a few switches. On one, Curry tried to go to his bag on the handle and Kuz was all over him, eventually forcing a pass. The playmaking tonight from Kuzma was another level for him. “I guess I just spoke it into existence,” he said, mentioning he’s just trying to make the right basketball play. He had a drive and dish to Trezz for a dunk. He hit THT on the break for another. His best pass, however, was after coming up with an offensive board, instead of trying to power up in a crowd, he no-looked to Trezz coming down the lane to hammer it. Great balance to Kuz’s game tonight. We haven’t even gotten to the scoring. Some confident threes by Kuz, including some quick trigger releases. Off the bench tonight, we had three guys with 17 or more points. The bench just killed it. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-11 shooting (3-5 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +26.

Horton-Tucker -- -- Great game from THT. Career highs with the 18-10 and this wasn’t garbage-time padding. Just some excellent decision making as far as when to find teammates and when to finish. He’s not a perimeter threat, so defenders will go under screens, but he’s still so tough to deny dribble penetration that it causes problems. (I love his change of direction on the gather where he stretches out and draws contact in the prioccess.) If he can keep it mixed up on the playmaking where he’s not always trying to finish, the defense is in trouble. Teammates start moving for him and good things happen. Strong start scoring in first half with 8 points. He sank a stepback off a drive, he dunked on the break with Kuz, he attacked and scored one of his backhand layups on the reverse, and he drew FTs attacking in the post. In the second half, the passing really shine. He lobbed to Kuz on the break for a dunk and also hit him cutting after a drive for a dunk. He’d hit Cacok rolling for a quick lob dunk. He found Jones backdoor for a dunk and THT’s 10th assist. He’d finish strong at the rim himself for a dunk and an And-1 layup over a crowd. He scored a layup off an inside-out dribble, as well. “We just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” he said. He was aggressive, but under control. The game looked slowed down for him. Defensively, he had a nice switch with Kuzma and drew a charge on Oubre on that play. Good communication, good work moving his feet. Solid all around. This is why you get him minutes. Keep building that game toward the playoffs. “He’s probably one of the two or three best players to get into the paint,” Kuzma said. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-10 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 10 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +20.

Matthews -- -- He had a couple of nice offensive plays in the first half. He curled off a handoff and hit a step-back three straight away. He also attacked off the three line (scary at times) and found Trezz for FTs. That was about it. A lot of his threes, he was moving, a high degree of difficulty. Usual decent defensive work out there. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-5 shooting from three to go with 1 block and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +17.

McKinnie -- -- Early action for him tonight. I like seeing it. He came in the game with over 8 minutes left in the second quarter. We went to a zone defensively for those first several defensive stands with him up top. They did well during that stretch, good job on the boards by McKinnie during that. He’d score in garbage time, hitting a 15-footer off a curl. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +5.

Cacok -- -- In for garbage time midway through the fourth. He had an offensive board that led to a THT dunk. He scored a floater in transition. Love seeing him get minutes when we got a back to back The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +4.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: I don’t know if this game had one, but maybe KCP rising up and firing a corner three in transition with absolute confidence. Let’s hope he starts stringing games like this together again. Earlier in the game, Vogel also had a switch up bringing McKinnie in early in the second quarter and going to the zone for multiple possessions to throw the Warriors second unit off. Good stretch there, too.

Key Substitution: Let’s go with sitting LeBron in the fourth after he got his triple-double. Bench had fun with it and LeBron played it smart. No real difference between 29 and 30 minutes in this situation.

Key Stats: The Lakers shot 62.8% on the night (49-78, 11-27 from three). Just too efficient for the Warriors to hang. The Lakers won every quarter.
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LakerSD
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:17 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. This was a great game by the supporting cast.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 12:21 am    Post subject:

Thanks, this was a fun one to watch!
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:18 am    Post subject:

Being on ET I can't stay up to watch the end of these games. If they win I'm amped too much to sleep, and if they lose, it seems l lost sleep over nothing. So thanks for filling in the blanks.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:56 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the recap, DB.

Those west coast games are tough for us on the Atlantic side of things.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:39 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Wow. Nice game for Kuz and Harrell in particular, but also THT, Schroeder, KCP and Morris. Good to see them all show up in unison, playing solid, well-rounded basketball and finding a way to play in sync with each other. LBJ great as always. Even Jones had a decent game, a few mistakes but a very good contribution overall from him. Good to see him solidifying his case as an NBA player, just needs a little experience.

Great writeup as always! Great win!!


Last edited by TooMuchMajicBuss on Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:39 am; edited 1 time in total
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:39 am    Post subject:

KCP is like a barometer for this team.

When he is on, active, engaged in the offense, we are on a different level. Season began, and he was on and we had one of the best offenses in the NBA at that time. Then he and the shooters went cold, and we are sort of up and down on offense, since.

What a game by the bench, though.

Kuz 17 points
THT 18 points and 10 dimes.
Trez 27 points.

What I really want to develop when AD is sitting out, is that bench play. We are seeing more from the bench since AD went down. We need to keep that up even when he returns.

The other thing to observe. What we see from Damian Jones at the 5, it makes us a little less lazy on offense. With Gasol we can get a bit lazy and settle way too much for the outside look. With Damian, we at least try to run some rolls and look for shots in the paint off movement.

Interesting to see, but what if we just replaced DJ at the 5 with AD when he returns. I feel that could likely be our best playoff match up team. AD, Kieff, Bron, KCP, Dennis. You just have more weapons with AD, in that you can use him as both a roller, a stop after the screen and pop the 3 pointer, iso up high etc.

Playoffs, we should just roll with AD instead of Jones. Feel really good about that lineup and it proved it's merit in the 2020 playoffs.
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PenG_
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:51 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

2-2 after the break, both games Lebron with only 13 FGA.

That's team basketball
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:42 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:


The other thing to observe. What we see from Damian Jones at the 5, it makes us a little less lazy on offense. With Gasol we can get a bit lazy and settle way too much for the outside look. With Damian, we at least try to run some rolls and look for shots in the paint off movement.

Interesting to see, but what if we just replaced DJ at the 5 with AD when he returns. I feel that could likely be our best playoff match up team. AD, Kieff, Bron, KCP, Dennis. You just have more weapons with AD, in that you can use him as both a roller, a stop after the screen and pop the 3 pointer, iso up high etc.

Playoffs, we should just roll with AD instead of Jones. Feel really good about that lineup and it proved it's merit in the 2020 playoffs.


Feels like in general that we've been running more pick and roll than we were. I'm sure there's some stats out there, but we were doing a lot of dumping into the post for iso with AD/Trezz. Now we've gone away from that. Part is AD sidelined, of course, but it could also be they are recognizing we've been poor at countering certain doubles with the pass in those situations.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:37 pm    Post subject:

LeBron a +33.

That will get the job done.
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Dr. Laker
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 4:52 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 3:43 am    Post subject:

The best stat of the game - nobody played >30 min.
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan
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