HORNETS -at- LAKERS - 3/18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 9:50 pm    Post subject: HORNETS -at- LAKERS - 3/18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

LeBron and LaMelo... Much was made about LaMelo treating this as just another game instead of saying something to pay homage to LeBron. (The press loves to force an angle.) Let’s just play some hoop.

Early in this game, the Lakers were missing some chippies around the rim, but still managed to eek out a 15-point lead at the half.

To start the second half, they allowed the Hornets to get into a groove. Jones gave up a couple And-1s, the Hornets started draining threes, and the Lakers offense resorted to late clock iso’s. Vogel would burn two timeouts. The second one came with 6:50 in the quarter with the score tied 64-64 as the Lakers were outscored 19-4.

The Lakers would rattle off three straight threes (Kuzma with two, KCP with one) as they pushed the lead back to 8 and forced a timeout. Sloppy play to start the fourth quarter (missing easy shots or committing turnovers) and Vogel called a timeout up 1.

Vogel would go to the small ball with LeBron at center. The mobile lineup would come through as they extended the lead to double digits and closed the game out.

LeBron was aggressive from the start to finish of this one and he ended the night with 37 points, including four threes to lead the Lakers to the 116-105 win.

“He’s the best player to ever play the game,” Vogel said.

Excellent game from LaMelo, as well, the rookie scoring 26 to lead the Hornets (he did have 6 turnovers and 5 fouls that limited his time a little).


LeBron -- -- Super efficient start tonight. He had 22 points on 8-9 shooting (3-4 from three) in the first half. He was aggressive attacking and seemed to have a bounce in his step early. “He knew we were playing against a switching team, a junk defensive type of team, probably not going to be as much ball movement against a switching type of defense,” Vogel said. LeBron has a tendency to pound the dribble and ball stop, but lately we’ve really seen the ball flying around the perimeter and a high number of assists. The Lakers weren’t getting the assists in this game as Vogel mentioned with how the D played, but the ball was still popping with some great passing sequences with LeBron on the floor. It’s been an enjoyable balance lately and the Lakers offense has been clicking. Defensively, good job at the small ball C minute to close the game. He had a couple trackdown blocks (one erased by a goaltend call) and we also controlled the boards fine during that stretch. “We just worked on containment and LeBron was able to lead that group and take us home,” Vogel said. The Stats: He scored 37 points on 14-22 shooting (4-9 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +7.

Schröder -- -- He had 10 points in the fourth tonight. One of the things the Lakers have been doing lately is allowing our guards to get into space on the wings. For Schröder, we run Iverson cuts to get him the ball on the left side of the floor to go to work (usually with Morris in this game). The wrinkle on this is we have THT on the other side of the floor. So to start the fourth, you saw us go to that AI cut, then ball reverse back to THT for a drive. That actually collapsed the D, and THT hit Schröder for a three. We ran this several times to start the fourth. We’ve been running that for a few weeks now. It’s nice to see us starting to put guys in positions for success. Schroder had 12 points in the first half on 5-11 shooting. He missed all four of his threes, but did sink one jumper with his foot on the three line. He’d hit some midranges, as well, working off the screens. Even on a dribble penetration miss that allowed Jones to clean it up with ease. So maybe slightly more effective than the stats showed in that first half. In the third quarter, he went scoreless on just two attempts as our offense struggled out of the gates. Then he picked it back up in the fourth, sinking a couple of threes and getting to the rim for scores. He also had an excellent drive and dish to LeBron for a score. A play that won’t show up in the stat sheet, he dove to the floor in the backcourt to recover a loose ball and we’d end up getting two points off that possession. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-19 shooting (2-7 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -6.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Big layup with 1:43 attacking off the three line. That was probably the dagger in this one as the Lakers went up 11. Quiet night for KCP otherwise. He’d sink a corner three earlier in the half and also get another layup. Man, he had a wide open layup that passed to the corner on and we missed. Not sure what was going on there. Some excellent rotations and switches tonight by our guards on D. KCP staved a hoop on a nice strip-block on a big in the paint on one switch. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -2.

Jones -- -- Up and down game for our new bigman. Really good rotations early in this game. We had some moments where he just shut down the play and was able to stay with the smaller men. You can see the comfort level in our schemes starting to pick up. In the second half, he gave up a couple of And-1s to start the third quarter and had a moving screen, and the Hornets had a little momentum. Vogel called a timeout as the 15-point lead was trimmed to 7 and then sat him. It’s still a work in progress and we don’t know what free agents might be available to the Lakers, but some better moments on D tonight within the team game. He had a block that instantly led to a LeBron breakaway dunk. He dunked himself off an AC drive and dish. He also cleaned up a Schröder miss drive. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -3.

Morris -- -- Up 1, we called a timeout early in the fourth. Out of that, we set up a kickout to Morris for a corner three. Next time down, he’d hit a jumphook in the post and force a timeout with the lead back up to 6 with 9:26 left. Those were some big shots for the team to punch back against a Hornet run. A lot minutes against Hayward tonight on D. Hayward would score just 7 points on 3-8 shooting, but did have 10 assists. Still, quality D. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -1.

Harrell -- -- He’s been getting praise for his finishes lately as one of the league’s best, but, wow, this one was sloppy. He went 1-4 for 5 points in the first half missing some easy ones. He had a point black putback that is normally an automatic And-1 in the second half and missed that (then missed both FTs.) So really quiet night offensively (he did have 5 offensive boards). We limited his minutes to match up with the Hornets in the fourth as they sat their bigs. Our bench tonight was still the difference in this game at times. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-6 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive) to go with 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a +16.

Kuzma -- -- Some good passing early in this one. Just moving the ball on the perimeter with speed on those swing passes made the offense look good. He also had a nice feed to LeBron trailing him for a dunk on the break. So 3 assists to go with a couple threes in the first half. He sink back-to-back threes in the second half, then miss his other shots. Perimeter D could have been better tonight. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-12 shooting (4-10 from three) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +5.

Caruso -- -- Back on the court after the concussion. He was not finishing well in the first half. He went 0-4 and missed some drives he needs to finish. The Hornets started to not guard him some late in the first half. Big layup on threaded pass from LeBRon as he cut late in the fourth. Then he got an offensive foul getting tangled up on D to get a stop shortly later. Later he’d hit a couple FTs and then draw another charge to ice this one. “I was a little rusty,” he said. He mentioned it was really his first time in play in a couple of weeks since he had short minutes. He said he felt winded in the second half. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-7 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +10.

Horton-Tucker -- -- Another double-digit outing for him. What’s great is we are setting up certain play sequences for him to be aggressive. He’s not getting lost in the shuffle or made an afterthought. We’re letting him do some work. He missed some drives early on and had some FTs erased on a coach’s challenge. But he still managed to get to the rim for layups or to set up teammates (Trezz blew a layup, but scored the putback...and then one of THT’s penetrations led to an inside-out swing pass sequence for a three). Second half, he’d get a layup off a second chance opportunity. He’d also kick to Schröder for a three on the AI cut that transitions into a ball reversal for THT. Some nice finishes again from THT, including a crossover and a reverse for his final score. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +16.

Matthews -- -- Two steals and a block in his first shift. Some great hands on D that led to Laker breakaways. Offensively, he did hit a three off a swing pass from Kuz out of THT penetration. But prior to that we had one of those plays where the ball was popping from player to player with some great passing and he airballed the open three. Painful. At some point the law of averages will catch up and he’ll get hot from three. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a +13.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Up 1 after some turnovers early in the fourth and Vogel called a timeout to set up a three for Morris on a Schröder drive and kickout to the corner. Next time down, Morris would hit a jumphook and force a Hornet timeout up 6. LeBron with post score. Schröder with a three and layup. THT with a reverse and the lead was 11.

Key Substitution: We don’t go to it often, but we ran LeBron at the C spot with about 8 minutes left in this game. We had Kuz, THT, AC and KCP out there, as well. Then we’d bring back in Schröder for THT. The Hornets had a small lineup with shooters. The Lakers closed out with LeBron as the big for the rest of that quarter. Change up pitch from Vogel. LeBron had a couple of swats during that stretch (one was called a goaltend, but looked legit). But the mobility on D was effective and the Lakers were able to get to the rim on the other end for some scores. “We were able to keep bodies in front of guys,” LeBron said.

Key Stats: Largest lead for the Hornets in this one was 3 points, the Lakers 18 points. Well, we couldn’t get separation easily, the Hornets were never in command of this game like the Lakers were despite a couple runs.

Coach’s Challenge: The Hornets burned theirs early in the second quarter on a drive on THT where he drew a foul on Biyombo. Successful challenge to save a foul, but a jumpball at center court. Lakers won the jumpball, but Biyomno didn’t pick up his third. With 1:45 left in the second, Vogel used his on a drive where Jones tried to help and Hayward frew contact. Successful challenge, and we got an offensive foul on Biyombo pushing Jones. So we got that third foul afterall on Biyombo. Vogel 10-4 on challenges.


Last edited by DancingBarry on Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 10:00 pm    Post subject:

first!
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 10:04 pm    Post subject:

DB: Great analysis.

Not much else to say other than:

1. Lakers 7-7 since AD injury. Four of those losses without DS.

2. What's this? They actually are in second place in the West? I'm not sure how long that lasts until AD returns, but you have to give the fellas credit. They are really doing what a *championship* caliber team needs to do when down a star. Grinding out wins.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 10:10 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 12:18 am    Post subject:

One can see how Vogel is tweaking rotations to find effective combinations and roles hat works teh best when AD and LBJ are out

Would Drummond (if bought out) be better than Jones in the schemes that the Lakers are playing?
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 12:26 am    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:
One can see how Vogel is tweaking rotations to find effective combinations and roles hat works teh best when AD and LBJ are out

Would Drummond (if bought out) be better than Jones in the schemes that the Lakers are playing?


Mad - I personally think if he came here, and dedicated himself to being a rebounding / defensive big, him and AD would be a terror together. Drummond would have the perfect defensive minded staff to get him there, and at least two coaches (Vog, Hollins) who have helped bigs succeed (M Gasol, Hibbert, Dwight / Javale)on the defensive end.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 12:51 am    Post subject:

thanks!
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:46 am    Post subject:

DB, first thanks for the write up then a question for you.

The last 4 games or so, it seems to me the Lakers are winning with a lot of offense but that lock down, take no prisoners, shut you down defense seems to be missing. I am sure the defensive stats on average look good but using the eye test, the defense has slacked off a bit. It is me or are you seeing it also?

L7
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:57 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 5:10 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 5:31 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Good to see another win, one more step forward.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 5:36 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the analysis as always, DB! I was extremely pleased to see Wes finally have a good game, after so long. He was able to actually hit a 3, but the real spotlight was his defense. Exceptional effort, and results, on that end. Hoping that his shot comes along, soon. If Wes can get back to normal, the Lakers won't need to worry about another 3&D guy.

On that note, I'd like to talk about Damian...and Drummond. I might be in the minority, but I'm not sold on Drummond, over Damion. Granted Drummond is a bigger/stronger body. And, Drummond has the advantage in rebounding. But, Damian provides better rim protection, and is a quicker player, compared to Drummond. And, in a league where teams are always trying to get a mismatch, through forcing switching, having a big with quick feet is a definite plus.

Also, Kieff is being criminally underused. I've noted this since the beginning of the season. He's a legitimate post threat, that we don't use as much as we should. Kieff has more in his bag, than 3pt shooting, if utilized correctly. The coaching staff, while doing a better job of instilling team ball, could improve on giving Kieff more opportunities on the offensive end. Help to share LeBron's load, on the post.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 6:20 am    Post subject: Re: HORNETS -at- LAKERS - 3/18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Didn’t Lebron scores 37, not 27?
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 6:35 am    Post subject:

LaMelo is the real deal.
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deal
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 6:38 am    Post subject:

Nice !!!


Thanks DB.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 8:44 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Couldn't watch this one since I had to be up early. Nice little 4-4 start after the break
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:50 am    Post subject:

excellent as always, but for our children's children's sake, Bron had 37 in 37, not 27 in 37.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:36 pm    Post subject:

DrDent wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
One can see how Vogel is tweaking rotations to find effective combinations and roles hat works teh best when AD and LBJ are out

Would Drummond (if bought out) be better than Jones in the schemes that the Lakers are playing?


Mad - I personally think if he came here, and dedicated himself to being a rebounding / defensive big, him and AD would be a terror together. Drummond would have the perfect defensive minded staff to get him there, and at least two coaches (Vog, Hollins) who have helped bigs succeed (M Gasol, Hibbert, Dwight / Javale)on the defensive end.


Yeah, I tend to favor Vogel getting the most from his bigs. AD and Drummond to start games would be a load for other teams. Really force them out of their comfort zone because of the offensive glass. The question will be if they can hold together well enough on D.

I will say, I've been really impressed with Jones's lateral speed on switches. That can be really disruptive. He just doesn't have the experience like a Gasol to quarterback the D.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:36 pm    Post subject:

scottpot29 wrote:
excellent as always, but for our children's children's sake, Bron had 37 in 37, not 27 in 37.


Yes, dammit, lol. I had that right in the intro.

My fingers were flying fast last night. Might have been one of the fastest writeups I've done in a while.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:42 pm    Post subject:

Laker7 wrote:
DB, first thanks for the write up then a question for you.

The last 4 games or so, it seems to me the Lakers are winning with a lot of offense but that lock down, take no prisoners, shut you down defense seems to be missing. I am sure the defensive stats on average look good but using the eye test, the defense has slacked off a bit. It is me or are you seeing it also?

L7


I don't think LeBron has been as locked in on that end until he has to be in a given game. We've also got less options with not having Gasol available so that's hurting, as well. And, while it didn't factor last night, I thought we missed AC in a previous game when our energy was not right.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:58 pm    Post subject:

sonic the laker wrote:
Thanks for the analysis as always, DB! I was extremely pleased to see Wes finally have a good game, after so long. He was able to actually hit a 3, but the real spotlight was his defense. Exceptional effort, and results, on that end. Hoping that his shot comes along, soon. If Wes can get back to normal, the Lakers won't need to worry about another 3&D guy.

On that note, I'd like to talk about Damian...and Drummond. I might be in the minority, but I'm not sold on Drummond, over Damion. Granted Drummond is a bigger/stronger body. And, Drummond has the advantage in rebounding. But, Damian provides better rim protection, and is a quicker player, compared to Drummond. And, in a league where teams are always trying to get a mismatch, through forcing switching, having a big with quick feet is a definite plus.

Also, Kieff is being criminally underused. I've noted this since the beginning of the season. He's a legitimate post threat, that we don't use as much as we should. Kieff has more in his bag, than 3pt shooting, if utilized correctly. The coaching staff, while doing a better job of instilling team ball, could improve on giving Kieff more opportunities on the offensive end. Help to share LeBron's load, on the post.


- Wes just needs that shot to come along. We need to stop running plays for him on the move. Last couple games we haven't done that and it's been better. Like I said when we played Miami, if we faced them again but had Wes in the mix, we would have swept that series. He can guard a certain type of player that Green couldn't last year. We just need the law of averaged to catch up and get him knocking down some threes.

- On your last two points of Drummond/Jones and Kieff. Ultimately, I think Kieff would keep those guys off the floor in the playoffs. With him spacing the floor and AD/LeBron anchoring and elevating their D, Kieff is sooo important in a lot of matchups. He was really a key/underrated signing for me because he was in a lot of our closing lineups in the playoffs last year. We did let the Hornets get away with a smaller defender on him last night, but his post play is not as important long term to me as his perimeter spacing. Short term, yeah, we could try to get him some better looks when the matchups are there like last night was. Notice, though, that we are using him as a passer a lot since he pulls bigger guys away and we trust him with the ball in those situations.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:01 pm    Post subject:

DrDent wrote:

2. What's this? They actually are in second place in the West? I'm not sure how long that lasts until AD returns, but you have to give the fellas credit. They are really doing what a *championship* caliber team needs to do when down a star. Grinding out wins.


We got to hold down fort until AD gets back. Then hopefully he can have another closing kick like he and LeBron did last year.

It's all about peaking at the right time.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 9:51 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Had to miss the game due a family thing so your write-up made my evening!
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 9:11 am    Post subject:

THanks DB!

LaMelo has a very bright future in the NBA.
    GO LAKERS!!
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