MAGIC -at- LAKERS - 3/28 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:34 pm    Post subject: MAGIC -at- LAKERS - 3/28 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Had To Get This One, Too... Games against Cleveland and Orlando are must wins right now. The schedule is going to be painful, so the Lakers had to get this one tonight.

While the Laker offense dragged early on with that 22-point per quarter pace they get stuck in when they can’t run, the defense locked in a bit in the second quarter. They held the Magic to 1-19 shooting for the first 9 minutes, getting good challenges in on quite a few shots. The Lakers had a 13-point lead, however, trimmed to 5 by the half.

The Lakers shooting to start the half was awful. They had four different players miss wide open corner threes from the left side to start the half. Vogel called a timeout when the Magic evened things up.

The teams packed the paint and battled back and forth all second half. In the fourth, the Lakers were able to go on a 12-1 run with Schröder manufacturing freethrows and Kuzma sinking a big corner three with about 4 minutes left as they built up a 7-point lead.

The Magic would trim it down to 3 points with 30 seconds left. The Lakers failed to get a score on their possession and with 5 seconds left the Magic had a chance to tie it up. They got an open look at a three at the buzzer as our defense didn’t take a foul and couldn’t stay tight on a switch. They missed and the Lakers took the 96-93 win.

The Magic are now 2-13 in their last 15 games. If this one was a struggle after the Magic drained their roster, the next games will take something special to get a W.


Schröder -- -- Grind it out game from the team and Dennis especially. He was able to manufacture 9-10 from the line, which is super critical for the team when our offense is just gasping for air out there. His biggest were a couple with just over a minute left in the game. He attacked with consistency and kept the passing pretty simple. Kickouts to shooters or finding Trezz. He did have 3 turnovers (including the usually pass into the legs of a big or opponent), but on 6 assists. Everything is set up by his speed. He did a good job not over penetrating and taking a few more of those midrange jumpers to mix it up. When it tough to get a basket, those are some of our best looks. Think about the playoffs when things grind to a halt. Those are the kind of scores that win games. It will be interesting watching Schröder and Drummond work. Drummond is obviously more of a lob threat that Gasol, but less of one than Jones is. What I’m more interested in is when Schröder attacks and can’t finish. That’s where Drummond’s rebounding and ability to get you second chances may really come to play (obviously, also with LeBron, too). “We’re definitely going to put a lot of pressure on the rim,” Schröder said. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 7-14 shooting (1-3 from three, 9-10 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -7.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Really need to see him changing ends for layups. That’s when we’re at our best. We just weren’t getting the pace going tonight. KCP also couldn’t hit a three. He’d get his only bucket on an attack off the three line for a layup. Some good passing, again attacking off the three line to set up Trezz for a jumphook. Defensively, always a good effort. He had a big steal on the perimeter with 3 minutes left. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (0-3 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -5.

Gasol -- -- You can still see his timing is off on passes. He’s turning the ball over more on plays that were typically routine for him. The creativity in our sets with the ball in his hands isn’t there, either. We’re running some very predictable stuff. A couple buckets for Marc tonight, one rolling to the hoop for a rare layup on the two-man sequence with Dennis. Another was just sinking the three when a teammate drew the D. The three ball wasn’t falling on some very good looks. A few more minutes tonight. I assume he’ll lose the starting job to Drummond shortly. Our sets are pretty simple and everyone know how to run horns in this league offensively. Defensively is where the challenge will be. Hopefully, Marc is in his ear like a vet and helping Drummond make that defensive transition. Dudley will be doing the same. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -11.

Kuzma -- -- Beasting on the boards early. He had 9 at the half to go along with 8 points as he sank a couple of threes and scored a layup in transition. Only a couple boards in the seconds half, but he was changing ends with speed instead and got a couple of dunks as a result. He was getting shots up. Career high three attempts tonight with 15, making 5. “Wish I would have hit more,” he said. He mentioned they got great looks in this game. They did. But of all his threes, none was bigger than the one with 3:55 left when he took the inbounds pass in the corner. Love his form on that shot, on balance and confident. He brought up Drummond’s rebounding after the game. I imagine Kuz will crash the glass less if he’s playing with him, and look to leak out more. Looking forward to a Drummond outlet to Kuz down court for a score. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-20 shooting (5-15 from three) to go with 11 boards, 4 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a +10.

Morris -- -- Strong second half as Kuzma found him for a couple of much-needed threes. He had a big sequence midway through the fourth when he scored on a loose ball after a missed Schröder freethrow. Then on the defensive end, he saved the ball to Schröder before going out of bounds and watched while he sat as Kuz took it the distance for a dunk. He hit the boards hard, pulling down 11, all on the defensive end. He came in for AC in that fourth and helped turn our quarter around. Big minutes tonight and he was grateful for the extra time off we have before the next game. Hopefully, the added bigman depth also gives him a little bit of rest if we can slide Trezz to the 4 with Gasol at the 5 for a few minutes at some point. We need Morris to have his legs for the playoffs. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-11 shooting (2-6 from three) to go with 11 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a -3.

Harrell -- -- Iso work early on going up against Bamba, then he started feasting on the setups from teammates. AC found him for a couple dunks, once on the break, once in early offense on a pocket pass. Wes and Kuz also drew defenders and found him. He led the team with 12 points at the half on 5-6 shooting. He had a couple more dunks in the second half, one off a Schröder drive and dish, another off an offensive board. He’d also hit a jumphook. Defensively, he had a couple of blocks and disrupted a pass before it got off (just like Gasol in the previous game). He said he’s spent no time thinking about the rotations with Drummond, mentioning that’s up to the coaches and out of his control. Good answer. I think we probably see Gasol get some bench run with him since he can play on the perimeter. Morris will still stay in the starting lineup for the time being. When AD gets back, then it probably varies night to night and could impact Trezz’s minutes some. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-13 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 2 steals, 2 blocks and no fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +14.

Caruso -- -- He had an awful stretch in the fourth quarter where he either threw the ball away or just missed on drives, a three and freethrows. The Lakers fell back by 5 and Vogel called a timeout. Vogel then sat him and didn’t bring him back until only the final defensive stand. Ideally, he’s out there just catching and shooting or setting screens for others and not doing a tremendous amount. And the plays where he create for others are more opportunistic than trying to create an advantage himself. He had a couple nice plays in early offense, one a pocket pass to Trezz for a dunk. Another on the break where he drew the D and then hit Trezz trailing for a dunk. Good opportunities with simple advantages and not requiring to do anything exceptional. Good defense, as always and he had a couple of steals, including one that led to a Kuzma dunk. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a +4.

Horton-Tucker -- -- The Magic were defending him well, going under screens and packing the paint. He’d get his only bucket on a handoff he attacked for a layup. He’d also get a couple FTs on a drive. He nearly had his highlight score of the season as he attempted a massive throwdown over a man. Just couldn’t finish it. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +4.

Matthews -- -- Man, that last play I thought we might give a foul up three, but we just don’t seem to like doing that. Wes went down on the switch and we gave up a wide open look to tie. Thankfully, it didn’t go. Offensively, any time he’s off balance, I’m not happy. He missed a tough three fading. He tried to create in the lane was all over the plays. Just keep it simple. He made his only bucket when Kuz pushed it up floor with speed and handed off to him and Wes was able to just rise up and knock it down. Some good passes in this one. He found Trezz on a drive and dish and also kicked it to Gasol for a three on another attack. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +9.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: A couple in this fourth quarter. Let’s start with the 12-1 run the Lakers went on earlier in the quarter to build a 7-point lead. Schröder was getting to the line and we had a big three by Kuzma with 3:55 left. The second key moment was in that final 30 seconds when we were up three and called a timeout. We ran clock, then got into an Iverson cut for Schröder to work from the right side. He didn’t get a score out of it. With 5 seconds left up 3, the Magic called their play, we gave up a wide open three instead of fouling. The Magic missed.

Key Substitution: Sitting Gasol for Trezz. Marc was a -11 and Trezz a +14. The offense was just dead in the water with Gasol out there. Hard to blame him because our sets have so many issues, but Trezz gets buckets and we need that. Badly. Drummond will be in the mix and hopefully his physicality can give us a little bump on offense.

Key Stats: We lost the break 14-9 tonight. We’ve got to get more easy buckets. The last couple games we’ve had too many of these 22-point quarters instead of 25 or 27 points. Their D is keeping them in it, but good D should lead to transition opportunities.

Coach’s Challenge: Early in the second quarter, AC reached to strip a man and was whistled for a foul and FTs. Vogel challenged. Jumpball at midcourt with the win on the challenge, which we won. The Magic challenged a call with 1:50 left in the third quarter after Schröder attacked and drew FTs, not sure what they were thinking on that one as it seemed pretty obvious. Challenge unsuccessful.
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:37 pm    Post subject:

Had to clean up some notes. Hopefully, no one hopped in to read all that chicken scratch at the bottom of this before I got to it, lol.
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JM
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:43 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Had to clean up some notes. Hopefully, no one hopped in to read all that chicken scratch at the bottom of this before I got to it, lol.

Tnx.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:50 pm    Post subject:

Second.
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parsons777
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:53 pm    Post subject:

Beating that team by 3 is like losing to a regular NBA team by 10.
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pio2u
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:53 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:14 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Excruciating to watch at times, but will take the W.

The upcoming Bucks game is going to likely be quite brutal
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:22 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Had to clean up some notes. Hopefully, no one hopped in to read all that chicken scratch at the bottom of this before I got to it, lol.
I did, but you have earn our patience and confidence many times over with your past excellet track record!!!

Maybe the players on the court feeling additional pressure to perform is making them tight when shooting, since AD and LBJ provide them confidence that they will either draw doubleteams to get them clearner shots or they are making the outside shots

With Drummond on the court, it could provide the team more confidence becuase they will have additional opportunities to shoot

Maybe Gasol will be a better fit with the 2nd team because the focus will be more on motion

Does KCP need some load management since appears to be playing tired, despite his responses while being interviewed
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:08 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! A win is a win.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 2:50 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!

Better an ugly win than a moral victory
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 4:50 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Felt we should have done a lot better against this Magic team. On paper even without LBJ-AD, we should have taken care of them at home a lot better.

Still struggled a lot, and the roles really seem out of line.

A win is a win.

I do notice that we really lack leadership with Bron out. I was hoping when we signed Gasol, that he would be that guy. When Drummond starts, it may be interesting to see if some of that Gasol leadership-intangibles go to the 2nd unit.

Real happy we got this win, because I think we may struggle to win more than 1 games of our next 6.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 5:51 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Hard to believe we're so lacking in shot creation that the worst roster in basketball nearly beat us simply by clogging the paint. The Bucks game will be a sight to behold.
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:44 pm    Post subject:

Drummond needs to play in the Bucks game to give me something to look forward to writing about.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 30, 2021 10:43 pm    Post subject:

parsons777 wrote:
Beating that team by 3 is like losing to a regular NBA team by 10.

And what's losing to that team by 7?

Because that's what the Clippers did tonight.
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