ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 5/12 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:11 pm    Post subject: ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 5/12 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Banner Day... The Lakers unveiled the championship banner. Title No. 17 now hanging from the rafters from the most consistent champions in the NBA.

Because of the situation with fans, this was planned for just before the playoffs. I kind of like it -- a little extra motivation for the team and some extra hype for the fans as we head into the postseason.

As for the game, the Lakers sat AD to go with LBJ, AC, Schröder and Gasol (practically a starting lineup right there). They put the ball in THT’s large hands again and let him go to work.

The youngin' led the team with 23 and 10. His sometimes backup point guard, Kyle Kuzma finished with 19 points, 10 boards and 7 assists and came up with the game winning shot.

The game came down to two possessions.

Down 1 with the clock winding down, Kuzma had the floor spaced and attacked the paint. He muscled a layup in over the defender to take the lead with 6 seconds left.

On the other end, Wes Matthews came up huge again in the final seconds poking a ball free from a big trying to back him down. THT pounced on it and that was the ball game.

The Rockets are an awful team. The Lakers didn’t seem to take them too seriously and that’s why you had this a close game. L.A. was relentless in their attack of the rim, setting a franchise record with 86 points in the paint on their way to a 124-122 win.


Horton-Tucker -- -- This was THT’s game from start to finish. We were putting the ball in his hands and letting him go to work. And very consistent work it was. He had 10 points on 5-9 shooting and 5 assists at the half. He added 13 points and 5 assists in the second half. Youngster finished with 23 and 10. This time with only 3 turnovers. Of course, one of those came late in the game, but I’ll take that 10 assist to 3 turnover ratio all day, every day. He found shooters for three on kickouts. One of those to McLemore in the corner was textbook. He contracted the D into the paint and then fired it to the corner, right into McLemore’s shooting pocket. Offensively, he hits some tough shots -- step-back fades, twisting layups and he had a massive throw down when the Rockets D parted like the Red Sea. I like checking out the opponent’s bench reaction when THT does something ridiculous. Definitely less of a rollercoaster ride than last night. The Rockets are awful, so I wouldn’t read a lot into this. But all reps are important for THT to improve his game. Props on purposely missing the FT with 0.9 left (might as well give him that point, but that buried the Rockets who had no timeouts). He drew that foul by pouncing on the loose ball poked away by Wes. Winning play. The Stats: he scored 23 points on 9-16 shooting (0-3 from three, 5-8 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 10 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 37 minutes. He was a +2.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- An efficient 10 points on 4-5 shooting in the first half. A couple of nice layups in there off some set plays. He also sank a wide open three, probably the most open he’s been all season. No scoring in the second half. He found AD2 for a layup, but otherwise quiet. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +7.

Drummond -- -- The Rockets lack of size was easily exploited tonight. The Lakers just went after the rim. So that meant quite a few touches for Drummond and he poured in 20 points in 22 minutes. Defensively, just so soft tonight, however. You don’t have to block shots, just be in the right place, please. The difference between him and Marc in that area is sometimes painful. But it was the second night of a back to back against a bottom team in the league. He was probably in a bit of cruise control tonight. He had 9 points and 9 boards in the first half. The biggest dude on the floor. Nice seeing him finish a lob dunk from Kuz. When Olynk had foul trouble, the Rockets interior D was softer and AD2 attacked that effectively. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 9-13 shooting (2-5 from the line) to go with 10 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +9.

Matthews -- -- Big play in the final seconds again. He poked a ball loose from Olynk who tried to muscle him off the dribble. THT pounced on it and we got the key stop. “He’s really rounded into form,” Vogel said. He mentioned he has confidence in throwing him out there in a variety of match ups. He sank another three. As long as he’s showing he’s a threat from three, he’s got to be a key rotation player because of his defense. He can guard multiple positions and hold his own on switches. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -7.

Morris -- -- Thrown in the starting lineup with us resting practically and entire starting unit, he was able to get shots up tonight. Maybe that will help snap him out of the shooting funk. He sank 2-4 from three. On that first one, he got a big hug from AD out of the timeout. Hopefully, the Rockets will be his slump buster. He’d also at the rim for a couple of layups and had a putback And-1. Defensively, not very good. For some reason he wasn’t getting a hand up on shooters. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-12 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists and 4 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +9.

Harrell -- -- We went with him down the stretch at the C spot. Drummond wasn’t guarding anyone so if you aren[t playing Gasol that’s probably fine. He and Kuz had the team going in the fourth as a one-two punch. Trezz worked the post for several scores, so Vogel kept him out there. Defensively, he got caught sagging off a shooter again. Just one of the consistent mistakes he seems to not quite get. He didn’t get any great challenges in on guards attacking. He did draw a charge to get a stop on one drive. That was during the stretch where he was scoring on guys in the fourth. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 8-14 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a -8.

Kuzma -- -- “Being from Flint Michigan, I would have never thought about raising a banner here in Staples Center,” Kuzma said. He will always have that. Pretty cool. He said it motivated him to see it. He had 7 points and 4 assists in the fourth quarter. He attacked the rim relentlessly in early offense in this game. When the ball found his hands for the final offensive possession that was exactly the guy I wanted to see with it. There was just no resistance in the paint. He knew it. The Lakers knew it. And probably the Rockets, too. He took it right to the front of the rim for a score. He and Trezz were key offensively in the fourth. Kuz in transition, Trezz in the post. Again, Kuz had to be our backup PG once again with all our ball handlers out. I’ll take 7 assists with 3 turnovers. And he ands in 19 points? Really well-rounded offensive game. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-12 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-5 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +3.

McLemore -- -- He’d hit a three off a kickout from THT to the corner. And he’d attack off the three line for a couple of layups. A little poor shot selection early on, but he settled into the flow as it went along. I was a little leery seeing him out there for that last defensive stand, but he was buried in the far corner. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -1.

McKinnie -- -- Quietly got to double digits in this one. He sank a three. Then he got setup by THT for his other buckets. He had an And-1 layup cutting off THT. He dunked off a THT drive and dish. He’d also get another layup from THT in transition, cutting behind the D. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -1.

Cacok -- -- Early second quarter action for Cacok. I don’t know if that’s the earliest he has been in, but probably. He’d get blocked on a dunk attempt from behin for his only stat. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting in 4 minutes. He had a -3.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: This one came down to one offensive possession and one defensive stand. On offense, we had THT drive, he picked up his dribble kicked it back out and now it was Kuzma’s turn. He ran clock, went a little early, but was just too big and fast for his man and scored a layup right over him to take the 1-point led with 6 seconds left. On the defensive end, we got the stop with a steal and our substitution of the game.

Key Substitution: Going small for the final possession. Wes was on Olynk who tried to take him into the post. Wes poked the ball away from him and THT pounced on it to get the stop. Another big play by Wes in crunch time. Vogel will lean on him come playoff time.

Key Stats: Well, franchise record 86 points in the paint. They had 42 in the first half, and 44 in the second half...that last bucket by Kuz was the game winner.

Coach’s Challenge: Kuzma was fouled on the break with 2:57 left. Seemed like an obvious foul but the Rockets challenged. Unsuccessful.
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lordtrapula
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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:15 pm    Post subject:

Wes is such a great pickup.

Dude is strong as hell on a post-up
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Dr. Laker
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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:22 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:48 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Non-Laker sort of game, just an offensive heavy game, very little D. Both teams D was like melted butter. The lineups were a bit wonky because of the folks we did not have playing, so it is probably not unexpected.

THT was terrific and fun to watch in this one. THT haters can go stick it Yes, I know he will have some bad ones, and frustrating games to come, but kid can play.

Otherwise, a win, is a win, is a win. Hopefully the team can, regardless of what Mavs or Blazers do, end the season with a nice win streak. Get some momentum going into playoffs / play-in.
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SweetP
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PostPosted: Wed May 12, 2021 11:06 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Nice game for the younger guys. Hoping that banner ceremony sparks them going into the playoffs and we get our regulars back soon.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 4:27 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!!

Lets go Lakers!!!
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cganesh75
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PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 4:54 am    Post subject:

Apparently this is the first 3 game winning streak of any Lebron team without him playing. thats insane.
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akgolf
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PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 5:11 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB )
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 1:10 pm    Post subject:

cganesh75 wrote:
Apparently this is the first 3 game winning streak of any Lebron team without him playing. thats insane.


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deal
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PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 2:10 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB !!!
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