SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 3-23-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 9:44 pm    Post subject: SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 3-23-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Competitive Effort... Going into this game, you expected the team to get smoked. With no LeBron as he rested his knee, the team had to find a way to be competitive.

The role players filled that void tonight as the Lakers got big outings from Malik Monk, Stanley Johnson and Dwight Howard.

The Lakers had an early lead on the Sixers, holding them to 1-9 shooting to open the game. The Lakers would come out of the first with an early lead behind 13 first quarter points from Johnson.

They struggled, however, against the Philly bench, not attacking their soft spots (like DJ in drop coverage) to close the half.

Down 14 in the third quarter, Monk came off the bench and was aggressive. The Lakers needed him to attack off screens on the dribble relentlessly against the Sixer bigs and that he did. He’d score a flurry of points, set up others and the team trailed by just a bucket heading into the fourth.

The Lakers, themselves, have some soft underbellies in their defense. With their two stars out, the Sixers exposed those again and again as we ran Melo extended minutes. Our smaller players also occasionally got overpowered. The Sixer lead grew once again.

Still, with a minute left, the game wasn’t over quite yet. Russell Westbrook had a series of scores in the final minute (but also had a series of defensive miscues to close the game). Not enough D in the fourth to get this one. The Lakers fell 126-121 in a competitive outing against the 45-27 Sixers.

The Lakers fall to 31-42, which means they are guaranteed to finish the season with a losing record. The Lakers over-under for the season was around 52.5 wins this year. They will fall far short of that.


Westbrook -- -- Ugly start. He had 4 points on 2-8 shooting and 5 turnovers (Lakers team 7) in the first half. His shift before the end of the half: Missed a wide open three when they sagged off; threw a pass away in the paint; bricked a leaner jumper; blocked on a drive on a his next touch; missed a pull-up jumper next touch. Lakers trailed by 9 heading into the halftime. He was a -10 in the half. Some really lazy D in the final minutes of the game. He sagged off a corner shooter on the strong side (you got to stay with him) and gave up a killer three when we were up 6. He’d then lose track of his man and give up a lob in the final minute. With 30 seconds left, he lost sight of Embiid to give up an inbounds pass after some good pressure by the Lakers, but Vogel would challenge the foul on Russ. He’d get a series of scores, however, in the final minute. One on a drive baseline. Another he attacked for an And-1 against Harden, he’d miss the FT, but steal it back from Harden and score a layup to cut it to 4. He’d also get a putback score. So a flurry of buckets in that final minute. Much better second half offensively. In a close game, he went 2-5 from the line and also picked up a tech to give up another FT. Can’t give away points like that undermanned as we are. The Stats: He scored 24 point son 10-20 shooting (2-5 from three, 2-5 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 8 assists, 1 steal, 7 turnovers and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -12.

Howard -- -- The dribble penetration tonight got Dwight a huge game. A season high 24 points on 14 shots. Great job by Stanley and Monk setting him up again and again. Embiid wants to help get stops, so we need to be the help-the-helper defenders. Dwight stayed active and aggressive and did that. I’m not sure he even plays in this game if we’re a healthy team (Lebron and AD), but he gave the team one of his better outings of the season. Embiid is the type of player whose combination of post scoring and perimeter shooting can cause us problems with our small ball. So it was essential that Dwight stayed out of foul trouble. He got a couple early ones, but stayed clear the rest of the game. He said the team has to stay positive and keep fighting. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 9-14 shooting (6-9 from the line) to go with 8 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -11.

Reaves -- -- Not a great game for Reaves. He missed a series of shots early on. In the second half, had a rare mental mistake with a flat perimeter pass that gave up a pick six. He also got bullied for some scores. On the good side, he had a nice steal on Harden from behind and hit a floater. He also set up Dwight for FTs off another steal. A couple offensive boards including a nie putback late off a Dwight missed jumper. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a -12.

Gabriel -- -- Energy and length. More guys who can just give us the little things that help. We need hustle and rebounding. We need guys rotating and play D. Nearly a double-double tonight from Gabriel. He had 3 offensive boards, working on the glass, including scoring on a miss by Russ. He scored on a floater, dunked off a lob pass from Russ and scored another layup. Defensively, a couple of blocks, including a nice one early in the game coming from behind a teammate to get the stop. Could have used some good shooting from three tonight. That would have caused problems for the Sixers. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-11 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 9 boards, 2 blocks and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +1.

Johnson -- -- He got the Harden assignment. Vogel mentioned it’s important to go back at Harden at the other end (yes, it is…just not in the post, but everywhere else, with hustle, on the dribble, etc.). Stanley was super aggressive to start. He came out strong in the first quarter, hitting three threes on his way to 13 points on 5-5 shooting in his first shift. Not points after that, but the passing was superb. He was another of the big reasons Dwight had a huge game. He found Dwight twice cutting for scores. He hit him again on the two-man game for another layup. Some other good finds like Monk in the corner for a three and a cutting Augustin for a layup. This kind of game is why you sign him to that cheap multi-year deal. He knocked down all three threes he took. You get a versatile player like him who knows how to do a lot of the little things that help make teammates better. And then he’s also a strong defender. ”I think he guarded James tonight about as well as anyone can guard him,” Vogel said. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting (3-3 from three) to go with 5 boards, 8 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -6.


Monk -- -- Probably the most important player for the Lakers keeping them in this one. Not only did he score, but he was opening up everything for Dwight. Monk had a moment in the first half, attacking DJ, pulling up off the open three since DJ was in drop coverage and knocking it down. Then he didn’t go after it for the rest of his shift. That was made-to-order offense for the Laker team, but we didn’t hunt it. He had the other 2 turnovers in the first half, but we needed Monk to be more aggressive with the ball handling without LeBron. In his second shift, he immediately probed on the dribble and hit a floater. Then he was off. He attacked and scored a layup. Then he worked off the high screen, got into no-man’s land and hit the midrange. That forced a timeout by the Sixers. He then setup Dwight on the drive and dish for FTs. He attacked, drew the D on the dribble penetration, missed, but Dwight cleaned it up. He’d score a layup in transition next time down. He’d attack and kickout for a three. He then scooped up a loose ball and took it for a dunk. This helped the Lakers erase a 14-point lead and cut it to 2 heading into the fourth. He had 18 points after three quarters with that flurry in the third. He’d set up Dwight for more FTs in the fourth. But Monk’s game started to fade a bit as the Sixers tried to put the clamps on him. Vogel finally sat him with 3:23 left after that long, aggressive shift. Hed’ come back in after some rest and hit a three. Good job tonight. He was the engine of the offense. I’m not sure we’ve relied on him that much this season, but it made us competitive. We were a -11 in the 16 minutes he sat tonight. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 10-20 shooting (3-9 from three) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +6.

Anthony -- -- Defensively, oh my. Just got picked on relentlessly. in the first quarter he gave back some of our early strong gains when we built a lead. His man would screen and pop. We didn’t want to leave Melo alone with the ballhandler, and it was an instant three. Again and again. Painful. To start his second half, he fouled a three shooter. He’s got to hit shots at a high rate to make up for that. He’d hit a three, but the very next play, Harden would get more FTs on him on the switch. One way or another, the Sixers generally took advantage of him on nearly every possession. That stalled out our run when we couldn’t get stops. No Bron, no AD, of course. Just had him out there too much to win this one. I love his scoring, but I’d probably rather get 10 points from someone else who plays tough D, than 20 from Melo. The net is a bit too much to overcome when teams bullseye him. Not a lot we can do at the moment with LeBron out. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-15 shooting (2-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards and 3 fouls. He was a +5.

Augustin -- -- Not the good looks he got in the last game. He’d sink one three, a step-back corner three on a BLOB inbounds. He’d also score off a nice cut off Johnson who fed him for the layup. Otherwise, fairly quiet night. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a +4.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Maybe early in the fourth when we lost momentum from the third. Not having LeBron definitely hurt as that’s when he’s usually in and driving the second unit to try to win those first five minutes of the fourth. We lost them and couldn’t get back over the hump.

Key Substitution: Kind of a tale of who could take more advantage of bad defenders. The Lakers needed to pick on DJ and his lack of mobility and perimeter D. The Sixers could pick on Melo. They beat him like a drum. So as good as Monk was off the bench, our inability to get stops really hurt as we ran Melo 31 minutes.

Key Stats: The Lakers got three techs in this game. I hate that in close games. The Sixers shot 12 more FTs as we didn’t keep them off the line. It’s tough with Harden and Embiid, so don’t give them any extra ones, please.

Coach’s Challenge: He saved his challenge for the final 30 seconds asking for a review on a Westbrook foul on an Embiid drive. Challenge unsuccessful. Lakers were down 4 and gave up two FTs on that.
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mhan00
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:02 pm    Post subject:

Can’t be too mad tonight. Lakers fought to the end instead of folding like a cheap towel.
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dabask11
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:05 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB

The only thing I'd get mad about is letting Deandre Jordan go 4/6 1/2 FT for 9 pts and 7 rbs with a +3 overall.

How do you let that happen?

As DB put it on the GT: Basketball Malpractice.

We probably win if make him look like his usual, unplayable self.
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Startrout
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:25 pm    Post subject:

If they played this hard all season you couldn’t be too mad at them. Hopefully, they can continue with the great effort for what season is left. Russ and Melo’s defense is killing us though.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:31 pm    Post subject:

I don't believe in moral victories, but it was encouraging to see our team make the Sixers have to huff and puff to beat us.

I feel Gabriel is lacking something defensively (on individual D) and I wish he would improve his 3-point shooting, but besides that he looks like a keeper.
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pio2u
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:32 pm    Post subject:

Good stuff DB!
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TooMuchMajicBuss
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:34 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Excellent writeup again, good to see some effort, particularly by Monk and Howard tonight.
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mad55557777
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2022 11:03 pm    Post subject:

If harden guards WB every game, WB would be all nba now,
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governator
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 3:46 am    Post subject:

4 good games in a row, why keep giving me hope, why, #18!!!
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deal
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 5:06 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB !!!!
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 6:35 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB. Team is actually playing well, given the circumstances.
Simply not enough firepower without LBJ and AD.
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PenG_
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 6:36 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Fun game. There are so many teams better than Philly
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venturalakersfan
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 7:01 am    Post subject:

This loss guarantees they will have a losing record
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 3:51 pm    Post subject:

mad55557777 wrote:
If harden guards WB every game, WB would be all nba now,
If only we would hunt for Harden on every offensive play?
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LakerLanny
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 4:20 pm    Post subject:

venturalakersfan wrote:
This loss guarantees they will have a losing record


Unbelievable.

No one would have guessed that prior to the start of the season.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 5:00 pm    Post subject:

LakerLanny wrote:
venturalakersfan wrote:
This loss guarantees they will have a losing record


Unbelievable.

No one would have guessed that prior to the start of the season.


(bleep) injuries.
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