LAKERS -at- GRIZZLIES - 3-27-24 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2024 7:47 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- GRIZZLIES - 3-27-24 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Back-to-Back on the Road... Tough to go double OT and bounce back 24 hours later without AD. The Lakers got LeBron back, however, and pushed through for the win against the Grizzlies.

With AD (Wood and Vando) out, that presents a challenge for the team. They started Hayes, but their second units paid the price.

Early in the first quarter, the Lakers pulled out to the 25-16 lead after a monster lob dunk finish by Bron over former Laker Pippen Jr. on the break. As the second units rotated in, the lead was trimmed back down to 37-36 after the first.

Rui had the hot hand for the Lakers tonight, making 7-8 from three. He got going in the second quarter for a series of scores to help the Lakers to an 11-2 run and take a 69-61 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, the Lakers were on their way to a blowout win, leading by 98-71. The bench again got drilled over the course of 2 minutes to close the third. After giving up a three to start the fourth, the Lakers were somehow up just 7 points. So much for resting.

Credit Rui again for coming up with a couple of big threes and some strong defensive plays, as well. Eventually, the Lakers shooting was too much for the Grizzlies to handle in the fourth, and the lead was pushed back up to 17 before L.A. could finally close them out with the 136-124 win -- the Lakers fifth straight W.


LeBron -- -- Triple-double pace early with 13-7-5 at the half. He’d get it as the Lakers needed to play him 35 minutes tonight since they were trash without him, Rui and Reaves on the floor. He attacked the rim quite a bit tonight. In the third up 19 with 5 minutes to go, he went down awkwardly and the team called a timeout. Looked like his groin got stretched a bit, but it didn’t seem to slow him. He kept attacking and ended up on the floor a couple more times in the fourth. All that rim pressure led to threes and collapsed the D. He also worked the post and caused problems. There was a sequence where GG Jackson (the youngest player in the NBA at 19) defended Bron in the post. And LeBron swished a tough turnaround jumper. There’s no defending that part of the old man game. Too LBJ a little time to warm up and get in the flow. He was a little sloppy with the pass early on and avoided the three. Great job by Bron on the boards tonight. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 8-14 shooting (0-1 from three, 7-11 from the line) to go with 14 boards, 12 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +33.

Russell -- -- The three ball was dropping, as he sank five on the night. Memphis was in a drop coverage a bit and that helped, but he had some catch-and-shoot looks set up by others. And I think those types of shots are what keeps him in a flow. A couple nice passes to Hayes in this game, one on an inverted screen sequence. Another on a sideline pick and roll where he put it in the pocket perfectly for him. Defensively, not his best night. He played a little too loose after we got a big lead, probably trying to rest some after the long night against the Bucks. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 7-16 shooting (5-9 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnover and 5 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +1.

Reaves -- -- He had 5 assists in the first quarter, finding Hayes for a couple of lobs and Bron, as well, on the break. He also worked that pick and pop with Rui and found Spencer for a three. He missed all his threes today, but had a couple of dunks. Not sure he’s dunked twice in an NBA game before. Maybe. His other buckets were a baseline And-1 jumper where he drew contact and hit a 10-footer. The other he pushed out the break, through multiple defenders and finished at the rim. He, Bron and Rui were all a +31 or higher in this game. The 12-13 minutes they were out were awful. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-12 shooting (0-4 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 11 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +31.

Hachimura -- -- Career-high in made threes in this game. Multiple guys found him for catch-and-shoot looks from behind the arc. He led the Lakers with 16 points on 6-8 shooting in the first half. Unlike some previous games, he kept it going in both halves. Money from three, he hit a couple huge ones early in the fourth to help restore order after a Memphis run. I think on each of those, he also blocked a shot on the defensive end on the other end right after that, as well. Ham said he has been on Rui not to leak out early and go for defensive boards more. Rui is great at changing ends (you could see him step on the gas on one play where Bron hit him). But that was on a challenge and leak out. So more focus by Rui on doing the dirty work under the hoop to grab boards. Bron/Rui helped support Hayes with AD out. Super efficient night with 32 on 14 attempts. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 11-14 shooting (7-8 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks and 1 foul in 36 minutes. He was a +35.

Hayes -- -- He got the start for AD and answered the call well enough. We just needed him to stay out of foul trouble, play some D and give the team some vertical spacing. He got into a little foul trouble but avoided any serious issues. He was serviceable on D. At times able to deny Jackson Jr. in the post and also pull down some boards with some good effort. (Great help, though, by his other two bigs, Rui and Bron). Offensively, he was a lob machine. Reaves started off the action with a lob rolling on the inbounce play. Reaves would hit him rolling off the high screen for another lob. Bron from him on the lob when LBJ drew Jackson Jr. into a strongside zone and then threw a pass over his head to Hayes to finish. A couple good team sequences I liked. One was Hayes kicking out to Rui off a short-roll sequence for a three. Another was cutting baseline as Bron/Russell ran the inverted screen. Russell found Hayes cutting for the slam. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-7 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +6.

Dinwiddie -- -- This is more like the scoring I’d like to see off the bench. Chances are that is going to be tough unless we run more plays for him. He drilled a three early on a Reaves kickout. He sank a sideline three late on another Reaves late in the game. He also hit a wing three. Good to see the shot dropping. He crossed over and hit a tough baseline floater for his other bucket. Defensively, again he was disruptive. Right away, he ate up a Pippen Jr. drive, rejecting the shot and controlling it. He had another denial on a drive later. Later, he stripped a man for a stop. So making some things happen. One assist tonight, a kick out to Rui for a three. Seems like everyone got one of those assists. Dinwiddie was a little annoyed with the officials tonight. First, not getting a call on a drive (the Laker bench picked up a tech on his behalf). Spencer then picked up a tech shortly later complaining about another no call. In some small ball lineups tonight that didn’t fare well. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 4-7 shooting (3-4 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -11.

Prince -- -- Good outing from Prince. He made some big threes after Memphis made their late run to help right the ship. He also drew FTs attacking the rim. A couple moments on D, but we did have him in there in some small units briefly. He also kicked out to Rui for one of his threes. A couple turnovers, I think one of those hit Cam in the head with a pass as he wasn’t expecting it. Good to get the bench scoring from both Prince and Dinwiddie. That’s big with AD out. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 4-5 shooting (3-4 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -3.

Christie -- -- He came in to start the second quarter in place of Reddish. Not much action. He hit a pull-up from the top of the key in garbage time. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting in 7 minutes. He was a +3.

Reddish -- -- He missed a baseline pull up and a wide open three. Really invisible out there except for a near steal in the backcourt. His -17 in 10 minutes is due to some of these deep bench, small units. But also that he didn’t contribute anything. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with no stats in 10 minutes. He was a -17.

Giles III -- -- Came in at C for Hayes at the end of the first quarter. He stole a bounce pass to save a hoop, missed a three and was stripped in the post for a dunk the other way. They did not play well with him on the court. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 steal in 5 minutes. He was a -12.

Mays -- -- Nothing to report. The Stats: No stats in 1 minute. He was a -2.

Lewis -- -- Nothing to report. The Stats: No stats in 1 minute. He was a -2.

Castleton -- -- In for the final minute of action. Good to see him in the mix. Might have been better than our Giles minutes. The Stats: No stats in 1 minute. He was a -2.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Without AD and Wood, this is a tough one on the second night of the back-to-back. Thankfully, the Grizzlies are a bit of a mess without their star guard in the mix. The Lakers won all four quarters tonight. Both times during the end of the first and the end of the third, things fell apart for the Lakers as we went to those deep bench, small ball units. Once Ham got his guys back from rest, they restored order. Tough W, but they pulled it off.

Key Substitution: Hayes, Prince, Dinwiddie, Reddish, Russel lineup up 25 with less than 3 minutes left in third. Ham called a timeout with the lead trimmed to 19 sensing the changing momentum. A 15-0 run in a couple of minutes. Lakers led by just 10 heading into the fourth. Memphis would hit a three to start the quarter and the lead was down to 7. Lakers ran the Rui, Bron, Prince, Dinwiddie, Reaves lineup to start the quarter. Rui and Prince answered with big threes.

Key Stats: The Lakers have been increasingly effective from three over the course of the season. Tonight, they shot 54.5% (18-33). The Grizzlies made one less in 10 more attempts shooting a strong 39.5% (17-43). Tough to beat the Lakers when they hit threes like this and also have the massive FT numbers (28-35, 80%). Very efficient night for the Lakers with 136 points on 83 shots.
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JM
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:26 pm    Post subject:

Thanks.
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Dr. Laker
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:59 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB! Yes, I'd have liked more Castleton tonight, as well.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2024 10:06 pm    Post subject:

Win is a Win

Team is displaying a little, hopefully growing, since of Heart and Passion of a Champion.

***IF*** Vandy, Reddish and/or Vincent can return to supply consistent effective minutes (hopefully 10 to 20+ MPG) - Ham can effectively utilize Prince in 7-10 MPGs against players that he can be effective (opposition's bench players)

Props to Rui in being aggressive

DLo is continuing his shooting effectiveness

AR - Well, AR is AR!!

LBJ was Da Man
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danzag
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 1:13 am    Post subject:

5 game winning streak
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sonic the laker
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:47 am    Post subject:

Thanks as always, DB!

This win was made all the more impressive because it came on the backend of a 2 overtimes back-to-back, and no AD. This game was going to be a real test of mental and physical fortitude, for the team. In these past two games, the Lakers showed resilience in different ways. All positive. Great to see. Want to see more of that going forward. Lakers!
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markjay
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:59 am    Post subject:

Until he got subbed in, I didn’t even realize that Castleton was available — thought he was still injured. If AD has to miss any more games, I'd defintely like to see Castleton get more minutes over Giles.
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governator
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:04 am    Post subject:

Do we need another back up big? Or Giles/Castleton enough, are they even eligible to play in the playoffs?
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ThePageDude
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 5:10 am    Post subject:

governator wrote:
Do we need another back up big? Or Giles/Castleton enough, are they even eligible to play in the playoffs?


Giles looks awful, Castleton may still not be ready (expected) but given how bad Giles has looked I would like to see more of Castleton.
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LakersRGolden
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:07 am    Post subject:

Dlo pushing his laker 3ptr record higher in chunks.
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