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DancingBarry Editor-in-Chief
Joined: 07 Sep 2001 Posts: 40213 Location: O.C.
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:55 pm Post subject: LAKERS -at- MAVS - 12/15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings |
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Austin Reaves For The Win!... Legs above his head after he was knocked down, Austin Reaves watched as his overtime three ball dropped from the skies and went through. Nothing but net. Ball game. See ya, Dallas.
The basketball gods smiled on that play. LeBron gave the ball up to Ellington, who could have taken a shot, but swung it to Westbrook in the corner instead. Westbrook, who had just made a three from that spot, didn’t settle. He attacked the paint, kicked and Reaves drained the wing three, getting knocked down in the process. Game winner, 107-104.
That was Reaves fifth three of the game, and the team went nuts.
There was no hero ball on that play.
The arc of this season (and perhaps the ultimate fate) depends on how quickly they can transform themselves from a group of talented individuals into a team that plays for each other.
LeBron -- -- Pretty good shooting game from LeBron, even sinking a pull-up logo three in the second half of this one. He mixed in some drives, getting downhill. He had 15 points on 5-9 shooting in the first half, but twisted his ankle on a drive late in the second quarter. Came down on Porzingis’s foot. Hopefully, that ankle doesn’t tighten up after the game because, physically, he’s been looking great the past few games. He was called for a goaltend early in this one that he got up for again. Beastly. Defensively, he had the matchup with Porzingis (23 points on 23 shots). He seemed a little flatfooted at times on scrambles and that caused some issues. A lot of minutes again and it seemed like he found his second wind in OT. The Lakers centerless bench units to start the second and fourth quarters put the team in a hole tonight. To start the second, it was a 9-0 run for the Mavs. Later, tied at 73-73 heading into the fourth, the Lakers gave up a 7-0 run. Both times it was a LeBron, Melo, Bazemore, Ellington, Russ lineup. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 9-19 shooting (4-9 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 43 minutes. He was a -6.
Davis -- -- Felt like he had a couple of spurts in this game -- once in the third and then again in OT. Offensively, a non-factor in the first half. He battled some foul trouble that limited minutes some, but he really wasn’t aggressive. He did most of his scoring in the third with 10. In OT, he hit a turnaround from the wing where ended up on the floor. He also took a pass in the paint on an ATO and hit Russ cutting for a layup. And he’d score a layup himself getting a mismatch with a small and easily scoring when Russ spotted him. Hard to tell if he didn’t have his wind this game or had to edge back a little to keep himself from foul trouble. With no Dwight, having AD on the floor was certainly vital. He led the team with the +21. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-18 shooting (0-3 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 2 assists, 6 turnovers and 4 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a +21.
Westbrook -- -- he had spotted Reaves in the first half on kickouts for threes on that same right wing area. So in OT on the final shot, he had LeBron cutting, but hit Reaves one more time at that same area for the game winner. Really love his reaction afterward, too. He was hyped for Austin. “Made the right play,” Russ said. Credit Russ for a strong OT. He had just nailed a three with 23.5 seconds left (4.5 on the shotclock) from that same corner he had found himself in that final possession. He didn’t double down. He went after that paint and good things happen. That was an excellent OT in general. He was aggressive. He was cutting off ball when he didn’t have it. He hit LeBron on the break for a dunk as we got out in transition off a turnover. He had a defensive play in that OT where he scrammed Reaves off of Porzingis, then drew offensive fouls on the bigman. Part of our woes in that second quarter tonight was Russ. He didn’t score a bucket as he settled and missed a couple of threes (also charged once). He was attacking aggressively in the first quarter. The Lakers missed that scoring punch the following quarter as they lost their lead. Late in the fourth, he also had a big putback off an AD brick. Russ skied for the board and scored a layup. One assist shy of the triple-double and just 4 turnovers on this one. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 8-18 shooting (1-4 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 9 assists, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a +9.
Bradley -- -- It sure felt like he shot better than 1-5 from three in this game. I guess you hit that first one and it feels like he’s still rolling from the perimeter. We struggled with the Brunson matchup and AB ended up in some foul trouble. He had some moments, picking Brunson on the perimeter and drawing a charge on him on a step-through. But he also gave up straight line drives, as well. At some point we may be debating whether you start Reaves over Bradley. Both are our best perimeter defenders, but Austin has a much more well-rounded game. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +9.
Ellington -- -- The inverse screens between Ellington and Bron were huge in this game. I love going to that in crunch time. We didn’t settle with 15 seconds left in OT. Normally, we pound the dribble on iso, let the D load up and chuck a long three. This time it led to that Reaves three. So that was a big play. But this game doesn’t get to overtime if Ellington doesn’t knocked down a corner three with 2 seconds left in regulation. It was off a scramble, he let a defender fly by and then knocked that shot down. Huge. More ATOs for Ellington in this game. During regulation, we put him in at least three of those. One led to a bounce pass to AD for a dunk as Ellington came off the AD screen to take a pass. On another ATO, we had LeBron collapse the D off the AD screen and kicked it to Ellington in the corner for another make. Defensively, some strong moments. He’s generally good at lock and trailing defenders, but he had also stole a pass defending the inbounder on a SLOB. He also hustled back in OT to deflect a pass and break up a transition score. He was also in on a key steal when Reaves helped force a bad pass diving for a loose ball in OT. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting from three to go with 3 boards, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +10.
Anthony -- -- He had 7 points on 7 shots in the first half. A little more restraint would have gone a long way. The centerless lineups failed pretty badly in this one. They picked on him a bit when he was out there. If you know there’s going to be a switch, just bring Melo’s man over and quickly get the match up you want. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards and 1 block in 24 minutes. He was a -16.
Reaves -- -- Hillbilly Kobe! Probably the play of the season so far. The undrafted rookie who has proven to be a steal, wins the game on an overtime three? Love it. His teammates loved it, mobbing him afterward, putting him in headlocks and dumping water on him in the locker room. “It was a hell of a shot, but really it was about the whole game he played,” Vogel said. He’s right. He went 3-3 from three in the first half as Westbrook found him for a couple on the wing and he nailed another deep one with the shotclock low. He drained another corner three later off the Ellington/Bron inverse screen action. He’d finish with an efficient 15 points on 6 shots. Just prior to that big three, Reaves put up a great challenge on a three on a perimeter rotation. It just happened to miss so bad, it banked in. That wasn’t the first challenge he forced a brick. Hardaway bricked on a three Reaves challenged. He forced a pass on another jumper. He had a few more good perimeter challenges. “He’s a really good defender with good length and good feet,” Vogel said. He had a steal rotating on a roll man under the hoop. He also dove for a loose ball at midcourt that ended up forcing a man into bad pass in OT. It wasn’t always clean. He gave up a strong line layup. Bron also got on him on another rotation. You see guys trying to test him and he puts up a good fight. Once he gets more strength, he’s going to make up a little more space that guys get separation on and cause more issues. One more thing to mention in this game, Reaves made a left-handed bullet feed off the dribble to Westbrook under the hoop (Russ got blocked). But that was a hell of a feed. Lakers scouts, man. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting from three to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +10.
Jordan -- -- Since this was Austin’s game, let’s recall that sweet lob pass from Reaves off the dribble and flipping it up to DJ for the dunk. That was DJ’s only hoop. Defensively, DJ had a nice block on a Mav attempting a step-back on him. Limited action, but we at least held serve when out there. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 block and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a -2.
Bazemore -- -- He came in with 3:26 left in the first quarter as LeBron sat and Russ returned. He’d come in with 5 minutes left in the third when Bradley picked up his fifth foul. Big minutes for him to try to get back into the rotation. Unfortunately, he was also part of those awful units small ball units to start the second and fourth quarter. They went scoreless as did Baze, missing a three, a pull-up and choking a layup off a great feed from Reaves. Big minutes to earn a spot back and he had the team worst -19 in 15 minutes. Tough break. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -19.
Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Tie game, 15 seconds left, Vogel called a timeout. AD, LeBron, Reaves, Russ. He had Bradley in for D then sat him for Ellington for offense. Ball to LeBron, run clock. One of our bread and butter plays, the inverse screen from Ellington. He gets the ball, moves it to Russ, who attacks and kicks to Reaves for the three. I love that we didn’t stall and chuck. We got the ball moving and the D scrambling.
Key Substitution: Reaves off the bench, of course. Vogel stuck with him over Bradley to close. There’s a pretty strong case that the unit that closed this game, could be the starter. You have Ellington in the lineup over THT to give you more spacing. You have Reaves as your defensive workhorse over Bradley.
Key Stats: Laker lost one quarter this game, the second where they scored just 14 points. The Lakers scored that many points in overtime. |
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mhan00 Retired Number
Joined: 13 Apr 2001 Posts: 32075
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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REAVES |
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socalsp3 Star Player
Joined: 07 Jul 2016 Posts: 3508
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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Wow it took Vogel a how many games to figure out he needed to swap Ellington for THT for spacing |
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Startrout Star Player
Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Posts: 2148
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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It’s crazy that an undrafted rookie is playing such huge minutes, including overtime minutes, with all the big names we have on this team. Great job AR-15! I can’t wait to see how good he is in a couple years when he gets physically stronger/more of an NBA body.
Last edited by Startrout on Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Laker_Town Retired Number
Joined: 26 Jun 2006 Posts: 25604
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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socalsp3 wrote: | Wow it took Vogel a how many games to figure out he needed to swap Ellington for THT for spacing |
It took COVID |
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av3773 Star Player
Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 3759
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 3:48 am Post subject: |
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Good to get a win, but until AD stops looking like our 4th or 5th best player on a given night, we have problems and Vogel rotations are still pretty mind boggling. |
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A Mad Chinaman Star Player
Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Posts: 6167
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:00 am Post subject: |
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Good Win
Team functions better with LBJ leading the way with AD and Westbrook his Uber talented cohorts (whose sheets have good stats) since his numbers provide the most impact - by far
Reeves and Ellington are providing Caruso-like hustle plays and contributions
Upcoming games with the Suns (with almost their entire roster healthy) and the Nets (No Kyrie and Harden being questionable) will be revealing |
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danzag Franchise Player
Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Posts: 22417 Location: Brazil
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:39 am Post subject: |
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HBK!!!! |
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wolfpaclaker Retired Number
Joined: 29 May 2002 Posts: 58378
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:46 am Post subject: |
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I bet that was a fun game to cover. It sure was a good game to watch. |
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Texas_Pete Franchise Player
Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 12825 Location: Somewhere watching a Laker game
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 5:00 am Post subject: |
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Thanks DB.
We don't hear much from the media about Russ, the teammate. This is leadership that I'm sure helped with HBK's confidence and growth as a player:
Quote: | Austin Reaves said Russell Westbrook, who tossed him the game-winning assist, has been one of his staunch supporters since the last preseason game in Sacramento when he went 1 for 8, and Russ told him, “Good job shooting it.” Russ has tried to instill him with confidence. |
https://twitter.com/kylegoon/status/1471326983707582467?t=7GWYUNWTxj4fu6ma0Kbk7Q&s=19
HBK earned the trust and respect of his teammates. Hope he keeps working hard. This kid has talent. That was a big shot. |
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wolfpaclaker Retired Number
Joined: 29 May 2002 Posts: 58378
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 5:04 am Post subject: |
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What I thought was either some very high IQ coaching or high IQ play from the players was when Russ was being left wide open at the wing beyond the arc. The motion in the offense allowed Russ to move toward the corner 3 where he is the most consistent of all the 3 point shot locations.
On one play, Russ makes that 3.
On the next play, Russ drives draws the D and kicks out to Reaves.
How great is that for development in Russ and this team's offense, coaching and chemistry? That's the beauty of being a fan, you watch, you support and the guys do get better with time when you have a group that's actually capable to win.
Still not 100% sure we're better than a .600 team, but if we play defense like this, we're gonna have a chance to be a very good team. It all comes down to the defense, to me. It allows them to have a margin of error in games, they don't otherwise have. |
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BleedP&G Starting Rotation
Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 258 Location: the other coast
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 5:18 am Post subject: |
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That's the type of win that a season can pivot on. _________________ "Are you kidding? Basketball is like ball. It's all a circle." |
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Dr. Laker Franchise Player
Joined: 12 Apr 2002 Posts: 17119
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:17 am Post subject: |
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Thanks, DB!
A road win - even if it's against The Sisters of Mercy - is always a good win. _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns". |
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DancingBarry Editor-in-Chief
Joined: 07 Sep 2001 Posts: 40213 Location: O.C.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:38 am Post subject: |
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wolfpaclaker wrote: | What I thought was either some very high IQ coaching or high IQ play from the players was when Russ was being left wide open at the wing beyond the arc. The motion in the offense allowed Russ to move toward the corner 3 where he is the most consistent of all the 3 point shot locations.
On one play, Russ makes that 3.
On the next play, Russ drives draws the D and kicks out to Reaves.
How great is that for development in Russ and this team's offense, coaching and chemistry? That's the beauty of being a fan, you watch, you support and the guys do get better with time when you have a group that's actually capable to win.
Still not 100% sure we're better than a .600 team, but if we play defense like this, we're gonna have a chance to be a very good team. It all comes down to the defense, to me. It allows them to have a margin of error in games, they don't otherwise have. |
Yeah, I think we've increasingly been seeing Russ (and THT) in the right spots to minimize the effectiveness of the help D. It's not all the time, but it certainly seems more purposeful when we are in crunch time. |
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TDRock Retired Number
Joined: 27 May 2010 Posts: 49510 Location: LA to the Bay
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:33 am Post subject: |
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Yay Winning! Yay the games are starting to be fun to watch. Big Yay!
Thanks DB |
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TooMuchMajicBuss Franchise Player
Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 21092 Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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wolfpaclaker wrote: | What I thought was either some very high IQ coaching or high IQ play from the players was when Russ was being left wide open at the wing beyond the arc. The motion in the offense allowed Russ to move toward the corner 3 where he is the most consistent of all the 3 point shot locations.
On one play, Russ makes that 3.
On the next play, Russ drives draws the D and kicks out to Reaves.
How great is that for development in Russ and this team's offense, coaching and chemistry? That's the beauty of being a fan, you watch, you support and the guys do get better with time when you have a group that's actually capable to win.
Still not 100% sure we're better than a .600 team, but if we play defense like this, we're gonna have a chance to be a very good team. It all comes down to the defense, to me. It allows them to have a margin of error in games, they don't otherwise have. |
Well said. This was a very encouraging way to see a game end, with solid decision making under pressure, particularly seeing this from Westbrook. Playing solid team defense makes such a difference, as does being willing to draw the opposing defense when the situation calls for it. Great to see the trust teammates place in Reaves too when he's hitting shots. I really like how this one ended, kudos to all 5 Lakers out there at the end. |
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deal Franchise Player
Joined: 17 Aug 2008 Posts: 14921 Location: Earth
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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_________________ Lakers need to build a freaking team ! |
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