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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:41 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- NETS - 1-25-22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

The Return of AD... It happened pretty quickly the past few days. We heard he might be available in the last one. Tonight, he got the green light.

AD returned to the lineup as the Lakers took the 106-96 road win over a depleted Nets roster.

With AD’s return, guys started to return to playing to their strengths. Lineups started to look balanced.

Early on, however, it was the Lakers small ball that got early separation. All that work they put in paid off as LeBron and the bench players extended to a first-quarter lead.

The Nets trimmed the lead back down to just a point midway through the third quarter, and then L.A. went to the LeBron-at-center lineup again as AD picked up foul trouble. They’d push the lead back to double digits.

Leading by 14 heading into the fourth, the Laker offense faltered, scoring just 14 points. But the D was there. The Nets would score just 18 as the Lakers held on to the win. It never felt close.


LeBron -- -- I’m hoping the high scoring keeps up now that AD’s back. AD said he kind of wanted to fit in without detracting for the Lakers offense. LeBron rolled in this one. He had 15 points, 6 boards and 4 assists in the first half. He was too strong at times for Edwards trying to defend him. If you take the three ball out of this game, he went 12-13 on everything inside the arc. When the Nets pulled near even with us during the third, LeBron drained back-to-back wing jumpers from the same spot. Then hit a pull-up three in early offense shortly later to help edge the lead back up. So it wasn’t always drives and scores. Defensively, great stretch in the fourth with back-to-back steals to take them for dunks. Then he swatted a shot out of bounds on the next defensive stop. Dominating at a key juncture as we stretched it to 15 and kind of iced the game. The Stats: He scored 33 points on 14-21 shooting (2-8 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a + 10.

Davis -- -- Great having him back. The Lakers survived his time off the court with the injury. He said he was winded after the first few minutes when the adrenaline wore off. It will take him a beat to get his wind and legs back. He said he didn’t want to disrupt the offense that had been flowing without him. Nice seeing a bigman making blocks again out there. He had several in the first quarter. I’m not going to say that was the reason the Lakers were dominating the fastbreak, but it helped. The Lakers still struggled controlling the glass with AD out there. At one point it was 17-0 advantage on the offensive glass for the Nets. It did seem like there were a lot of long rebounds, which may fall more on the guards, but still not a strong game from AD on the glass (just 1 defensive board and 1 offensive one). The wind will impact that, too. AD picked up some foul trouble in the third quarter and had to sit with 7:43 left in the third. He was called for his fifth foul in the first minute of the fourth on a perimeter block, and AD was yelling “review that” and they did. That was overturned and his 4th block of the game. All 8 of AD’s points were in the first half. On the first sequence with him and LeBron, we found him for a lob throwdown. He had another lob dunk from Reaves. He also hit a midrange. Pretty quiet first game offensively, but he’ll need a few games to get rolling and get that wind, timing and confidence back. Loved seeing Melo go out with 4 minutes left in the game for AD. Just having that other body back makes a difference. We held a team to under 100. Let’s go! The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -1.

Westbrook -- -- Well, you never want more turnovers than assists. Midway through the third, Russ had all 5 of the Lakers turnovers. Everyone else was clean. On the one hand that’s strong for the team not having all those turnovers. On the other, it’s just one guy with all of them. Then we flipped roles for the rest of the game. Early in the second half, we saw AD go to the floor for a loose ball on one end to get a stop, then we saw that possession pissed away by an airball three early in the clock by Russ on the other end. (He’d have another early offense three he’d miss.) That’s the bad we don’t want to see. On the good side, we saw him positioned in the dunker spot while LeBron was strong side. As the double game, Russ cut in front of the weakside D, took the pass and scored an And-1. Shortly later, he’d also get a layup, attacking a mismatch and that helped the Lakers extend back to a double-digit lead. There’s smart offense and there’s dumb offense. Just play to your strengths consistently, please, and we want the coaching staff to put him into more positions like that, which work well with the other guys. I also liked the finishing by Russ to night. He had some change-of-pace sequences that caught defenders and he scored layups. Much better than the 100 m.p.h. drives that have no touch. Having AD out there, should also get Russ a few more breakaways. We saw that tonight. I’ve liked his last few games. It’s time to zero in on being a consistent, positive force out there. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 7-14 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -1.

Johnson -- -- We were hoping to see how that AD/Johnson combo looks together. Stanley got the start as we sent Ariza back to the deep bench. Early foul trouble, however, for Johnson to shorten that combo’s time together. But he came back in as the small ball C with some shooters and that lineup rolled later in that half. But like having his size in the starting lineup. He spent a lot of time against Harden. Offensively, another coast-to-coast drive for a score. I think it catches teams off guard when our “big” in those small lineup is doing that. We need to play with pace. He also had a steal at midcourt late in the game where he hit Reaves from the ground and that led to a LeBron layup. Lakers did a good job of that tonight. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +10.

Bradley -- -- Not sure we can keep him in the starting lineup with the guys we got available, but we’ll see. It kind of reminds me of his first stint with the team. Reaves or Monk would make a good change. With Reaves, you worry about the durability as he adjusts to the long season and all the time hitting the floor. I think Vogel protected Caruso a bit for that reason. With Monk, we get that lights out shooting that LeBron is going to need with both Russ and AD on the floor now. Bradley has been working it out lately with some of his best ball of the season. He swished a corner three in this one and had some midrange pull-ups off set plays. Meanwhile, he’s doing the heavy lifting on guys like Harden defensively. Reaves is great on D. Monk has become serviceable. The Stats: He scored 9 point son 4-8 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -5.

Anthony -- -- Defensively, I love seeing him blitz the point of attack. We send a weaker defender (if not two) at the opponent’s strongest player to give up the ball, then we scramble behind that. That’s how we need to use him, especially when he’s got a hot hand and teams want to attack him. Something Vogel is especially good at, but so dang inconsistent about using. They had one of those key turnovers in the fourth off that when LeBron went for a dunk off the pass out of one of those. Offensively, he came out hitting early. When he and Monk combine for 30+ points in a game, I think we stand a good chance at getting the W. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-10 shooting (3-7 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +15.

Monk -- -- I mentioned recently that I want to see him come out firing. Don’t play passive or overly passing. Trust the shotmaking. He was aggressive early, taking and making his first three and later getting a breakaway dunk in the first quarter. After his first couple makes, the offense started to flow. Guys were looking for him and he was producing. He had 16 points on 4-7 shooting from three in the first half. When we’re getting 20+ from him it’s trouble for opponents. Since he’s been moved to the bench, we haven’t seen that with consistency. With AD back, we could certainly use the shooting in the starting lineup. But off the bench, I really want to see that aggressiveness from him. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 7-13 shooting (6-12 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +14.

Horton-Tucker -- -- Welp, he’s a youngin’ and it’s hard to be consistent at his age. I have no doubt his game is going to grow into a full on baller in time, but his timeline is a little off with the Lakers at the moment. He didn’t score on 6 attempts tonight. With vets, they know how to find some spots or moments to scratch out buckets here and there. He’s got to learn that. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-6 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 block and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -2.

Reaves -- -- Love seeing Harden trying to attack Reaves when they finally got matched up in the second quarter for a possession. Offensive foul on Harden. Probably, the loudest I was during the first half was that play. He’d get another illegal screen call in the third quarter that was probably the loudest the bench was calling that hold out. Here’s the key that clicked I think for Reaves. He doesn’t have the strength yet and guys were able to bump him off to get separation. At some point, Reaves decided if you are going to do that, then he was going to draw attention to the advantage by going down. That turned the weakness into the advantage and he’s dominated that stat in the NBA in January. Great passing from Reaves in this game. He had a no-looker to Monk in the corner for a three in the first half. He’d find him later in the third coming off a screen for another three. Right after that, he got the Lakers first offensive board and kicked it to Melo for a three. He was the only guy getting offensive board for the team for a while there. Only one other player had a single offensive board for the Lakers as Austin had 5. He’d score his only bucket off one of those. So a single bucket for him in this game, but so many other little things that helped the team win. Perfect kind of player around your stars. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 6 boards (5 offensive boards), 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 25 minutes He was a +13.

Bazemore -- -- In for the garbage time with a couple minutes left. He’d miss a chuck from three. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 from three in 2 minutes. He was a -3.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Let’s go with when AD got his fourth foul in the third quarter. All this practice with LeBron at center paid off. The Nets had cut the lead to 1. LeBron’s scoring turned it up. Combined with a couple of Westbrook scores and the Lakers edged it back to a double-digit lead playing that small ball. This is the hope -- that our small ball lineups with energy guys or shooters around LeBron can cause problems for opponents. Now, can Westbrook and AD hold down the fort whenever LeBron is off court. Tonight, we ran minutes without any of the trio on the floor. Not sure we can keep that up.

Key Substitution: Let’s just note no Ariza, no Howard and AD helps both those things happen. Also, when Melo sat with 4 minutes left that was for AD. We get more two-way minutes on the floor. Less of having to put guys into situations they aren’t good at. “His anchor to our defense is something that’s been sorely missed,” Vogel said of AD.

Key Stats: The Lakers won the break 27-9. Steals, blocks and mobile players turning it into transition scores.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:48 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

For the first time we're almost at full strength. Hopefully now we stay healthy so that we can see what this team really is over the next several weeks.

I wonder what our record is with all of the Big 3 in the lineup at the same time. Before AD got hurt, we won 6 of 8 and were showing signs of what we could be.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:59 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 9:58 pm    Post subject:

I have to take this game with a grain of salt as KD and Kyrie were both out.

That said, not bad for AD's first game back. Winded early, not in rhythm but still made a huge difference.

I like seeing Johnson and Reaves on Hardin. Yeah Hardin had 33 points but was a minus 12 on +/-. In the future, Johnson will have to guard KD though.

Agree with DB that Monk and Bradley need to switch spots. Bradley coming off the bench to guard whomever is hot on the other team makes sense.

Reaves is really going to have to put in work on his body this off season. He needs more muscle / mass to deal with bigger players. But the potential is there. I will take 2 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists all season long. Especially when he is a plus 13 on the floor.

Gotta work on the glass. Not enough rebounds which really surprises me given LBJ and WB past rebounding stats.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 10:13 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:08 pm    Post subject:

If AD gets to focus on D more with others carrying offense for now [I'm not saying he turn into a 10/10 guy]...alotta teams gonna be in trouuubbble.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:09 pm    Post subject:

And yes, Thanks DB.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:39 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB. Glad AD is back!
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:44 pm    Post subject:

Next game will be a huge test, but I expect a loss and hoping for a big win. AD probably needs 3-4 games to get back into rhythm. A 3-3 road trip would be good in my books
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 11:53 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB! That was a great birthday present
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:04 am    Post subject:

TNT crew is thinking that Vogel is starting to found combos and lineups that might work

Starters
LBJ, AD, AB, Westbrook and Johnson or Reeves or Monk

Bench
Reeves, Johnson, Monk, Melo and LBJ or AD or Westbrook

When playing against legitimate bigs such as Embiid, Gobert, DeAndre Ayton, Steven Adams, Jarrett Allen, Wendell Carter Jr and others - Dwight and (maybe DJ) can help AD

Any win is a good win

This was a depleted Nets team

Amazingly, the Lakers might have a winning record on this long Grammy trip - lol
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:31 am    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:
TNT crew is thinking that Vogel is starting to found combos and lineups that might work

Starters
LBJ, AD, AB, Westbrook and Johnson or Reeves or Monk

Bench
Reeves, Johnson, Monk, Melo and LBJ or AD or Westbrook

When playing against legitimate bigs such as Embiid, Gobert, DeAndre Ayton, Steven Adams, Jarrett Allen, Wendell Carter Jr and others - Dwight and (maybe DJ) can help AD

Any win is a good win

This was a depleted Nets team

Amazingly, the Lakers might have a winning record on this long Grammy trip - lol

You only need 8-9 guys in the playoffs, we have 9 now without dwight, interesting to see what NUNN brings, but that will make our bench at 10, sadly, someone is going to lose minutes when NUNN comes back.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 3:33 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!

Good win and hopefully something we can carry on
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 4:54 am    Post subject:

The floor balance changes with AD. Suddenly those immense weaknesses inside defensively and on switches, aren't there. Interesting that Stanley got the start as Vogel went for some defense.

Over the last 15 games, Lebron and WB have an offense rating of 113 and 112. When you think about that, lets look back at where WB was in November. Around 97. It went to 100 at some point. The last 15 he's at 112 with Bron at 113.

The reason has been the smaller ball. With AD coming in, you can space the floor the same way but you have defensive size and ability to do more. You also have a big that can catch the ball and create, something you didn't have.

I really liked AD's post game interview. He's telling them that he's not looking to change the offense dynamic too much with his presence as they (I assume he's talking to Bron/WB) played very well without him. He wants to fit in and not disrupt. A lot of AD haters will say that's not alpha. But when you look at our team the last month, it wasn't our O ratings that suffered without AD. It was our D. We went from playing top 5 D the last month with AD to bottom 10. AD's our MVP on D, Bron our MVP on O. I hope we can get some flow going, but don't want to put any expectation on this team.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:08 am    Post subject:

Missed this one— is it worth watching the DVR?
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:17 am    Post subject:

CandyCanes wrote:
Missed this one— is it worth watching the DVR?


Do you wanna see AD sick opening cocked back alley oop and back2back steal breakaway dunks from the Kang?
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 6:03 am    Post subject:

governator wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
Missed this one— is it worth watching the DVR?


Do you wanna see AD sick opening cocked back alley oop and back2back steal breakaway dunks from the Kang?


Actually managed to catch the LeBron dunks since I was able to tune in briefly. Also, you’re one post away from 20,000!
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 6:15 am    Post subject:

CandyCanes wrote:
Missed this one— is it worth watching the DVR?


Yes.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 6:36 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:

I really liked AD's post game interview. He's telling them that he's not looking to change the offense dynamic too much with his presence as they (I assume he's talking to Bron/WB) played very well without him. He wants to fit in and not disrupt. A lot of AD haters will say that's not alpha. But when you look at our team the last month, it wasn't our O ratings that suffered without AD. It was our D. We went from playing top 5 D the last month with AD to bottom 10. AD's our MVP on D, Bron our MVP on O. I hope we can get some flow going, but don't want to put any expectation on this team.


Posters were criticizing the coaching staff for playing as much small ball as they did during AD's absence. But now we see how seamlessly AD fits right back in, the rest of the team plays the same way, just that there's a cascade effect with holes (e.g. Ariza, excessive LBJ minutes at the 5, Melo vulnerability on D) being reduced or eliminated. And this is AD just playing D, nothing advanced or sophisticated on O yet.
I don't know if this is going to be enough to compete against the elite tier teams; as it stands the "whole is still not more than the sum of the parts", but I think I see the blue-print the coaching staff have been taking so much pains to stick with.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 6:42 am    Post subject:

CandyCanes wrote:
governator wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
Missed this one— is it worth watching the DVR?


Do you wanna see AD sick opening cocked back alley oop and back2back steal breakaway dunks from the Kang?


Actually managed to catch the LeBron dunks since I was able to tune in briefly. Also, you’re one post away from 20,000!

Hell of a poster, too.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 6:48 am    Post subject:

ThePageDude wrote:
wolfpaclaker wrote:

I really liked AD's post game interview. He's telling them that he's not looking to change the offense dynamic too much with his presence as they (I assume he's talking to Bron/WB) played very well without him. He wants to fit in and not disrupt. A lot of AD haters will say that's not alpha. But when you look at our team the last month, it wasn't our O ratings that suffered without AD. It was our D. We went from playing top 5 D the last month with AD to bottom 10. AD's our MVP on D, Bron our MVP on O. I hope we can get some flow going, but don't want to put any expectation on this team.


Posters were criticizing the coaching staff for playing as much small ball as they did during AD's absence. But now we see how seamlessly AD fits right back in, the rest of the team plays the same way, just that there's a cascade effect with holes (e.g. Ariza, excessive LBJ minutes at the 5, Melo vulnerability on D) being reduced or eliminated. And this is AD just playing D, nothing advanced or sophisticated on O yet.
I don't know if this is going to be enough to compete against the elite tier teams; as it stands the "whole is still not more than the sum of the parts", but I think I see the blue-print the coaching staff have been taking so much pains to stick with.

So I was looking at the numbers as AD brought them up. He specifically said that the Lakers had a great flow on offense and were one of the best on offense in his time out (And I am like what are you saying AD?). And then I looked at the numbers.

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced/?sort=OFF_RATING&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&LastNGames=15

Last 15 games, LA's about 5th in the NBA in O ratings. That is up there with the Suns, Heat, Nets etc. 115 offense rating is very good. Lebron at the 5 and the small ball with Westbrook has shockingly been good on offense.

So now it's on AD for the D. How much can AD be in that Bosh/Love role? Can AD be what those 2 aren't? A great defender who transforms the defense into elite? I love that AD realizes that is what he can change for the team. Every time we lose and AD has 12 shots, and mostly played outside the paint, most will call him soft. But the fact is with Westbrook, and Lebron playing this well. Being a stretch 5 on offense is what AD has to be to give this team an even outside chance of being a threat in the playoffs. We're not going to compete with anyone, unless we get Bron/WB playing like this. AD is willing to make the sacrifice. The real question is now can AD transform the D. Based on yesterday it seems he can, but lets see. We really need him to give us DPOTY impact.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 7:46 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
governator wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
Missed this one— is it worth watching the DVR?


Do you wanna see AD sick opening cocked back alley oop and back2back steal breakaway dunks from the Kang?


Actually managed to catch the LeBron dunks since I was able to tune in briefly. Also, you’re one post away from 20,000!

Hell of a poster, too.


Save #20,000 for something special rather than replying to me.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:19 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
ThePageDude wrote:
wolfpaclaker wrote:

I really liked AD's post game interview. He's telling them that he's not looking to change the offense dynamic too much with his presence as they (I assume he's talking to Bron/WB) played very well without him. He wants to fit in and not disrupt. A lot of AD haters will say that's not alpha. But when you look at our team the last month, it wasn't our O ratings that suffered without AD. It was our D. We went from playing top 5 D the last month with AD to bottom 10. AD's our MVP on D, Bron our MVP on O. I hope we can get some flow going, but don't want to put any expectation on this team.
Posters were criticizing the coaching staff for playing as much small ball as they did during AD's absence. But now we see how seamlessly AD fits right back in, the rest of the team plays the same way, just that there's a cascade effect with holes (e.g. Ariza, excessive LBJ minutes at the 5, Melo vulnerability on D) being reduced or eliminated. And this is AD just playing D, nothing advanced or sophisticated on O yet.
I don't know if this is going to be enough to compete against the elite tier teams; as it stands the "whole is still not more than the sum of the parts", but I think I see the blue-print the coaching staff have been taking so much pains to stick with.
So I was looking at the numbers as AD brought them up. He specifically said that the Lakers had a great flow on offense and were one of the best on offense in his time out (And I am like what are you saying AD?). And then I looked at the numbers.

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced/?sort=OFF_RATING&dir=-1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&LastNGames=15

Last 15 games, LA's about 5th in the NBA in O ratings. That is up there with the Suns, Heat, Nets etc. 115 offense rating is very good. Lebron at the 5 and the small ball with Westbrook has shockingly been good on offense.

So now it's on AD for the D. How much can AD be in that Bosh/Love role? Can AD be what those 2 aren't? A great defender who transforms the defense into elite? I love that AD realizes that is what he can change for the team. Every time we lose and AD has 12 shots, and mostly played outside the paint, most will call him soft. But the fact is with Westbrook, and Lebron playing this well. Being a stretch 5 on offense is what AD has to be to give this team an even outside chance of being a threat in the playoffs. We're not going to compete with anyone, unless we get Bron/WB playing like this. AD is willing to make the sacrifice. The real question is now can AD transform the D. Based on yesterday it seems he can, but lets see. We really need him to give us DPOTY impact.
As usual, your comments are “On Point”

Hopefully AD will be out version of Bam (https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628389/) meets Draymond Green

With AD healthy, it provides the opportunity for the Lakers’ depth to be a factor that will allow them to compete against the elite teams (Suns, Warriors, Jazz, Grizz, Nets, 76ers, Bucks and Heat) especially when KNunn is actually playing

The real season starts after the ASG and the Lakers’ goal is to be fourth or better at the end of the season. Their upcoming schedule with the teams ahead of them provides them numerous opportunities to rise up in the standings since they will be in controlled of their own destiny
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:07 am    Post subject:

Yeah, so the team was top 5 in defense the month before AD went out but Bron missed a number of those. We also didn't have Stanley and Reaves regularly.

In the month before AD has come back, we've been top 5 in offense but the defense took a nosedive in the small ball era.

Any way by some miracle coach Vogel can combine the two periods? One period our defense was with the elites, but our offense was in the tank. The other period our offense was with the elites but the defense was in the tank. This is why I don't think it's coaching for this team, as coaches have found a way to get them to do things at a high level. Just the lineups aren't balance based on roster construction and injuries to AD/Bron.

Lets see, I'm not expecting more than 39-43 wins based on how we've played this year but certainly if we get a full month of health of the big 3, we may finally know if these dudes are capable to win games at a high clip.
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 2:10 pm    Post subject:

I'm definitely interested to see how the work AD put into his shot pays off. He had that very on-balance midrange J he sunk. But not a lot of shots up to get a feel for it.

That will be the key for how seamlessly he can fit within our offense. LBJ/Russ are going to have a little less room regardless because other teams can now match up better with AD out there.
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