LAKERS -at- SPURS - 3-7-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 9:15 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- SPURS - 3-7-22 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Texas Two Step... The only constant for the Lakers this season is the change. Tonight, they rolled out their 32nd new starting lineup.

Prior to the game, the Lakers announced LeBron would be sitting with the knee issues. We’re struggling to stay afloat with him. Without him, guys need to step it up to another level … and then some.

San Antonio and Houston are beatable teams. The Lakers need to get these games.

The Spurs tried to pull away from the Lakers in the second quarter as they built up a double-digit lead. Despite giving up 42 points in the paint in the first half, the Lakers were able to trim the lead to just 6 by halftime.

The Lakers cut it to 1 early in the third off scoring by Reaves and Monk and they forced a timeout. During that stretch, they held off those points in the paint from the Spurs.

They briefly took the lead before falling back again. The pace was fast. Without LeBron, we saw the ball across half court in just 3 or 4 seconds with more consistency. That gave the Lakers more time to develop shots without one of their key scorers.

They trailed by 3 heading into the fourth and tied it up on their first possession. A series of turnovers had them trailing by 9 and burning timeouts. They punched back, trimmed it to 3 behind some THT scoring and D to force a Spurs timeout. Still anyone’s ball game.

Several key calls went against the Lakers down the stretch. And when the Lakers were getting to the line in this one, they (well, Russell Westbrook) struggled to knock them down. A key no call came on a Monk drive with 37 seconds left where he was clearly hit on the arm with no call. A score there and it was a one-possession game with time on the clock to get a stop and a score. Instead, the Lakers had to take a foul and that was that. The Lakers fell 117-110.


Westbrook -- -- After the game, he mentioned how he can’t allow people shaming his name. He mentioned “Westbrick” and that he’s going to address shade thrown at him. “It’s been like this my entire career,” he said, adding how his family doesn’t want to go to any game, even home games. “I haven’t done anything but play basketball in a way people may not like,” he added. Even the shade is brighter in the L.A. spotlight. In the game, his time was limited a little in the first half when he picked up his third foul just seconds into the second quarter. So no LeBron, Davis or Westbrook for a bit. Good job getting to the line himself, but he left a lot of points there, missing 6 attempts in a close game. That hurt. Some little things in the game that I liked. He had a few moments on rotation on D to draw a charge. Late in the game, he had another one and the refs blew the call. He regained some possessions for the Lakers by crashing the offensive glass. That led to some second-chance points for the team. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-14 shooting (0-2 from three), 7-13 from the line) to go with 10 boards (3 offensive) to go with 6 assists, 5 turnovers and 5 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +5.

Monk -- -- “I can’t go 1 for 7,” Malik said of his three shooting after this one. Yeah, we needed a couple more of those to drop. He had 11 points on 5-10 shooting and 3 assists in the first half. Good job getting into the paint from the start, either scoring or setting up teammates. He picked up his fourth foul with 2:35 left in the third. That slowed him down a little. But the refs were not kind to him on the other end either. He attack a ton and got no calls, including in the key play of the game with 37 seconds left when he was clearly hit in the arm with no call. He had a big layup prior to that with a minute left to cut the lead to 4. That should have been 2 FTs and time enough to get a stop. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 8-22 shooting (1-7 from three) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -2.

Horton-Tucker -- -- Decent fourth quarter from him (I think 8 of our 22 points). We were able to get him downhill a little for some paint scores. He did a good job not over penetrating in this game, but didn’t seem to have a strong plan after he stopped in that no man’s land. I like the early offense attacks he had. He needs to play like Russ in many respects -- early offense, overpowering guys, looking to find teammates. Defensively, he’s got more potential than Russ with that wingspan. He had a great trackdown block that looked like he had not business getting that one. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-14 shooting (1-5 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -13.

Reaves -- -- A lot of ball handling early in this one with LeBron out, but they went away from that. He hit a nice pull-up elbow jumper on iso. He knocked down a floater attacking a close out. He also reversed attacking from the left corner. He drained a three on a kickout off one of Russ’s offensive boards. Next time, he attacked off a high screen and scored a layup. He’d also get another layup on an off-ball cut that left him open. He had contact and no calls on a couple of drives that should have given him 4 FTs, but no love from the refs on either end tonight. Team needed to play him more minutes tonight. There were some stretches you wondered why he was sitting. Team high on the +/-. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-8 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 6 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +11.

Howard -- -- Some good chemistry going with Monk. I wish this was the Dwight of a few years ago, because he doesn’t finish those lobs like he used to and those two would make a scary combo. Instead, he has to bring passes down or lay them in. You might try to make a case for playing him in the fourth, but it wasn’t the Lakers D that was a problem. We held the Spurs to just 22 that quarter, so the smaller lineups with Melo at center were effective enough. We just couldn’t score. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-5 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a -2.

Johnson -- -- His shot was especially flat tonight. He’d get a couple scores in the paint, but a little more arc in the shot would have gone a long way as some of those shots and too small a margin for error and rattled in and out. Good overall activity, though. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 30 minutes. He was a -6.

Anthony -- -- His defense in the fourth quarter was superb. One of his best stretches on that end all year with deflections, blocked shots and forcing offensive fouls. Really an impressive stretch. And this was after a good stretch of offense all game, where he was getting into that midrange He had a play going between his legs, then behind his back to get the defender touching the floor off balance and then he popped the midrange. Some great ball. Offensively, however, in that fourth, he kind of killed us. He had a series of turnovers, and he missed a big three with under two minutes left. Those turnovers allowed the Spurs to get their separation. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-12 shooting (1-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -9.

Augustin -- -- There’s a certain calmness when he has the ball in his hands. We miss that steady guard who can calm the offense and organize things. That’s not Russ’s game. With Russ you’re nervous 80 percent of the time. Early on Augustin hit a twisting And-1 bank off a semi-step through. He also buried a deep three. We’re just in some talent-challenged lineups out there. They’d make some good third units. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -13.

Bradley -- -- He hit a couple of threes in this one. Defensively, he had some questionable double teams that lead to open threes. Not sure why the freelancing there. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -6.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Down 5 with 37 seconds left, Vogel called a timeout. They needed a two-for-one bucket here. That would allow them to cut it to 3 or 2 and not need to foul on the defensive end. Monk faked a handoff, attacked to his right and was hit on an arm with no call. Ball game after Poeltl hit both of his FTs.

Key Substitution: There were a lot of bodies moving in and out the lineup with frequency. Note, despite that no Ellington, Bazemore or Ariza.

Key Stats: They’ve allowed a 40+ point quarter in the previous four straight games. They didn’t do that tonight, but only one quarter where they kept the Spurs under 30 points.

Coach’s Challenge: They reviewed a three midway through the third quarter, but wanted to take it back as they realized it was a foul on Monk on a three. It was overturned, but the timeout most have froze McDermot who only made one of the three FTs.
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deal
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 9:31 pm    Post subject:




first
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:06 pm    Post subject:

Russ: I don't like his game and never wanted him on this team. He's always been a player that you could count on for a bad shot or turnover. With that said, I wonder how much Magic's comments contributed to Russ and his family saying enough.

Social media is saying Russ' family has been attacked. Is that the case? Is that what Russ said? If so, that's bull. Family is off limits.



Vogel: I think his time as head coach around the league is done for at least some time. I've been convinced he's been protesting all season. The rest of the league will either remember Vogel as a coach who doesn't know what he is doing (see Ty Lues comment about not prepping for Lakers) worst, as a coach that is sabotaging his games on purpose.

He won't a ring recently so I rule out his an idiot. That leaves us with what? Vogel will end up an assistant coach somewhere but he's damaged his reputation. Same for Russ.

This stin has delivered blows to both of their futures in the NBA.


Update: I just saw his wife's tweet . That's insane but Im not shocked. It's social media and people feel emboldened. Not defending it, just not shocked

Well, Lakers should work with him to find him a new home in the off season


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:07 pm    Post subject:

No dependable/respected closer and PG to make sure things are organized.

Not a daunting issue if all the players on the court are exectuing the same system. With this being the 32nd different lineup, it was not possible

With this top-heavy roster (translation: AD and LBJ) not having its two main guns, this roster is like a very old battleship with no available lethal guns
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 11:18 pm    Post subject:

Good to see Westbrook step up with LeBron and AD out.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 5:51 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

It really is an indictment on our roster that Ariza and Baze were supposed to be starting wings going into the season, and yet neither get minutes in a must win game we're down Lebron/AD/Nunn. I mean just think about that.


Last edited by PenG_ on Tue Mar 08, 2022 7:05 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 6:30 am    Post subject:

CandyCanes wrote:
Good to see Westbrook step up with LeBron and AD out.


If this is him "stepping up"...
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 7:54 am    Post subject:

PenG_ wrote:
Thanks DB!

It really is an indictment on our roster that Ariza and Baze were supposed to be starting wings going into the season, and yet neither get minutes in a must win game we're down Lebron/AD/Nunn. I mean just think about that.
In contrast, we've found Reeves and Johnson.

With LBJ/AD's fingerprints seen throughout this roster . . . . .
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:04 am    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:
PenG_ wrote:
Thanks DB!

It really is an indictment on our roster that Ariza and Baze were supposed to be starting wings going into the season, and yet neither get minutes in a must win game we're down Lebron/AD/Nunn. I mean just think about that.
In contrast, we've found Reeves and Johnson.

With LBJ/AD's fingerprints seen throughout this roster . . . . .


Reaves is nice, but Stanley was plucked from the G league for a reason. Defenders are playing off of Russ, THT, Johnson, and even Bradley.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:55 am    Post subject:

PenG_ wrote:
Thanks DB!

It really is an indictment on our roster that Ariza and Baze were supposed to be starting wings going into the season, and yet neither get minutes in a must win game we're down Lebron/AD/Nunn. I mean just think about that.


Indeed.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 10:54 am    Post subject:

it was a tie game after westbrook's layup in the 4th, and Vogel subbed him out, we gave up a 11-2 run and that was the game.
WB didn't play well at all, but at least our offense was functioning with him on the court. after he went off the court, we get AB isolations, THT wide fade away shots, etc. Vogel has to be better on his sub patterns without lebron. play Reaves 35 minutes, please dwight when we were getting killed by their 7 footer.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:09 am    Post subject:

mad55557777 wrote:
it was a tie game after westbrook's layup in the 4th, and Vogel subbed him out, we gave up a 11-2 run and that was the game.
WB didn't play well at all, but at least our offense was functioning with him on the court. after he went off the court, we get AB isolations, THT wide fade away shots, etc. Vogel has to be better on his sub patterns without lebron. play Reaves 35 minutes, please dwight when we were getting killed by their 7 footer.


Westbrook has to get a rest in there somewhere. I think he played about 20 minutes in the second half. This is really where THT needs to earn his paycheck ... is in those minutes. But that's a lot to rely on from a guy his age. And Melo, while great on defense in the fourth, just had an awful fourth quarter offensively that killed them right during that stretch.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:12 am    Post subject:

Laker_Town wrote:

Vogel: I think his time as head coach around the league is done for at least some time. I've been convinced he's been protesting all season. The rest of the league will either remember Vogel as a coach who doesn't know what he is doing (see Ty Lues comment about not prepping for Lakers) worst, as a coach that is sabotaging his games on purpose.

He won't a ring recently so I rule out his an idiot. That leaves us with what? Vogel will end up an assistant coach somewhere but he's damaged his reputation. Same for Russ.

This stin has delivered blows to both of their futures in the NBA.



I think he'll probably have a few job offers for head coaching. There are very few coaches with a ring.

Also, wouldn't surprise me if the Clippers paid him some decent $$$ as an assistant and they'd end up with the coaching staff we wanted because they weren't cheap. That would be an excellent staff.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:14 am    Post subject:

CandyCanes wrote:
Good to see Westbrook step up with LeBron and AD out.


If he had come on strong to help close the game for us, I'd think he'd stepped up. He kind of faded away and made the usual mistake or two down the stretch. Don't get me wrong, he was important for the team, but I need another level. Missing all those freethrows really hurt the team.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 12:39 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Laker_Town wrote:
Vogel: I think his time as head coach around the league is done for at least some time. I've been convinced he's been protesting all season. The rest of the league will either remember Vogel as a coach who doesn't know what he is doing (see Ty Lues comment about not prepping for Lakers) worst, as a coach that is sabotaging his games on purpose.

He won't a ring recently so I rule out his an idiot. That leaves us with what? Vogel will end up an assistant coach somewhere but he's damaged his reputation. Same for Russ.

This stin has delivered blows to both of their futures in the NBA.
I think he'll probably have a few job offers for head coaching. There are very few coaches with a ring.

Also, wouldn't surprise me if the Clippers paid him some decent $$$ as an assistant and they'd end up with the coaching staff we wanted because they weren't cheap. That would be an excellent staff.
” “We didn’t even prepare for them,” he said, per ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly. “We just basically worked on ourselves, our small-ball lineup, the things we needed to get better at. It’s not about the Lakers, it’s about us going forward, getting better every game.””

Vogel has a ring

As Legler mentioned, the Nets and Warriors have gone through long losing streaks when their main and key players have been out for an extended time.

Lue has done a great job away from the glare, expectations and scrutiny placed on this Laker squad. Having younger players that are not All-Stars with continuity (PG13/Kwahi are out with relatively few additional injuries. Missing Zubac is NOT a big thing)
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 12:48 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
Good to see Westbrook step up with LeBron and AD out.


If he had come on strong to help close the game for us, I'd think he'd stepped up. He kind of faded away and made the usual mistake or two down the stretch. Don't get me wrong, he was important for the team, but I need another level. Missing all those freethrows really hurt the team.


The teams combined for 32 of 53 at the FT line, no wonder they are both struggling for play in status.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 1:44 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
Good to see Westbrook step up with LeBron and AD out.
If he had come on strong to help close the game for us, I'd think he'd stepped up. He kind of faded away and made the usual mistake or two down the stretch. Don't get me wrong, he was important for the team, but I need another level. Missing all those freethrows really hurt the team.
Agree

LBJ has missed shots/made errant passes late in fourth quarters

Melo has missed key shots

Play great till the time it really counts

Sad that this has been the pattern the entire season
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 5:12 pm    Post subject:

Thanks for the recap DB.

As bad as this season is, it makes me feel good to hear that Carmelo Anthony cares enough about supporting this team to play solid defense. That's a bright spot.
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