BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 11-30-22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:44 pm    Post subject: BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 11-30-22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Taking Care of Business... All you can do is learn from your mistakes and move on after a game like the last one.

The Lakers won all four quarters tonight (including the second where they gave up 40, but scored 42 themselves).

This time when they built the lead in the fourth, they stayed focused and kept their opponent at arm’s length. They got AD involved and didn’t stall out the offense. Davis had 14 points in the fourth tonight.

And while LeBron scored 31 and AD scored 27, they also got Austin Reaves dropping 22 on 7-10 shooting. Reaves moved into the starting lineup with Lonnie Walker out.

“Yeah, mother--” LeBron said of Reaves after the 128-109 win. Kid is growing his game this season.

The Lakers got some tough ones coming up. Hopefully, they can surprise a team or two and steal back the one they let get away.


LeBron -- -- He led the Lakers with 17 points on 7-8 shooting in the first half, sinking three threes in four attempts. He also had a play where he looked like he was going to take a logo three, but threw it in the post, cut, got it back and hammered down the middle of the lane. He’d bury another three in the third (one of those lull his man to sleep step-back jobs). He’d bury another in the fourth that had Billups beside himself. He’d drain another three right in front of the Blazers bench as we went up by 19 midway through the fourth. I’m really liking some of the passing sequences with his bigs lately. He’s going up looking like he’s about to shoot, then hitting them in the paint. He had the one to Bryant that led to LBJ’s dunk. But he also found AD and Bryant again on a couple of those, as well. And had a similar play in the last game, so it’s something being done with purpose. Some good passing between he and Reaves, as well. Both finding each other for threes, both knocking those down when given a good look. The Stats: He scored 31 points on 12-18 shooting (6-8 from three, 1-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 8 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a +8.

Davis -- -- “We have to keep him in rhythm constantly,” Ham said. He described AD as the epicenter and they need to keep feeding him. Foul trouble in the first half limited his time to 14 minutes. He hit a couple floaters in the first half. He grabbed an offensive board and powered through the defender for a layup. He scored easily over Grant in the post on another. In the second half, really not a lot of action for him in the third quarter. But it started to pick up a little more in the fourth. He rolled off a screen for LeBron, sealed his man and scored an And-1 layup. He’d drain a corner three. Bron was jokingly annoyed with AD for missing an And-1 dunk after he gave him a sweet wraparound bounce pass. He’d have a putback jam on Schröder’s dribble penetration. He’d then grab a LeBron airball and put it in the hoop in one motion. Next time down, an And-1 layup off the two-man action with Schröder. So some good guard play to put pressure on the rim, got AD activated late in that fourth. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 9-17 shooting (1-2 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 12 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +8.

Reaves -- -- “He just loves to hoop,” Ham said afterward. Super efficient first half, scoring 14 points on 4-5 shooting. Again, he’s improved a ton at getting to the line. He had 8 attempts from the line in the first half. Even then, it wasn’t like he was super aggressive or ball dominant. He was just efficient with his chances. He’s also not shying away from trying to attack on the break whenever he has the chance. He had a dunk on the break after jumping a passing lane and taking it the distance (JTA was saying he didn’t know Austin had that in him). He split the D on the dribble from the sideline and scored a layup. He attacked, put the brakes on and banked a short one. He also hit a floater down the middle of the lane (he seems automatic on those). In the third, he’d knock down a three and have the crowd buzzing on a baseline drive where he attacked baseline, faked like he was pulling it out, attacked and reversed. He’d knock down a corner three in the fourth to give him the 20+ point scoring game. Good aggression. I think that ability to draw FTs is giving him more confidence to be aggressive. Heading into the game, he was the second best FT shooter in the league. He missed two tonight. That apparently pushed him down to 10th in the lead. But the confidence he has in his ability to manufacture FTs is hopefully growing. I want more sustained aggression from him. Only play I thought he was unselfish to a fault was passing up a good look at a three to give it to Russ for a corner three (just take that). The Stats: He scored 22 points on 7-10 shooting (2-5 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +10.

Schröder -- -- Some good play in the fourth quarter. He worked the two-man game to close the door on the Blazers. Just getting pressure on the rim, even missing, allowed AD to clean up (usually Dennis gets FTs on that kind of drive). He also hit AD rolling for the And-1. He then pressured his man in the backcourt to get a backcourt violation. Good stretch and the kind of stuff we were lacking in the last one. He even had a couple plays where we rolled the ball up slowly on inbounds while the game clock ticked, away but the shotclock didn’t activate yet. Sneaky way to get some 30-second possessions when you had a big lead. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 5 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 foul sin 29 minutes. He was a +5.

Beverley -- -- Back in the starting lineup, he was a -14 in 9 minutes in the first half. Yuck. We had him chucking up a couple of threes early on and missing. That helped us get into a hole. The first three was on our first set and up against the shotclock, so put that one on a poorly designed action to start the game. Defensively, in that first half he had a few miscues. He let a man go around him for a layup. He also tried to zone up in the middle of the paint, then tries to get out of the paint in a weird spot and left a gap in the lane that was exposed. Just some weak D, as well, in that -14 half. Third quarter was much better. He had a strip to save a hoop. He stole the ball at midcourt out of a timeout and it led to a Laker score. He’d also hit a three in transition and floater after snaking a screen in that quarter. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 steal,1 block and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -1.

Westbrook -- -- He sank a three to end the first half, this one a few feet behind the line. To end the third, he threw up a missile from half court and drilled another three at the buzzer. (He’d miss his other four threes, which were much easier.) He led the Lakers with a +15 in the first half. It wasn’t so much of anything in particular he did (just 2 assists and 3-8 shooting). But I think the team just loosened up a bit when LeBron/Bev sat. As soon as LeBron sat after that slow start, the Lakers went on an 11-0 run. The speed picks up a little and the building energy, as well, and we were on our way from there. Asked if there was a hangover from the last game to start this one, he said, “Nah, not from me.” Second half in this game, not a lot from him. His other two makes in this game were a short bank and a layup after getting some contact and hanging. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-14 shooting (2-6 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a +12.

Bryant -- -- He knocked down his first three of the season in the first half (hopefully, the first of many). He also had a layup off a Nunn drive and dish. And he hit a runner in the paint off the two-man game with Schröder. He had 7 points on 3-5 shooting. We got two halves from him tonight. So the points doubled, as well. He scored another And-1 layup in transition. He scooped up a tipped pass on the baseline and dunked. He also dunked off a LeBron jump pass. Good to see some more minutes in this one and he delivered. The Stats: he scored 14 points on 6-9 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +11.

Gabriel -- -- He scored a reverse when Bryant found him cutting baseline. He also had another layup when Christie found him wide open. Defensively, a mixed bag. He had his usual effort, but also missed a box out that led to a putback. Some good length/athleticism on Grant to get a nice stop on the positive side of things. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-2 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards (2 offensive), 1 steal and no fouls in 11 minutes. He was a +11.

Nunn -- -- He was swatted a couple of times on drives in the first half. His one make was a tough one where he stopped in the paint, pivoted and had to use the off hand to go over a big for the score. He’d hit a midrange pull-up after moving in off a fly by. Not much going on. Defense was barely passable. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +14.

Christie -- -- He came in for Reaves with 2:21 left in the first quarter. He got tapped on a corner three in the third that somehow crawled out. I guess things evened out for him when he banked in a three in garbage time. Defensively, good effort, he sticks with guys well. I think he still needs to build that strength and get a little more confident in making stronger challenges, but the stuff is there. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +8.

Toscano-Anderson -- -- He came in with 1:55 left for some garbage time. Good job running time out to secure the tacos. The Stats: He had 1 board and 1 assist in 1 minute. He was a +3.

Jones -- -- Haven’t seen him for a while. He got in for the final 2 minutes of garbage time. The Stats: He had 1 board in 1 minute. He was a +3.

Ryan -- -- Didn’t take but a second for him to get up a three after coming in for the garbage time. Unfortunately, after the game he was informed we were letting him go. Tough break. He helped win us a game this year. Probably, the best single play of the season so far hitting that corner three at the buzzer in front of the bench. As our roster filled out with more healthy bodies and our shooting picked up, he just wasn’t seeing playing time. The Lakers open up a roster spot, so we can speculate on that. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting in 1 minute. He was a +3.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Not a singular moment in this one, but maybe just keeping the offense flowing in the fourth after we built up a big lead. We saw an effort to get AD involved. We got him downhill a few times. We didn’t just let the air out of the ball by relying on LeBron. Hopefully, some lessons learned.

Key Substitution: Let’s go with Thomas Bryant getting 20 minutes in this game. We’ve seen some spotty, inconsistent usage of Bryant. Defensively, we were able to hold the fort down with him tonight, but also get some consistent finishing. Bryant led the bench in scoring and is maybe developing a little bit of chemistry with LeBron. But he finishes just about everything his teammates are giving him when they find him in the paint and just allows us to play with more size.

Key Stats: Last game we won the first three quarters before choking. Tonight, we won all four quarters.

Coach’s Challenge: Used on a LeBron phantom foul. The call was overturned. Jumpball at center court saving a foul and a couple freethrows.
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Dr. Laker
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:49 pm    Post subject:

1st. Thx, DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 11:43 pm    Post subject:

Good bounce back game.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:03 am    Post subject:

Nice game Lakers. Good showing tonight! And thanks again DB!!
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:11 am    Post subject:

Hopefully the team will keep learning and not forget the lessons taught

Sad to see Ryan leave. In a few weeks, the Lakers would have to guarantee his contract for the entire season. He wasn’t getting any PT. Hopefully he will sign with the Lakers G League team to get the reps he needs to get into a rhythm

Starting to see glimpses of where this Laker can impose its will on other team to force them to adjust to us

Bryant and Gabriel on the court, with Westbrook, is a lineup that has length and energy because of their youth. Their effectiveness is seemingly and potentially will able to allow AD/LBJ to not have to always play 35-40+ MPG many times

DB - Good Write-Up
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:21 am    Post subject:

Aside from the second quarter, the Lakers kept Portland's scoring under decent control.

In fact, the last two minutes before the half, we got to see a rare big lineup with Bryant/AD/Lebron manning the front court (Reaves and WB in the back court). Hopefully we see more of that going forward as opposed to all those four guard lineups that Ham is so fond of (which are terrible at defense and rebounding).
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:57 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!

The starters came out with poor energy, to start the game. I can only guess that the loss against the Pacers was still hanging over them. But, the bench mob, led by Russ, really changed the tenor of the game. Russ, Bryant, and Wenyen have good chemistry, and are always giving max effort. That's contagious, and it was much needed tonight. Once the bench came in and built some momentum for our team, the starter followed suit.

I want to give props to Bev for having a good game (for him) tonight. But, I still hold firm that he should not be getting any meaningful minutes. A veteran voice in the locker room, and on the sideline. And garbage time. That's it.

Also, as much as I criticize LeBron, I also congratulate him when he performs well. And, in this game, he did that. Though, I hope we're careful not to put our hope in LeBron consistently having shooting nights, like this. We still need a gameplan for a more efficient/sustainable path of production, for LeBron. Relying on his streaky shooting is fools gold. But, when he's hot, I'll definitely take it.

Also, finally glad to see my dude Christie get some burn. I was upset with how he was getting no playing time. Neither here, nor in the G League. That's not how you develop young talent. They need to see the floor, in actual games. Him just sitting on the sidelines does nobody any good. His timing on offense will come. But, that top level defense is still there. Just needs to get stronger.

Reaves was Reaves. Nuff said.

Happy to see them get a bounce back win, after a horrible loss. These kinds of games show fortitude. Keep it going. Lakers!
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 4:36 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:32 am    Post subject:

Very Jekyll and Hyde season from LeBron. His tools along with AD give him the ability to age like fine wine, but that's been undermined by selfish desires. Keep feeding AD
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 1:47 pm    Post subject:

Fun game to watch. My father, just out of knee replacement surgery, watched with me for his first game of the season. He told me I am too harsh on this squad, and that they play with a lot of joy...clearly the only game he has watched.

On the positive side, it really does look like we are developing some chemistry. Too many lapses on Offense (going ISO and long 3s) and defense (not stopping ball penetration and wide open 3s), but it looks like they are finding their way slowly. I always give the team until Christmas before making an assessment. However, since we started so low, and the bad taste from last season, it is definitely reassuring to see them trending upward.

Thanks for the write up DB, spot on as always!!
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 6:07 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

This team seems a lot more stable than last year's team. Last year, we just didn't know what we would get from them from game to game and even quarter to quarter. This season, things are more predictable and reliable.

I really think all we need is two bona fide 3-and-D players, one at PF and the other at SF, in order to become a really good team. We have just about everything else we need, as long as we stay healthy and LeBron is still LeBron on a consistent basis.
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 8:56 am    Post subject:

A heads up …I won’t be able to cover this next game as I am traveling.
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 9:23 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Been in vacation "lurk" mode this past week and a half. Finally caught up with recorded games.

Sure is nice to see the change in 4th quarter offense from the debacle with Indy. It was so obvious that the Bron ISO while everyone else stood and watched was pathetic. You would think that could have been a "winning" in-game adjustment with Indy. But, I'll just chalk it up to a rookie coach a little slow on the uptake.
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