KINGS -at- LAKERS - 1-18-23 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 10:24 pm    Post subject: KINGS -at- LAKERS - 1-18-23 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Sluggish... Not a good effort by the Lakers tonight.

The Laker bench pushed the team on a 19-4 run in the first quarter, turning defense into offense and getting some perimeter shooting from Nunn early. They led by as many as 14 in the first quarter and all was looking good.

The L.A. interior defense and rebounding was awful, however. The Kings were without their bigman, Sabonis, which eased some of the pressure on the Lakers interior players, yet the Lakers still played soft in the paint. They were getting boxed out on the glass on one end and giving up offensive boards on the other (a 10-2 advantage on the offensive glass for the Kings in the first half).

The Kings chipped away during the second quarter and eventually took back the lead before the half as the Lakers trailed 61-60.

More sluggish ball in the third as the Lakers got outworked and settled for perimeter shots. They fell back by double digits. Again, Nunn gave the Lakers some spark off the bench while Russ hit a couple of threes and they cut the lead down to 1 early in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers were trading hoops and leads with the Kings and Bron started distributing the ball as his perimeter shot left him. The Lakers were up against the shotclock multiple times down the stretch. Finally, LeBron started to attack.

He missed a drive, but Gabriel tipped it in. He’d score an And-1 with 1:10 that tied it up. After an And-1 by Barnes slipping through a weak double team on the other end, the Lakers called timeout. Bron tried to drive, was stopped, got it back, settled and missed a three with 34 seconds left.

We needed a stop, but JTA fouled Fox on a jumper with 12 seconds left. That was the ball game it seemed. Out of another timeout, Nunn hit another three and looked like he got a little bit of contact for a possible 4-point play, but the refs didn’t call it.

The Lakers trailed by 1 with 4.6 left and the refs whistled a clear-path foul as the Lakers let a couple Kings get behind them on the inbounds. That was fatal. The Kings spent all quarter at the FT line and sealed the deal there for the 116-111 win.


LeBron -- -- The jumper was looking good early, and he was cruising like it was a shootaround. The shots were dropping. Mix in some drives or a dunk trailing the break, as well. Some long jumpers in the third, not much effort to get into the paint offensively as the Lakers fell back. Late in the game, the shot left him. He was missing everything. Shot after shot. So he started to distribute instead, getting the bulk of his assists in that fourth (7 of 9). Finally, he started to drive and that helped the Lakers, whose offense was stalling out quite a bit. His defense was awful, however, most of the night. He put up little fight on the defensive glass and even gave up an easy dunk on a drive. He had one play out of a timeout where Huerter was his man, but he pointed at Gabriel to go out and get him and we gave up an open three. Then he missed a three himself on the other end. The +/- was flipped tonight. Usually we do well with him. Tonight, it was the opposite. Just not a two-way effort. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 11-25 shooting (2-9 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 9 assists , 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -16.

Bryant -- -- Dude, you've got to play better D. He had that dominant 29 and 14 game against the Kings previously, but has fallen off a bit lately on both ends. Really no presence in the paint early on. Twice I think I saw him leak out before we had secured a board. Just a poor night defensively. The Kings could get whatever they wanted against him. Eventually, and thankfully, we benched him. Just really bad on D tonight. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-7 shooting to go with 4 boards, 2 assists and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -7.

Schröder -- -- Very quiet night. I was waiting to see if he was going to show up like he has in the fourth. He got a big floater cutting off Bron (should have been an And-1). On the other end, he was called for a blocking foul and was in pain. He didn’t return after that. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -5.

Beverley -- -- Quiet first half. He sank a three in the second half and also stole a bad inbounds pass in the backcourt. He was a little frustrated with our bigs defensively you could see. This is the kind of game and kind of night where you really needed him to fire up the team and get more energy out of them. You pictured him giving them some lift on some of these sluggish January nights when we traded for him. But not really doing it. He needs to step it up. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting from three to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a -16.

Brown -- -- Some finishes at the rim in the first half as he got out on the break for one and Bron found him on a drive and dish for another. He repaid the favor with a nice over-the-head feed to LeBron trailing the break for a dunk in the first half. Some good effort on both ends, which was rare to see tonight. He put pressure on the offensive glass. He also had some nice help reaches on D to force turnovers. We needed more of that from others. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a -4.

Westbrook -- -- He hit a couple of threes in the fourth quarter to bail out the offense and help trim the lead to 2. He had one possession, though, where he missed back-to-back jumpers, then was blocked on another drive all on the same trip. A bit of a black hole at times on possessions. This started early in this game. The ball would just stop with him. Some chemistry with Gabriel, but the ball just stuck with him a bit too much. Some good moments on the defensive glass. Weird play in this one: He changed his mind in mid air on a shot in the first half and threw it off the defender and got it back. Not sure I’ve seen that, but much better than trying to take that dribble that most guys do in those situations and are called for a violation. Also, hit your FTs, please. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-17 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +1.

Gabriel -- -- He had 8 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half. Again that good chemistry with Russ, who found him in the paint and Wenyen did a good job finishing around the rim. He also had a putback to clean up some Nunn dribble penetration. That was one of just two Laker offensive boards in the first half. Much more quiet second half. He did have a tip in on a Bron miss late in the game that was a big bucket. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-8 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -1.

Nunn -- -- The +/- says a lot in this game. You felt it when he was on the court because he was knocking down threes. He sank a couple of threes in the first half and was a +8 in his minutes. He gave some good spark to the Lakers in that shift. I wish guys would have recognized he had it going and fed him more in the first half. In the second half, he sank another three and hit a pull-up at the elbow on an ATO designed for him. That all got the Lakers back into things. He nearly had a 4-point play out of a timeout on our final offensive possession, didn’t get the call, but good job keeping the team in it multiple times tonight. Defensively, they were getting some switches on him with bigger players that caused some fouls. He had three fouls early in the fourth that helped the Kings get into the bonus early. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting (4-6 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 block and 4 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +18.

Toscano-Anderson -- -- He was called for a big foul with 12 seconds left on Fox, touching his arm on the shot. We needed that stop, but gave up FTs. He scored a layup on a great outlet off a board from Bron that led him perfectly in stride. One of the highlights in this one because of that board and pass by Bron. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a +12.

Christie -- -- The Lakers needed some young legs and effort out there. Just too much sluggish play, so Christie got some extra run and was able to scratch out some points. He had some aggressive drives that earned FTs and also finished a layup on one. He sank a three after letting a man fly by. In the fourth, Bron fired a pass to him on the wing and he swished another three to cut the lead to 1. He needed to stay aggressive, but fell back into rookie mode a few times on some possessions late. Defensively, he was giving good effort, but at times a little too much space to a shooter in Huerter. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 3-8 shooting (2-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 steal and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -5.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: There were a couple of missed threes by LeBron in the fourth that were painful. On one, he lost Huerter, pointed to Gabriel to get him, but it was too late, we gave up a wide open three. On the other end of the floor after that, Bron settled and missed a three himself. Big switch there. Then out of a timeout on one of our final possessions, Bron picked up his dribble on a drive, got it back, settled and missed another three. Tired effort from him tonight on both ends. Still really good numbers but we felt that -16 when he was on the floor.

Key Substitution: I’ll highlight Nunn for giving the Lakers some much needed shooting off the bench. He also gave the Lakers a little spark to end the third and start the fourth. That helped the Lakers cut the double-digit lead down to 4. He nearly tied things up with a three on the final possession that looked like he got some contact.

Key Stats: The 10-2 advantage on the offensive glass for the Kings killed the Lakers in the first half. Good job on the turnovers again in the half with just 3 for L.A. “We gave up too many second chance points early on,” Ham said afterward (Lakers gave up 16 second-chance points in the first half). He also highlighted the fouling in the fourth. Kings got into the bonus after just a few minutes (Nunn had three of those early fourth quarter fouls)..
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mad55557777
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 10:52 pm    Post subject:

Think about how many shots by the kings bounced in off the rim and the backboard, and think about how many of our shots went in an out.
That pretty sums up our luck for the season.
Little bit of momentum, Lebron went down, little bit of momentum, AD went down, little bit of momentum, 3 close losses in 4 games.
Catching teams while they are hit all season….
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 11:20 pm    Post subject:

The Lakers as a whole, were playing above their heads collectively, with the injuries to AD, Walker, and Reaves. That's a lot missing. The team was bound to start down trending, with the extra load on the remaining rotation players and increased minutes to guys further down on the bench. Getting Walker and Reaves back would help a lot. Getting AD back...and healthy...would help even more. It is what it is.

All that said, I wish the Lakers had more organization on the offensive side, in the halfcourt. The Lakers lack of elite shooting is just an excuse. There are other poor perimeter shooting teams, that look more organized than us. That's what continues to disappoint me, honestly. Even when we were healthy, our half court offense was a hit & miss. Now that we're injured, it's worse. *shrug*
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 11:40 pm    Post subject:

Major heavy minutes forced upon others with AD/Reeves/Walker out seemly appears to have caught up with the team

With Bryant/Gabriel seemingly running on fumes (trying their best), when they are needed to by playing at 110%. Mind is willing but the body is saying no. They are playing hard but lack the needed competitive edge that was on full display with the rebounding stats (a stat that is mainly based on effort).

Max Christie is taking full advantage of the opportunities given him. His length, defense, outside shot and youth are what the Lakers sorely need.

Wondering when Swider and Jones will be getting some spot minutes to add some needed 110% energy on the court. Hopefully Reeves and Walker will return at the end of January
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 12:08 am    Post subject:

Does this team even believe it can win games at this point?

I know they're tired, but every team is tired at this point of the season, so I have no sympathy for them. If LeBron is too tired to push the ball and attack the basket in crunch time, then he needs to give up the ball to someone else who will do it.

How much losing can this team take until it just gives up on the season like it did last year by the All-Star break?
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 2:28 am    Post subject:

I think a number of players in the roster are hoping the trade deadline comes as quick as possible…..and they’re playing like it.
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PenG_
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 4:59 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Frustrating finish, but bad teams get exposed in crunch time.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:12 am    Post subject:

What a disgrace of a season.

Thanks, DB
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TDRock
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 9:34 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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lar9149
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 2:55 pm    Post subject:

too bad Nunn didn't get a call on his 3.

But as we have seen, refs aren't calling these for the Lakers in the closing minutes rather mild or a lot of contact.
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Hammett
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:20 pm    Post subject:

Pathetic. The icing on the cake will be when Lebron leaves.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:23 pm    Post subject:

Hammett wrote:
Pathetic. The icing on the cake will be when Lebron leaves.

what happens then? Lottery?
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 6:08 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Bring on the Grizzlies, ..... GO LAKERS!!
    Los Angeles Lakers vs Memphis Grizzlies
    Crypto Arena, Los Angeles, CA | Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 • 7:00 PM PT
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