JAMIE SWEET’S ‘5 THINGS
Lakers’ Post Game Reports & Analysis
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
Read MoreThat was earned. Nothing about that win was easy and the Lakers had to play some of their most inspired defense of the season to pull out the W. It took contributions from all 11 Lakers that played, a harbinger of things to come potentially, and the purple and gold were able to prevail thanks to a semi-return to form for Anthony Davis and some stellar defense all night long. This win ain’t enough, Lakers gotta keep it moving in the right direction.
- AD looking a lot like AD. This was Anthony’s best game since coming back. He looked spry on defense contesting shots and rebounding the ball. He didn’t settle for fall away jumpers all night, he took the ball to the basket and finished through contact or got to the line. Sure he fell down like 80 times and still doesn’t look aggressive out on the perimeter but the blueprint is there, again. If we can generate more efficient scoring in terms of fewer attempts but the same amount of points we’re going to be looking good on the AD side of things.
- Gasol staying ready. If this is the role than this is the role. If Marc is only going to be pressed into duty when foul trouble or injuries mess up the rotation than so be it, he’s doing an excellent job of staying ready and contributing when called upon. There’s nothing more for it. I’m sure the Big Spaniard would like to start, play more minutes and so on and so forth. That may not be the path he is on, right now. So, in lieu of his dreams coming true, the next best thing is to be ready when your number is called. There are some matchups where, defensively, Gasol matches up better than either Harrell or Drummond: Jokic is one of those. Marc matches up better physically and his style of defense doesn’t fall for all of Jokic’s feints, jabs and soccer flops. He just stays big and gums up his passing game. That, for a night, worked pretty well.
- THT going way too fast. There were three or four forays by Talen into the paint that miraculously didn’t result in turnovers. One wild shot attempt ended up as an easy offensive put back, he got some lucky whistles and in general was able to overcome his team-high 5 turnovers, an issue that continues to loom ever larger as the playoffs near. Horton-Tucker needs to play with more purpose, especially if he wants a consistent role in the playoffs. Sometimes you don’t need to make 8 moves to get to the rim: run the curl play, hit the open man, move the ball. It’s not all on you, young blood. Do your thing within the team game plan.
- Caruso solid as a starter. Alex made some terrible passes last night but also featured an aggression on offense this team will need with Schroder sitting out for a couple weeks. Our playoff lives now hinge on if Alex can maintain his near elite defensive impact while finding some ways to contribute in the scoring column. The defense and grit alone is not enough, at this point. The team needs for Alex to score 10+ points on not too many shots. Last night was a perfect capsule of what his nightly contributions need to look like. We don’t need to carbon copy this game but the blueprint for success looks a lot like this. A few less turnovers would be nice, however, Alex is certainly not alone on the Lakers when it comes to making terrible passes this season.
- Shutting down the perimeter. The Laker defense did one of the best jobs of shutting off the three point tap for the Nuggets as I’ve seen this season. They held the Nuggets to 6-24 from three (25%) and nobody really got it cooking from distance which helped us absorb our turnover issue (20 team turnovers for the Lakers, just too many and we gift possessions like we’re a mob boss on Christmas). Taking the three point shot away from Denver was one of the big defensive keys to this game and the Lakers did an excellent job executing that game plan and chasing shooters into mid range shots.
The Lakers still control their destiny. Win out and we’re the 5th seed. Simple as that. Play the next game to win, compete hard and let the chips fall where they may. It’s easy to get lost in the back and forth between LeBron and the media, the play-in drama et al but the truth of the matter is the Lakers are still in the drivers seat. All the teams we’re facing have injury issues, all are fighting for seeding and all can be beaten if we commit to defense like we did against Denver. It’s not rocket science, it’s honestly quite simple. Play hard, play with heart and you can live with the results.
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lol re: Caruso. Good thing you’re not the coach then. Alex is only shooting 40% from three, I know he could be so much better…like THT (25% wah wah)! Also averaging fewer turnovers than THT but generating the same number of assists. All while playing under control and not getting lucky in order to have a positive impact. Too funny…
You’re right, one player we’re talking about should definitely not close out games and his last name is Horton-Tucker. Still needs a lotta polish to be the player many predict. We’ll see how he fares/what leash Vogel gives him in the playoffs. Dude got lucky after that ludicrous over the shoulder fling resulted in an offensive put back and not one of the worst shots of all time.
Here’s my thing with THT as his game currently stands: we don’t have time for learning curves anymore…this season. Coach Vogel needs to settle on a role for him going forward and let him play it to the best of his abilities. THT and McLemore are a wash defensively so on this team, this season, I think we need to allocate THT minutes to Ben, Caruso, KCP and (if he ever comes back) Schroder. This parameter extends to a bunch of guys, I’m not singling THT out. McLemore knows his role and is into it, Caruso knows his role and is into it. Gasol knows his role and is into it. We need the whole team to adopt that mentality like yesterday.
If I’m Rob I let Schroder walk this summer. I was excited when we got Dennis, now? Notsomuch. Worse things could happen like you sign him for 5@25 mil. That would be a terrible move by our front office. Keep AC on a reasonable deal, THT will have suitors, maybe even sign an offer sheet from the Knicks or whomever, you match or find a price point with he and Klutch that works early on. Lock up AC as the backup guard off the bench and groom THT to be the starter in a season or two. He has the skills but we’ve run out of time for him to put everything together and make it work for the playoffs. Who knows, he puts in enough good work that pays off he could start next season. We’ve all seen the flashes of good but there’s a lot of not so great that currently comes with it.
Some guys, AC included, need to start playing into their role more. That certainly means a lot fewer terrible inbounds passes from AC and fewer wild lob shots at the rim from THT. Some players will want larger roles. That’s fine, we all have wants and dreams. But to win a cookie you need to sacrifice for the good of the squad. We’re going to need everyone, in some capacity or another, to step up and fill the role asked of them.
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The thing about the Caruso vs. Horton-Tucker discussion is Alex does not have a good sense as a playmaker. His turnovers are the result of making bad passes. Talen’s turnovers are the result of playing out of control and losing the ball but his passing instincts are far better than Alex’s. Defensively, Alex is miles ahead of Talen, who doesn’t have the quickness and lateral mobility to stay in from of players. Neither is a closer in my opinion. You bring in Alex when you need a defender and Talen when you need somebody to get to the rim, which he did several times in the 4th quarter to key the win. Frankly, I’ve been very disappointed with Caruso and THT this season. Neither should be untouchable.
As for Dennis, I think we might look to do S&T’s this summer to get something from Harrell and Schroder rathe than letting them walk for nothing. I’m not a a fan of the move but I think financially it makes a lot of sense. Otherwise, we’re going to be in the same hole the Nets and Warriors are, paying $50M in taxes. Doing a S&T means we may not have to trade KCP or Kuzma to upgrade.
Lakers already indicated they wanted to reduce future salary obligations so they could afford to keep Caruso and THT. S&T for Dennis and Trezz could be the key to this summer’s upgrade. Also, unless we bring back a player via a S&T the hard cap doesn’t apply. I like the idea of trying to S&T for Lonzo Ball next summer. Be interesting to see what happens and whether we win or not will obviously have a huge impact on what we decide to do.
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Agreed, Alex is a serviceable PG. Makes the simple plays and he can’t afford miscues like he has done too many times this season. The thing about THT is the variance can be devastating: you can’t rely on the cool as a cucumber player or the manic otter fly all around the court on any given night. Both could even make an appearance in the same game. AC, generally speaking, is more of a point steward. He’s not taking the throne from anyone but he’s fine at keeping it warm for the next guy. I think the future is a THT/AC PG pipeline. Unless we sign Trae Young or someone similar.
Still going to wait until the season and ends, and more importantly how it ends, before I delve into offseason potentialities. You never know who could have a breakout playoff series or get a spot start in game 6 of the NBA Finals to help bring home a title or a surprising role against a team to help us move on.
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
Read MoreThe patient isn’t well. There are, literally, almost zero excuses left. The Lakers entered a crucial stretch of 4 games against sub .500 opponents and won…one game of the four. This has dropped them into a three way tie for 6th along with the Mavs (who own the tiebreaker) and the Trailblazers (winner of Friday’s contest will hold the tiebreaker). To say the Lakers dropped the ball is a massive understatement. The identity of the team has crumbled down the stretch and we can no longer even claim to hang out hat on defense at this point. We’ve lost 6 of 7 and seen what cushion we had to avoid the playin evaporate faster than water in the California desert. Call the doctor.
- The experiment continues. Frank says otherwise but I ain’t buying it. While it’s true that the Lakers have been beset by injuries often forcing bench players into starting roles there also feels like a lot of unsettled issues regarding the rotation. What was one of our greatest strengths last season has become a liability. In 2020-21 the Lakers had 12 different starting line ups all season long with the variations generally coming out of a guard spot. Of the 74 games played 54 of them had the same 4 starters with the only ones flipping being Avery Bradley (32 games) and KCP (22 games). Contrast that with this season’s whopping 22 different starting line ups and we begin to see the reason why inconsistency has been the most consistent thing about this Laker team. The line up that has played together the most this season has been the James, Davis, Schroder, KCP Gasol combo but for only 20 games in which we went 15-5. Two line ups with Drummond (who does not have a winning record as a Laker) in it have a winning record and the only losing record that features Gasol as a starter also featured Wes Matthews. Injuries, Drummond and the coaching staff constantly searching for a combo that gels has led to far too many different starting combinations. Especially down the stretch when you want to see more consistency, not less.
- Start Gasol. Drummond isn’t helping right now. Frankly, trying to integrate a player of his stature, talent and skillset in a season that has so many injuries to key guys, no practice time and is this compressed may not have ever been possible. There are a plethora of ‘ifs’. If LeBron and/or AD had been healthier. If the season wasn’t crammed into a sardine tin. If practice was still a thing in the NBA. Those are the laments of a team that has lost it’s way. The Lakers need to go back to what worked earlier and let Drummond know it’s not him, it’s us. We, as a team, simply do not have the time to get Drummond up to speed in the kind of role he wants to play or that we as fans would expect him to play. Last season’s buyout player was Markieff Morris who started in 2 playoff games against Houston. He had a role and he excelled in it. This season our buyout player is expected to seamlessly integrate into what was already a fluctuating and fluid situation in terms of who happens to be a starter in such and such game. It’s just too much for a player who has limited skills in terms of the modern game but plenty of talent and desire. Drummond was never my first choice, there were other players that I had hoped we could corral onto the Lakers but this is the situation the team is in. There’s a better option than Drummond for what we need out of the center position. He might not be a better player at this point in his NBA life but, for what the Lakers need right now, Gasol is the best fit.
- Intensity, effort, desperation all kind of mean the same thing now. All the Lakers a re saying, it’s so en vogue right now. “We need to play with more intensity, a sense of desperation, our effort just wasn’t where it needed to be.” All the same thing. The defensive side of the court is the one where all those adverbs rear their heads. This was the case last night where we allowed the Raptors to coral 13 offensive rebounds, score 21 points off of our 14 turnovers and generally out-hustle us all game long. What about last night’s game looked like a team preparing for the gauntlet of the NBA playoffs to you? I’ll wait but it ain’t likely that there’s an answer that will bring a smile with it. The notion that the weeks off rehabbing injuries would refresh AD and LeBron is gone. These guys both look done mentally. LeBron may have come back from his high ankle sprain too soon to try and save the season for the Lakers. Ad hasn’t looked right all season. We go as far as those 2 take us, same as last season and it will be the same next season, too. Don’t blame the play-in tourney, it’s added a level of competition and excitement to the NBA that is vital for it’s continued success, nobody likes to see teams tank and the play-in has done a lot to amend that.
- Kuzma’s bounce back. man was Kyle on fire pretty much all game. Made it even more head-scratching when he wasn’t on the floor when we were getting our asses handed to us. Kuz was, by far, the best Laker last night after a virtual no-show against Sacramento. Nice to see but, again, we’re in a place where we need some form of consistency. Can’t be here one game and gone the next. We got KCP for that.
- Get the vaxx. Schroder is out for NBA H&SP which, to me, means one thing and one thing only: the man ain’t got his shot yet. Well Dennis, now you’re hurting the team as you won’t be available for the stretch run to the playoffs. There is not one thing, not one, that signals to me that Dennis is worth more than 12-15 mil and if he gets more from the Lakers than that than the fleece job will be complete. Color me disappointed with the play of Dennis Schroder overall this season. Flashes of good stuff, terrible as a lead point guard though. Doesn’t take care of the basketball and doesn’t do a good job of setting teammates up. Admittedly, that’s also a problem with the Frank Vogel offense which was why Rondo was so instrumental last season. I was excited when we got him because I had thought we had managed to acquire a Rondo-esque player but the differences are both stark and palpable. I don’t see a future for Dennis here as the lead guard but I don’t run the team.
The Lakers have crashed in burned in the month of April (5-15) and started May off on the wrong foot, as well. This team is sputtering to the end in a way nobody in the league excepted, fans, pundits or experts. The biggest issue has been the collapse of the once mighty Laker defense. While the numbers still look good the results have just not been there. If that can’t get turned around it won’t really even matter that we have AD and LeBron, we won’t win games.
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Agreed. I don’t think all the issues that are plaguing the team right now fall into Dre’s lap. I think that, if he had been in camp and had more tie to get acclimated this would be a very different conversation. Based on what I would expect for him to pursue money-wise in the off season, that we have Gasol under contract next season for the vet min and the issues with time/practice/etc. that having Drummond off the bench or in a more limited capacity like how we used ‘Kieff last season makes a lot more sense.
The thing with Drummond is I like him as a player, I like having a traditional big man who does traditionally big man things. His rebounding a hands are as advertised, his free throws haven’t been an issue, and he finishes just fine in the paint (we all want guys to finish hard, Dre’ isn’t alone on that front, AD and Kuz often top that list, as well).
Bottom line: the size of Dre’s game is the issue on this iteration of the Lakers, not the player himself. Lotta issues with the team, integration of Dre’ is 7th or 8th on the list. But it’s there. If swapping Gasol for Dre adds continuity and gets us back to +.500 ball I’m cool with it. Bottom line is we can’t keep losing to bottom dwelling teams when we need these wins.
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It ain’t often but I agree with all 5 takes today, Jamie. That does not bode well for Lakers.
1. The experimenting. When nothing is going right and everything going wrong, the only option seems to be experimenting. Only problem is there is not enough time or enough justification to believe anything is going to change by experimenting. Time has come for decision making, not the obvious dithering and indecision were suffering right now.
2. Start Gasol. Yes, that lineup has it’s faults but the benefit of stretching the floor and having 5 shooters on the floor is our best bet at this point in time. Start games with Marc at the five like we did with JaVale, let Drummond feast on second string centers, and close games with AD at the five. And do it now so we can get into some form of rhythm.
3. Intensity. Like you said, this team is lost. It’s lost it’s chemistry and camaraderie. It’s lost its focus and identity. And a big part is its superstars are not playing like superstars. Going on last night, the Lakers care cooked like you say. And now LeBron’s health is again an issue as well as Schroder. Next 3 games will decide whether we throw in the white towel or not.
4. Kuz was on Kuz Control last night. But that won’t matter unless we see the AD and LeBron from last year’s playoffs and right now that looks like a very long shot at best. Lakers play last night opened a Pandora’s box of concerns, the greatest of which is whether this team has it in them to play championship basketball.
5. Get vaccinated. Yes, you, Dennis. And yes, you too, LeBron. Be a leader. You have the information. You have the intelligence. Never thought you would be one of the resistors. Just shows how little you really know about people and their motivations. All of this is part of the chemistry problem that’s suddenly reared its ugly head in the comments post game by LeBron, Anthony, and Kuzma.
Blame in on injuries, blame it on the two new additions not being smart basketball players, blame it on the front office not making the Lowry trade, blame it on the coacnhing staff not developing an offensive game plan, blame it on Covid-19. Bottom line, Lakers are likely cooked for this season.
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This is the signal: LakerTom and Jamie Sweet are in agreement (aka: the sky is falling, hell hath frezzethed over and so on)
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Play Gasol at the five for first 6 minutes of each half and Davis for the last 6 minutes. That leaves 24 minutes in the middle of each half for Drummond and/or Harrell to share depending on matchups.
Then build the rest of the rotations around that structure so players can start to get some chemistry and rhythm knowing when and with whom they’re going to play. Do it now and you still have a chance to win.
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
Read MoreI dare anyone reading this to find a better historical record of two Franchises whom…it doesn’t matter who owns them, who coaches them, who plays for them…it don’t matter, they will find a way to wither away.
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Thanks for the fiver, Jamie.
1. Have to be happy with LeBron’s return. 16/8/7 and a +5 plus/minus. Needs to get into game condition but looks like injury is not a problem going forward.
2. Kuzma 2 points, 2 boards, and 2 assists in 22 minutes in a critical game is a big disappointment. Only took 1 shot is unbelievable.
3. There was zero urgency by the players for this game. It was like they just relaxed and thought LeBron would save them. Overconfidence is a killer because any NBA team is dangerous, as the Kings showed the Lakers for the second time this season.
4. Turnovers. Dennis, Dennis, Dennis, Dennis, Dennis. Can’t have 5 turnovers on only 7 assists. Too many players called in their performances rather than going after the win.
5. There comes a point in every season where you can see the writing on the wall. Right now, that writing says this team has too many issues and too little time to resolve them to win again.
In the end, this season will be on Frank Vogel’s head. Last playoffs, every move he made was gold. That’s a very high bar to leap over to win this year. Drummond is the curse that may ultimately bring the Lakers down.
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
Read MoreAsk any 8 Laker fans and they’ll have a list. It’s a list with a lot of crossover betwixt one fan or another. It’s a list that could be lengthy or succinct. It’s a list of things that individual fan is 100% certain needs to be “fixed” on the Lakers to ensure that the pathway to another banner has the highest probability of success. Obviously this is a list any fan of professional sport has in one form or another but, in my opinion. Laker fans always have the best lists. Here’s mine.
- Get healthy. Half the items on all of our lists would be solved with better team health. Whether it’s the injuries to Davis and James, COVID and the H&SP or some bum ankles or balky backs the Lakers have not been a very healthy team this season. The effects have cascaded down the roster in multiple ways: Inconsistent rotations, random players thrust in and out of the starting line up and no real feel for the team from the coach. Unlike last season where we featured a very stable and specific rotation, starting five and feel for the coach this team has none of those bonuses. Will that be an issue come the playoffs? My guess is yes it will. Simply from the standpoint of some guys being forced in and out of the starting five so much in addition to making room for Drummond but it’s also showed itself in specific player’s and their impact. Morris tops my list as it would appear his taste of starting has soured his impact off the bench. Will that be the case in May and June? I hope not.
- Settle on roles. This is impacted by the team health but it’s essential for the playoffs that everyone accept and understand what their role on the team is. What you’ve been doing since LeBron and AD have been out is not what you will be doing when they come back. Some guys get that and are willing to sacrifice the individual for the greater good of the team. There are still some question marks in my mind and, for the most part, they all revolve around guys looking for their next contract. Can Drummond sit out an entire playoff series, or more, and not gripe to Jon Q media dude? Will Schroder be able to quickly re-adjust to being the secondary ballhandler on the team and still bring the tough D and grit? Will THT accept the limitations he currently plays under as a burgeoning player in the NBA while still trying to bolster his off season value? The on guy I don’t have questions about is Alex Caruso who is in the same boat: contract is up, small role on the team. He’s always been a team guy and I don’t see him hunting shots or glory points. I want to feel the same way about the other guys (add Markieff Morris to the list as he’s playing for us on the vet minimum but is in the same category as AC is).
- Unleash Montrezl Harrell. It has to happen for us to have lasting success in the playoffs. We will struggle, mightily, if our best player off the bench can’t have an impact beyond taking a charge here or there. A lot of this, in my opinion, lays at the feet of the coaching staff. It’s no secret we’re not a dynamic team on offense but we need to figure out how to get Trezz shots when AD and James are not on the floor, or even if one of them are. I’m not talking about lobs off of drives, those will happen organically. I’m talking about sets we can run to free up Trezz in the paint. Come the playoffs I don’t need to see him shooting from 15 feet out. That’s regular season stuff.
- Keep the turnovers low. Possessions are worth their weight in gold in the postseason. The more gold you hoard during every series the better your chance to hoist a trophy made of it (or at least glazed with it). Silly passes need to stop, fundamental errors (like shortening your dribble, not exposing the ball to small players when you rebound, etc.) need to be cleaned up. The fewer possessions you give away the more field goal attempts you can generate. It’s the simplest math that there is.
- Make threes at a decent clip. I don’t have a number in mind in terms of attempts. If there are better shots available than a three then you take it. I do have a percentage that should allow us to win most series: 38%. A couple ticks over 1/3. If you make that many three point attempts you’re going to do alright. Higher would, of course, be better. But simply shooting the three a lot without corresponding makes is not in and of itself a pathway to success. This will fall on multiple players to help accomplish but number one on my list is Ben McLemore who could be this season’s Markieff Morris. If we can get him hot, keep him and ride for a couple months we’re golden. Larry O’Brien golden.
Just saw that LBJ was upgraded to ‘questionable’ for tonight. Awesome.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31366420/los-angeles-lakers-star-lebron-james-return-ankle-injury-friday-sources-say
Anyhow, what’s on your list? -
Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
Read MoreThe Lakers dropped the second game of a back-to-back against the surging Dallas Mavericks. While it may be true that the Mavs have more to play for the Lakers aren’t necessarily sitting pretty in terms of playoff seeding right now. As they tumble further and further down with not even the return of All Star and NBA champion Anthony Davis stemming the tide one wonders what the Lakers can do to right the ship and get back to at least treading water.
- Unclog the paint. This is a tough one as much has been made about the Lakers ability to acquire All Star talent in Andre’ Drummond but it’s no secret that one of the Laker’s biggest issues on offense is spacing. With our inconsistent ability to hit the three point shot looming larger and larger as the playoffs approach there aren’t many options left for Frank Vogel and the coaching staff to try, The easiest on the court but likely most difficult in the locker room would be re-inserting Marc Gasol back into the starting line up. He plays better from the high post than any other center on the roster and can hit the three. This, likely, would not sit very well with Andre’ Drummond as there is little doubt that Montrezl Harrell is our best-used off the bench and is our best small ball center option after Anthony Davis.
- Find Ben McLemore shots. The Lakers are not a dynamic offensive team, that horse has pretty much been beat down to the ground here and round the world. Coach Vogel and his staff are excellent at crafting top notch defensive schemes and getting the team to adjust them in-game and on the fly. Where we suffer, and it’s an area I hope Rob and the front office will address this summer, is in creating offensive sets designed to get specific players specific shots. I touched on this on the post game podcast last night but wanted to get into this a little more. We got guys who can make threes but there’s no system in place designed to accentuate any of our player’s skill sets except for LeBron James and Anthony Davis. We under-utilize, in my opinion, the shooting of McLemore (and even Wes Matthews) in terms of setting them up for success. It’s all well and good to have some flow and groove to the offense when The King has the ball but one thing this stretch has shown us is the lack of options the Laker offense creates through schemes. Talent is not enough when your best players aren’t playing, you need something else to fall back on.
- Live by the three, die by the three. The above point is not meant to highlight our three point shooters, we got plenty of guys who can score from the rest of the floor. We got lazy last night moving the ball meaninglessly around the horn until we were up against the clock and settled for bad three point shots. Shooting volume shots of any kind in and of itself is not a solution to ay problem. You want to create good shots, that should be the goal. If they’re from three, great. If it’s a post up with big on small, awesome. If it’s juking a guy for an open mid-range, fine by me. Without James and even with Davis we are not a good enough offensive team to settle for bad shots.
- ‘Kieff off the bench ain’t what it was. The difference between Markieff Morris starter and Markieff Morris coming off the bench is jarring. It’s like the guy coming off the bench forgot how to play NBA basketball. In the NBA playoffs Morris was one of our best players off the bench but this season…not so much. The issue is he does not in any way shape or form have a starting role on this team in it’s current rotation. In my opinion this is another area Frank might want to get creative with. Start Morris over either Gasol or Drummond for a couple of games, see how it works out. The dude rebounds bigger than his size, defends bigger than his size. Morris could be our version of P.J. Tucker.
- The learning process of Talen Horton-Tucker. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this is, for intents and purposes, THT’s rookie season. While the record books will not reflect it as such in terms of his NBA growth I assure you that it is. Talen (hopefully) learned some lessons from this series, lessons in regards to how to better box out without fouling, to use your feet and not your hands and sometimes it’s better to slow down than play at the fastest speed possible. The league is starting to sit on his drives, almost luring him into the paint and then swarming him forcing him into ever-increasingly difficult shots. Use the mid range to shake the defense loose and trust in your three point shot, again. Open up the floor for your drive early by maybe taking some out of character shots from long range. Got to mix it up.
This stretch of games coming up is about as crucial as it gets. We need to get back to at least playing .500 ball before LeBron comes back if we want to stay out of the play-in rounds. Although I can think of worse things than a couple tune-up games prior to the actual playoffs for this team the prospect of getting booted before the true playoffs even begin is a specter no Laker fans wants to see looming. All in all, we need a little more from AD and smarter basketball from the squad.
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Great Fiver, Jamie. Lot to agree with. Thanks.
1. Unclog the paint. The ghost of Byron Scott still haunts the Lakers. What does it take to understand that surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis with shooters and not post players is how you optimize their games? How fricking dumb do you have to be to continue to want to play a traditional center in the paint with LeBron and AD? Dumb as Rob Pelinka and Frank Vogel appears to be the answer.
I’ve been saying the Lakers need a stretch five center for so long that it’s covered several head coaches and front offices. Marc Gasol a year too late is the closest we’ve gotten and he is still probably this team’s best option to allow Davis to play the 4. Unfortunately, we won’t even get that. I’m seriously worried Vogel is going to do what he said he was going to do in the playoffs, which is play all three of our centers. All but AD at the 5.
2. The problem the Lakers have on offense is they don’t run any plays to help players get shots because when they need a shot they just isolate LeBron or AD. How dumb was it that Ben barely touched the ball after his hot start. Lakers should have gotten Ben 20 shots in a game like Saturday. Morris, Davis, and Schroder went 0-13 in second half. Ben went 2 for 5.
3. Live by the 3 die by the 3. The problem is we simply never go after elite 3-point shooters. Never have, never will. It’s like we don’t consider that to be an essential piece of the skillset we look for in free agency, draft, or trades. Ghost of Byron Scott. Still thinking like this is not the modern NBA and defense and superstars alone can win it all. Looking for a whipping in the playoffs this season to finally move the needle to modern.
4. Keef sucked Saturday off the bench. For season, he has averaged 2.8 points, 2.1 boards, 0.6 assists in 10.3 mpg. As a starter, 4.0 points, 2.7 boards, and 0.7 assists in 12.1 mpg. The eye test was telling me he was getting better recently but when I look at the stats, they’re not confirming that. Big drop off.
5. THT. What pisses me off is two of the biggeset weapons this team has are Schroder’s and Horton=Tucker’s ability to get to the rim. So what do we do, always play them with an old school clog-the-paint center to make it easy for other teams to defend Schroder and Horton-Tucker.
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JAMIE SWEET
Associate Publisher
Jamie Sweet and his eagerly awaited ‘5 Things’ post after every Lakers game have become a staple feature of Lakerholics. Jamie’s the Laker fan who jumpstarts and drives conversations with his informed comments and insightful observations.
Another refugee from the LA Times Lakers Blog, Jamie’s a must read Lakerholics poster and commenter whose reputation as a savvy but objective fan is well deserved
You can always get in touch with Jamie on the Lakerholics blog. You can also check out his work with the Garage Theatre in Long Beach or with his band Gnarwhal.
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Good fiver, Jamie. Thanks.
1. AD showing signs of being the superstar he was last playoffs was more important than the win. Seeding is inconsequential compared to having LeBron and AD play like the superstars they are. Nuggets are still our best first round opponent.
2. I predicted that this 3-game stretch would determine whether the Lakers have or do not have a chance to repeat. I also predicted that these games could provide Marc Gasol a chance to win back a spot in the rotation, maybe even as the starter. Makes sense to start Marc like JaVale but give the younger Drummond a chance to feast on second string fives.
3. Shaky night by THT often playing out of control but still made some clutch shots down the stretch and is a far better playmaker than Caruso who choked up turnover after turnover at critical times. Glad he was hitting his shots otherwise he would have been the goat instead of the GOAT. Terrible touch on his passes.
4. Caruso is a 3&D player who should not be trying to playmake and is far too careless with the ball. He wouldn’t close out any games if I were the coach. Very disappointed with Caruso’s play this season.
5. The big difference for the Lakers defense against the three tonight was we did not need to double Jokic, especially when Marc was in the game. Could understand why Lakers fans were cheering when Andre got called for fouls. Gasol has earned the second most minutes at the five after Drummond. Harrell is odd man out except for specific matchups.
I agree 100% that seeding doesn’t matter. The entire rotation issue just got blown up by Gasol and Matthews. I’m thinking we go to a 12-man rotation with 9 who matchup best playing each night. Let performance in the playoffs determine how the rotation gets narrowed. Right now, there’s arguments to stay wide to keep morale and chemistry high but let everybody know they will have a shot to play so be ready.