Aloha,

A very disappointing end to a very fun season. The one thing everyone thought might be our downfall was. Lack of a rim protector and rebounder killed us. We have a very good small ball line up but you can’t go small that much. Makes you wonder what would have happened if we had made that Mark Williams trade. Just a few observations.

The TWolves are a quality defensive team. But we made it much to easy for them. We played way too much one on one. The ball has to move to beat a team like the TWolves. It didn’t.

We didn’t get the others involved enough. Our bench was out scored 22 to 4. I still believe that Dalton should have gotten a little run, especially wit Austin having a bad shooting night.

What ever happened to feed the hot hand. Rui had his second great shooting game in a row. He was 5 for 8 from 3, after going 5 for 10 the game before. Considering no one else was lightning it up, I don’t know why they didn’t run more for him.

LeBron is still amazing
But at 40 years old, he can’t play 40 minutes and it showed in the 4th quarters of this series.

JJ was out coached the entire series. Hopefully He will learn.

For the most part I like this group. We will need to build a center rotation this summer. It would also help to get most scoring off the bench. Perhaps Dalton can provide that in year 2.

It’s important to keep in mind that Luka didn’t come on board until February. We will be better with a trading camp.

I think this team with time together and a couple additions can legitimately compete for a ring next year.

Aloha,

The NBA 2 minute review confirmed what everyone saw. McDaniels did indeed stick his foot out, causing Luka to trip. Two made free throws would have definitely impacted the finish. It would have put us up by one and we would have kept that time out Luka had to call.

I actually hate those 2 minute reviews. They just piss me off more.

Aloha,

It was a hard fought game that we could have won. I think for me it boils down to 3 things.

1. Way too much dribbling in the 4 th quarter. The ball movement stalled out as we tried to win one on one.

2. No substitutions in the 4th. I really that fatigue set in down the stretch.

3. JJ never should have called that time out. It was a one point lead and a scramble underneath. It gave the TWolves time to review the play. I would have made the TWolves take a time out to challenge. Either you get the ball in and then call time out or worst case, you have a time out left to set up a play.

We are up against us now. The biggest concern for the Lakers coming into the series was our lack of a center. Which came back to bite us in the butt. The TWolves beat us with 18 offensive rebounds.

We are not dead yet but it will be extremely hard to beat this team 3 in a row.

Aloha,

Well that was not good. Still, not time to panic. Yet. Playoff series are rarely won without winning at least one road game and we have another shot tomorrow.

The most important thing for tomorrow will be Luka’s health. He gave his best but he was clearly struggling with what has been called a stomach flu. Our margin for error in the playoffs is slender and we need everyone healthy to have a chance.

Even with Luka sick we were tied at 103. And we definitely did some good things beyond LeBron’s stellar game. We found our 3 point stroke and shot 43% from 3. We were also even in rebounds. Rudy has been handled. Actually it is better for us when he’s playing.

Defensively we were fine. It was not our defense. It was our offense. 19 turnovers, most of them live ball turnovers that led to 28 points. Now some of those were the result of good Wolves defense but far too many were stupid, and they seemed to score every time we had one of those. Also, poor free throw shooting did not help the cause.

We can win this series but we will need Luka feeling better and fewer stupid turnovers to do it. Let’s hope that happens Sunday.

Aloha,

We now officially know that we will be playing the Timberwolves in the first round. Unless there is major upsets in the play in games and beyond, there just isn’t an easy path for any team in the west. It will be interesting to see if the Rockets win their first round series. They are the 2nd seed but I don’t have a lot of faith in them. The Warriors could knock them off if the win their play in.

That said, the seeding is about as favorable as the Lakers could have hoped for. I believe that that the Thunder, Clippers and Nuggets all pose more problems for us than the TWolves and we won’t face any of them until we reach the Western conference finals. Still it’s going to be a grind.

The TWolves posses a big front line that will be a challenge. We won the last game even though Luka wasn’t great but Randle did not play in that one. The good news is we can play Gobert off the court. The bad news is Reid comes in for him and he has given us fits in past games.

I am optimistic about the series. It will be extremely difficult for the TWolves to defend our big three. After having to play himself into shape after the injury and integrate himself into the Lakers system, over the last several games, Luka destroyer of worlds have finally arrived. Just in time for the playoffs.

Ant man will get his. We just have to make it hard on him. But after that we can handle the other threats. Randle can be a problem but Lebron and Rui have strong bodies to stand up to him.

It will come down to, can the TWolves defend our big 3 and somehow not give open looks to Rui, DFS and Gabe. By the way, Gabe must recover that shooting touch he had a few weeks ago. Our bench will get out scored but we have so much firepower that we can over come that.

Like I said, it will be a grind. But I think the Lakers win in 6.

Aloha,

Luka has had many great games with the Lakers but this was the first time we saw the Destroyer of Worlds version of Luka. Being able to channel that kind of emotion into that performance was remarkable. It’s was Kobe like.

When the team saw that Luka was on a roll it seemed like they all slipped in to the back seat and watched him drive. LeBron and Rui began to contribute in the 2nd half when Luka only scored a “measly” 14.

AD was the opposite of Luka. As Laker fans we have seen that version of AD from time to time, slipping into the woodwork. As great as AD is, he will forever be a side kick. Now it wasn’t all his fault. We applied the Joker defense and swarmed him whenever possible and he was playing without a true play maker. But it just revealed the difference between Luka and AD. AD needs help, Luka doesn’t. We also got to see him play his beloved power forward position. This left him out on the perimeter on both offense and defense where he is not nearly as effective. I’ve said it before and I will say it again AD’s best position is center. Period.

Dallas has a real size advantage over us and I thought we handled it very well. With Rui back, our small ball line up is very effective as the rotations were crisp and on point.
I would still like more help at the 5 but there isn’t much we can do about that until the summer.

With the Warriors losing last night we are guaranteed at least the 5th seed. The Clippers, Griz and Nuggets are behind us and we hold the tie breakers. The Griz play the nuggets. So one of them can’t pass us. Actually there is a way we can win the 3rd seed without winning another game. If the TWolves beat the Griz, and the Griz beat the Nuggets and the Warriors beat the Clippers that would give us the 3rd seed. Not impossible at all.

Still I would prefer to beat the Rockets and get it over with. It will be interesting to see who the Rockets play. They rested all of their starters against the Clippers. They are locked into the 2nd seed and should prioritize health over a win. Still we beat them last time, so we’ll see how they handle it.

Regardless, we are in a good spot and will have a week for LeBron to rest before the playoffs. A luxury we didn’t have the last two years. We will not need the Luka the destroyer of worlds version of Luka to have a deep playoff run but it’s nice to know that version is available if needed.

Aloha,

The NBA just rescinded Luka’s 2nd technical foul. Does little good now. I doubt they lets us play the last 8 minutes over😡

Aloha,

As the season winds down it’s going to be a crazy finish. The five teams behind us all tied in the loss column and they are playing each other.

The Clippers play the Warriors and Rockets.
The Grizzlies play the TWolves and Nuggets and the Nuggets also play the Rockets.

We are in good shape. Our destiny is in our hands. One win ensures the 6th seed and two wins ensures the 3rd seed. Of course some of the teams behind us will lose at least one game because they play each other. Considering we hold all tie breakers, even if we lost 3 we more than likely would finish in the 4th or 5th seed.

Even the 2nd seed isn’t completely out of reach. But we would need to win out and the Rockets would have to lose all 3 of their games. Not impossible considering the Rockets play 3 really good teams to end the season.

One thing is for sure, barring an upset in the play in games. There will be no easy outs in the playoffs in the west. I can’t recall a time when all the teams in the west are so evenly matched.

It’s going to be wild.

Aloha,

Not only did the Lakers blow out OKC, but the Rockers beat the Warriors and the Pacers beat the Nuggets. The Lakers need to go 2-2 to secure the 3rd seed. Of course that’s not going to be easy. We have another against OKC and Rockets and of course AD will be super motivated when we play the Mavs. Of course so will Luka.

I have to admit I thought we were going to lose this one. Boy was I really wrong. The shooting was exceptional. We tied a team record with 22 made 3’s and shot 55% from 3. But that is not why we blew them out. It was our defense and rebounding that did that.

Having both Lebron and Rui healthy and available is very important to our small ball defense. That was part of the reason our defense suffered when they were out. Jax only played 13 minutes yet their big combine for only 19 points and 9 rebounds. Actually that was the key with only SGA actually hurting us. And he never shot a free throw which is remarkable.

About the only thing we did poorly was turnovers. We had 17 turnovers for 22 points.

If we can continue to play that kind of defense, rebound, try and Limit turnovers and get the scoring support from Gabe and DFS like today, we are going to be a hard team to beat.

I was hoping to split with OKC but now I’m greedy and want us to get the next one. I suspect it will be hard fought game unlike today. But a one point win is just fine with me.

Go Lakers.

Aloha,

If you had told me that team would shoot 39% from the field and Luk, Rui and Austin would go a combined 2-16 from 3, I would have asked, how much did we lose by. But like superhero’s coming to the rescue, Gabe and DFS each hit 6 3’s.

But more importantly our defense showed up. Actually I thought our defense was much better than theirs because we missed so many wide open looks. Our small ball line up actually matches up well with the Rockets. Sengun plays below the rim like the Joker without the bulk. This allows both Lebron and Rui to guard him because he isn’t strong enough to move them.

Lebron, Rui, DSF and Vando are big guys and while none are in your face shot blockers they all great weak side help shot blockers as LeBron and DSF demonstrated last night. It will be a challenge in the playoffs against certain teams without a good rim protector in the middle. But I think offensively we can make up for some of that.

That Bulls game still bothers me because of seeding. Yes the main goal is to avoid the play in. Yes it would be great to finish 4th for a first round home series but 3rd would be better because you avoid the Thunder until the conference finals. The bad news is we have a tough remaining schedule. The good news is most all the teams we are battling with don’t have cake walk schedules either. Plus we have tie breaks with everyone except the Rockets and we have one more with them.

Our offense was great against the Griz and our defense was great against the Rockets. Here’s hoping we can start to put the two together in the remaining games.

Aloha,

That was an extremely important win. You hate to play a team the day after their coach was fired. You know they will come out with extra energy. And when it’s a talented team like the Griz, it’s down right scary. They are a fast paced, high scoring team that averages 123 points a game. Fortunately when healthy we score as well.

There should no longer be any doubt that Austin is our 3rd star. He was our best player again last night. And it isn’t just the 31 points but it was also some tough rebounds and steals. Denying JJJ that pass drawing a foul won’t show up on the stats sheet but it was another huge play in crunch time. Austin is averaging 20 points, 4.5 boards and 6 assists as the 3rd option. And when or both of our superstars miss a game, Austin plays like a superstar. He is without a doubt one of the toughest players in the NBA. We no longer need to star hunt. When can now focus on just depth.

LeBron is beginning to look better after that long layoff. But his timing is still a bit off. He’s missing layups and bunnies. Hopefully he will find his rhythm soon.

Miami Gabe. Enough said.

It’s a shame Rui had to miss the Bulls game because of injury management because our small ball line up of him, Lebron and DFS is so much better when he’s available. Vando is great but he is better on the perimeter. Rui has the body to bang with bigs. Plus his shooting adds another dimension over Vando when we go small.

Luka’s 3 ball wasn’t falling but superstars find a way and Luka turned to attacking the paint and hit 10-11 free throws as well as midrange jumpers. All of the open looks we get is the Luka effect and I don’t think there is anything any team can do about it.

This stretch run is going to be tough. We hold tie breaks with every team around us except the Rockets but we play them twice. Fortunately at home. Tie breaks only work if you tie someone. Our margin over the 6th seed is slender. But with the tie breaks we would need to lose 3 more games than the Warriors or the Clippers. With all the injuries we haven’t had a lot of time together for a while. We do get an extra days rest after the Rockets game which will help. We have 2 with OKC coming up. I’m hoping they don’t have anything to play for when we meet them. They have a 3 game lead over the Cav’s for best overall record. Even if they play all their starters we need to at least split the 2.

It will be a challenge staying in the top 4, heck even the top 6 won’t be easy. But we are finally healthy and hopefully we stay healthy. Because if we do I feel good about our chances.

Aloha,

That was the worst play that LeBron has made as a Laker. Throwing a lazy little bounce pass into double coverage is unacceptable. You can run the baseline after a basket. Just get the ball in. I don’t even mind them letting the Bulls back in down the stretch. 2nd of a back to back and they were tired. They also should have harassed Giddy. They only had 3 seconds. Don’t give him a straight line. This game can really bite us in the butt. Pathetic.

Aloha,

I tuned into the game last night with no expectations. With our top 6 players sitting, this was clearly a schedule loss. It was the 6th game in 8 days, which is brutal and never done. Unfortunately, games had to be moved around because of the fires, leading to 3 straight back to backs. Guys were tired and a little banged up, so we sacrificed a potential win for health. And I agree with that. The good news is we may have a full squad for Saturday. With a lack of practice time, I think it’s important to play everyone against a subpar Bulls team as a tune up for a difficult road trip coming up.

Last night I watched, just to see how the remaining guys would play. While we did manage to hang around until the mid 3rd quarter due to defense, we struggled. One of the roster construction problems this team has is, we have 3 play makers on the roster and they all start. We don’t have a true backup point guard off the bench. And it showed. As much as I like Gabe, he isn’t a true point guard. I view him as an Avery Bradley type. A Bulldog on defense that can hit some shots. He is not a play maker. And it showed last night in the poor quality looks that we were getting. That was disappointing.

I was also disappointed in Dalton. While he scored 17, most of those points came after the game was decided. He actually went 1 for 8 on 2 point attempts which killed us. And Goody, while he gave his normal all out effort, he also wasn’t hitting shot.

There were bright spots. Morris played well. He had a plus 7, the only plus on the team. Jax was okay, with 9 points and 5 boards in only 16 minutes. Len actually played pretty well with 10 points and 9 boards in 17 minutes. Defensively, I think he held up well against Lopez.

But the star of the night was Bronny. 17 points on 7-10 shooting and 5 assists. And that one long pass to Morris was straight out of his Dad’s playbook. I occasionally watch the South Bay Lakers and I have seen him grow as the season has progressed. His confidence has soared and he was usually the best player on the court for either team. It was great to see that confidence translate to the varsity. What you saw last night is exactly how he has looked in the G league for the last couple of months. With the way he works, I can possibly see him breaking into the rotation at some point as early as next year. While he was the 55th pick, he is looking like a player taken much higher.

The good news is that even with all the injuries and the hellish schedule we are still sitting in the 4th seed with tie breakers over everyone in the top 8 with exception of the Rockets and we have 2 left with them. Even with a difficult remaining schedule, if we remain healthy the rest of the way, this team could still realistically finish 2nd. I think sacrificing one game for that was worth it.

Aloha,

This was a very needed win to stop the bleeding from that disappointing road trip. It didn’t really feel like we were ever in danger of losing this one. I really don’t know, what’s going on with the Suns. They have a lot of talent and they should be in panic mood, while battling just to make the play in. But it was the Lakers that brought the energy, especially on the defensive end.

I believe if we had everyone healthy except LeBron, we would still be a solid playoff team. With Luka demonstrating why he is a generational talent, we are always in the game. And add in Austin who is proving to be a quality 2nd option when needed. Add LeBron into the mix and we become a legit contender.

It really is our defense that has made us so dangerous. DFS, Vanderbilt and Gabe are all great defenders . And now we have added Goody to the group. JJ went out of his way to praise Goody’s defense on Booker who had a poor game. I am interested in what the rotation looks like. With Dalton’s offense also deserving of playing time. I am sure they will probably will cut Cam and added Goody but I think they will wait until right before the playoffs to see if there any injuries that need to be filled. I don’t know what happened to Cam. He has fallen out of the rotation and when he got playing time against the Nuggets, he was the only guy that played poorly.

Jackson continues to impress. I think he’s grown more than anyone else during the season. He has turned into quite a lob threat. But it’s not just that, he’s very good at sealing guys that allows the guards to get to the rim for layups. He just brings the energy that the others feed off of. We should be able to keep him. We have early bird rights and we could pay up to 12 mil, I don’t we will have to pay that much but he should be back next year. While we will need to add another decent center I don’t think they need a star. I’m not sure about Koloko. He has issues finishing lobs. He really needs to get better at that if he wants to make it.

Just a side note, watched the South Bay lakers and they have a couple of familiar faces on the team with Stanley Johnson and Cole Swider back. That was kind of cool to see.

We have a tough stretch coming up. The good news is we are tied in the loss column with The Nuggets, Griz and Rockets. So we need to get healthy quickly. I’m hoping we can have at least Rui back for the Nuggets game. It would have been nice to coast a little before the Playoffs but it doesn’t look like it will happen But we play the Thunder toward the end of the year. Hopefully they will be coasting. Hopefully we will continue to play this hard down the stretch. Go Lakers.

Aloha,

LeBron, DFS and Rui are all listed as out for the Nets. While Luka and Jax are listed as questionable. If they are all out it could be hard to beat the Nets, who are no pushovers despite their record.

On a lighter note. With the Nuggets blowout loss to the Thunder we are back in 2nd. The Nuggets face the Thunder again in their next game. Hopefully we can get a little help from other teams as we navigate this touch stretch of games with a lot of injuries.