TWOLVES -at- LAKERS - 12/27 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 10:22 pm    Post subject: TWOLVES -at- LAKERS - 12/27 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Staples Blowout(s)... The day saw a lot of underdog wins, including the Mavs spanking the Clippers by 50 in the first half of their game earlier in the day at Staples.

The TWolves ran without KAT, and the Lakers sat AD to match on the first night of the back-to-back. The Lakers focus was there from the start.

Kyle Kuzma stepped into that vacant starters spot and torched the TWolves with 14 points in the opening quarter, sinking four threes in the process. And with that the Laker were off to the races.

They dominated the first three quarters, extending the lead to 40+ before going into some extended garbage time and taking the 127-91 win.

“The depth I think was on display tonight,” Vogel said.

Six Lakers scored in double figures in a game that was never in doubt.


LeBron -- -- He got to limit the minutes tonight with the blowout, playing just 26. Very nice. He rolled that same ankle again at the end of the first half. It didn’t seem like a particularly bad one and he played in the second half. Stepping on some feet early this season. Hopefully, he’s good to go in the next one. Nice to see others setting him up, whether that was Gasol on the give-and-go’s or finding him trailing a break. The ball was popping and moving, which really allows him to work less. There were a couple moments where LeBron wanted the ball in the post to bully some defenders. He even seemed a little irked at the defender in the first half and wanted to go at him. He will be listed as questionable tomorrow. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-13 shooting (1-5 from three, 5-7 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a +16,

Schröder -- -- Again, that full-court pressure was turning guys. I think I saw DLo get turned three times on one trip up court and finally making the initial pass in the offense at 14 seconds. It’s a small thing, something Bradley would give us last year, but getting a few extra seconds trimmed off an offensive set can force a team into poorer quality shots over the course of a game. He also drew some offensive fouls on the TWolves. One was a great read on a rotation in the mid post area to take a charge on an attacking defender. The other was getting DLo to foul him away from the ball to get the stop. Russell was a total non-factor in this one with 4 points on 2-7 shooting and 7 turnovers. Give Schröder some credit there. Offensively, he couldn’t knock down the threes tonight, but had that midrange pull-up game going. In the playoffs, having a three-level scorer like that will pay off as teams sometimes give up that midrange even late in close games. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +35.

Kuzma -- -- The stats show his numbers go up when he gets that starting nod. Kuz slid into the starting lineup for AD, who was taking the night off with the calf contusion. He came out on fire. He dropped 14 points on 5-6 shooting in that first quarter, sinking four threes. Again, showing off that on-the-move footwork and stroke. It felt like he knew exactly what he wanted to do on the court. Some of his passes in that first half were superb. He attacked from the corner, drew the D and hit Trezz for the dunk. On the break, he could have tried to finish but hit KCP trailing for the dunk. Both of those he had an opportunity to finish a tougher shot, but the extra turned it into a guaranteed bucket by a teammate. Defensively, in that half, he tracked down a couple players to reject them at the rim. He blocked another drive in the third. All his scoring took place in the first half. Great stretch of ball there. Vogel was impressed with Kuzma playing within the flow and not forcing things. (I think Kuz had one heat check, but that was it.) Love that he's locked into a reasonable contract for the next few years and any time we need him to step into the scoring role with one of our stars out, he seems to answer the call. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-12 shooting (4-6 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a +38.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Great energy out there. Love guys who go hard for an entire game regardless of the score -- that’s KCP. He nearly had a highlight dunk in the first half trying to hammer over a defender on the break. Took the FTs instead. He’d get a couple more scores in transition in the first half. He and Kuz change ends so quickly that they really drive our speed game quite a bit. Again, we saw Gasol finding him on a cut. He cut with speed and Marc hit him for the And-1 layup. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-3 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 23 minutes, He was a +29.

Gasol -- -- A much better start to this one and just an overall strong game on both ends. Obviously, the opponent had some issues defensively, but you could also see moments of chemistry with some of our starters. Both LeBron and KCP cut strong after feeding Gasol for give-and-go buckets. LeBron lulls his defender to sleep then changes speed (nice swim move to get his shoulders past the defender, too) and take the return pass. Hopefully, that’s something they can repeat with consistency. Gasol also had the three ball going, including sinking a deep one from about 35 feet out. He was more disruptive on D, showing good hands with strips and deflections. He had a couple blocks and also got in on a challenge on a jumper to alter that. He’s gotten better every game in this regular season and just stuffed the stat sheet in his minutes. Points, boards, assists and blocks. More of this, please. “Defensively, we did a much better job on the ball and communicating,” Gasol said. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-4 shooting (3-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 8 assists, 4 blocks, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +24.

Harrell -- -- His first score was again on a face-up on that left baseline. He jab stepped and sank the midrange jumper. That shot has been looking good. He was set up by others for a couple of scores (Kuz and THT with some pretty ones). On his iso’s he got to a couple of jumphooks across the lane. Not a lot of action on the boards, just a single defensive rebound. Defensively, he drew a charge and also had a steal out on the perimeter to ignite the break. With the score big, I think he dialed it back a little, but still finished with double-digit scoring. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-10 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +12.

Caruso -- -- We didn’t need to play him much in this one with the lead huge by the time he would have rotated in during the second half. He did hurt a muscle in his hand, Vogel said, but mentioned he was available to go, if needed. He rattled in a three behind a LeBRon screen, hitting an old school hook across the lane and scored a layup off a long cut threw the D on an inbounds. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 11 minutes. He was a +4.

Horton-Tucker -- -- With the blowout in play, we brought him in with a couple minutes left in the third for some extended run. He sank a couple of threes. One he relocated after kicking the ball out. The other was just a ridiculou step-back three from the deep wing. Crazy that’s in his game at this age. Some nice attacks off the dribble. Good to see him set up Trezz on one. One of the others, he got his shoulders past his defender, sealed him well with that body and it was over. Once you get stuck on his hip, with that reach of his, you’re in trouble as he can just extend that length out and score with ease. Defensively, he had a great track down block of a big from behind in transition. Occasionally, we will see a play or two where vets are pointing to him to do something in particular, but the more minutes and reps we can get him, the more Vogel can trust what he’ll bring. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-12 shooting (2-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assist, 2 steals, 1 block and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +5.

Morris -- -- We played smaller tonight with no AD out there. Good to see some of our bigs step up and play big. The team had 14 blocks tonight, Morris was in on a couple. Offensively, he sank a three in the first half, then missed the rest of his attempts behind the arc. He filled the lane for a rare fastbreak dunk from him. He also had a putback score. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +1.

Matthews -- -- Not a good first half. He missed a wide open corner three, then threw a pass away next time down. On D he didn’t ice properly, gave up middle and an And-1 on Trezz. Then for good measure, missed another three and a tech FT. Nothing going well early. In the second half, however, he finally scratched, swishing a midrange jumper and then scoring a layup on a nice hesi off a curl. Hope he gets rolling soon with more of that. We will need his 3 and D play against some of the better teams. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting (0-2 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a +16.

Cook -- -- Laughing at his And-1 layup late in the game. He had been swatted several times in the preseason, so this time he put the brakes on and let the D wind up and find themselves in trouble, then he took the contact and spun in a layup barely getting off the ground. He’d also put in a wing jumper off the two-man game. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists and no fouls in 9 minutes. He was a +0.

Dudley -- -- He rattled down a wing three on the handoff for his score. He’s definitely a leader out there on the floor as he’s directing guys to their spots like an off-ball floor general to make sure they execute properly even in garbage time. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 2 boards and no fouls in 8 minutes. He was a +0.

McKinnie -- -- Good stretch of ball for him with a couple of finishes at the rim, including a lob dunk in transition. He also sank a pull-up from 18 feet out. He looked active and comfortable out there. I don’t know if he has a role on this team. We could certainly use a wing defender. But good to see him have some nice moments tonight in the garbage time. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a +0.

Antetokounmpo -- -- He has a nice Euro step to get by some defenders, looking like his brother. He was then rejected, unlike his brother. The length and athleticism is tantalizing and turned into a couple of blocks on D and some boards, but not a whole lot else tonight. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 4 boards, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a +0.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Really, probably KAT not playing in this game. The TWolves had no chance even with AD out. The Lakers team is just too deep. They weren’t going to fall down by 50 in the first half without one of their stars like the other team in the building today.

Key Substitution: Kostas, Duds, McKinnie, THT and Cook with about 8 minutes left. Got to love that.

Key Stats: That opening three shooting. The Lakers went 5-5 from three to lead 18-6. They didn’t give the TWolves any hope, scoring 40 points in the first quarter.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 10:47 pm    Post subject:

First!
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:22 pm    Post subject:

Second?
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:34 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 1:21 am    Post subject:

Another great summary DB.

Was fun to watch - in part because the T-Wolves were not much of a threat tonight. Lakers pretty much did whatever they wanted.

Gasol stood out iun a good way, in part because he was just so frustrating to watch the past 4 games [pre-season with Suns included]. He seemed more alert on the defensive end and more inclined to use his size to get boards. Also helped alot to see him be the point of running the offense from the top of the Key where his passing shined.

Otherwise, Vogel is right, the depth was on display. Unlike last year I do not get too concerned when LBJ or AD are not on the floor - I'm expecting whatever lineup they put on the floor will be competitive on both ends. Strange feeling, that, after going through last season.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 1:43 am    Post subject:

This was a good scimmage for the Lakers to see how the team can play without AD.

Tougher test against the Trailblazers.

Will Vogel have LBJ and AD sit against Portland that will allow Gasol get some serious burn since they have a more traditional center to help the team learn how to keep on moving and cutting to be the recipeint of his gret passes

Clippers EMBARASSING loss might have gotten the Lakers' attention
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 2:38 am    Post subject:

Excellent write up on an excellent game! Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:22 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:25 am    Post subject:

Team comparisons - Stats

Points in the Paint +2 Lakers
Lakers 60
Wolves 58

3 pointers +21 Lakers
Lakers 13-35
Wolves 6-35

FG% +18% Lakers
Lakers 55.6
Wolves 36.9

Assists +8 Lakers
Lakers 32
Wolves 24

Fastbreak points +12 Lakers
Lakers 20
Wolves 8

Rebounds -2 (Wolves win)
Lakers 46
Wolves 48

(Lakers gave up 17 offensive rebounds in this one)
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:32 am    Post subject: Re: TWOLVES -at- LAKERS - 12/27 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Very nice write up-as always!
DancingBarry wrote:
Key Substitution: Kostas, Duds, McKinnie, THT and Cook with about 8 minutes left. Got to love that.

Yes!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:37 am    Post subject:

3 games in, Lakers look much more potent from perimeter than last year at this point. Last year we had heavy reliance on the paint game, and the perimeter shooting and perimeter creating was not always there. This year, at the same stage, looks like we are just potent in the paint, but far far better from outside. This makes us a very very tough team to defend. And the execution is not close to where it will be months from now, this is still just initial stages of the team development.

We are already seeing the ball movement, the cutting, the amount of great looks we can get. Gasol up high, as a passing theat. Trez in the paint. Lebron posting up. Quick early 3 pointers. A lot of quick ball movement that leads to open passes. Multiple players capable to break down a defense off the dribble, not just Lebron. We are seeing Dennis break down the defense off the dribble.

Last night what stood out was Kuz playing the way he did and Marc Gasol. They really took over the usage rate that was available with Anthony Davis out. You saw Marc get more involved and you saw Kuz come in and play a big role. Defensively the last 2 games we have seen some development and the guys have better rotations and cohesion. First game they looked lost on D.

Concerns? Yes, I have some. Even with being 2-1 and having such a potent offense.

1) Rebounding. Lakers play smaller with Trez-Kieff. When they do, in lineups like that, they have to be more assertive on the glass with the non-bigs like Bron, THT, Caruso etc. I'll concede no AD in this one, but we still have to be a dominant team in this regard as we have elite size with AD, and then Bron is basically a PG. We need to exploit this on the glass.

2) We are seeing "old" future Bron, maybe. I do not think this Lebron will last all season, but we are seeing how we can maybe be a contender past Bron's superstar/MVP years. Bron is only effective in the post or as a passer. Very much like Magic late in his career (especially post-HIV). Bron has no jumpshot right now, and is missing quite a few looks. He resembles someone that is a great IQ player, great skillset, but not a MVP level guy. This is the sort of Bron I expect to see from ages 37-39. I think we may have one last MVP level playoffs out of Bron, though.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:53 am    Post subject:

Thanks as always DB. I was a little pissed with LJ. He never gave the ball to Kuz in the 1st quarter for a heat check (Kuz had to force a 30+ footer after going 4 for 4). Also, he didn't eat the clock at the end of the 1st quarter and gave plenty of time to the Wolves (Rubio ended up scoring).
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:57 am    Post subject:

Sup with McKinney? I mean he’s not cracking that 3-11 but you like him to keep as a project, insurance Incase Wes not that good? Meaning cut kostas/cook before him?
Btw, 3-11 vs showtime... up there huh, legit 3 6thMOY candidates


Last edited by governator on Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:21 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:14 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB !!!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 6:30 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 11:09 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Great win, and nice to see Kuz and Gasol have really good games.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 11:43 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB,

You will always be appreciated by me!

Kuz balled-out like he is supposed to. Tonight he came out with both passion and purpose.

He just has to put his mark on the game whether he is scoring or not. Tonight was an excellent example of that. Rebounding, cutting, passing, blocking shots and playing defense has to be a mainstay of his play. He got paid and now it is time for him to doing his thing.

Gasol did much, much better tonight. He is still as slow as a snail, but his passing, rebounding, shot blocking were needed. I hope he comes around on a regular basis.

The team is still getting it together and trying to make all the new pieces work, but our floor spacing and three ball shooting so far is 100% better than last year. Our defense still needs much work, but there is plenty of time.

Wes Matthews needs to get his act together. So far he is underwhelming, but it is still early. If he finds his place and his game, we are looking even better.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 3:30 pm    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:

(Lakers gave up 17 offensive rebounds in this one)


This was the one that stood out after the game when I was looking for the stat of the night. Some of these stats, we dominated in last year. Almost had to at times with our shooting.

It's crazy you can give up that many and not even feel it. Just goes to show how bad the TWolves are and how good the Laker O is.
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