LAKERS -at- GRIZZLIES - 1/3 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Taking Care of Business... With the Grizzlies injuries piling up, the Lakers just needed to bring the required effort and this game should be a W.

The Grizzlies had some other thoughts about that early on as they dropped 36 points in the first quarter, hitting a number of threes, and they led by as many as 12.

The Lakers reeled them in and stayed even until the fourth quarter.

LeBron was sitting on 9 points heading into the fourth, so you knew something was coming. To open the quarter, he imposed himself on the game, getting to the rim with consistency and the Lakers took control from there to take the 108-94 road win.

They’ll be back at it on Tuesday, and the Lakers will need to bring a better effort in the second game of the Memphis trip. Hopefully, they will have their sidelined guards back for that one.


LeBron -- -- This is one of those slow start, turn it on late games. You could see the D fade after a strong opening when LeBron started to get a little tired. He stood around more and the defense that was on a string, started to falter. When he locked in at the end of the half, the Lakers pulled back out to a lead. Still, heading into the fourth, he had just 9 points on 4-11 shooting, so you knew he was going to be aggressive. He went right to the rim on several possessions to start the quarter and the Lakers edged out a 5-point lead and forced a timeout. He’d later hit a three from the Grizzlies logo and finish with 13 points in the quarter. That was a flex. Basically, it was time to turn it on and bam, the Grizzlies were in the rearview mirror. Close to a triple-double tonight. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-16 shooting (3-6 from three, 1-3 from the line) to go with 13 boards, 8 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +19.

Davis -- -- The only thing he had going tonight was his floater as he struggled to score from the perimeter. AD was looking more like himself defensively from the tip. Those first few minutes of the game, he was the glue rotating and recovering to shut down the Grizzlies offense on several possessions with the starters. Offensively, however, he just couldn’t hit anything and the Lakers went scoreless for a lengthy stretch. His first score came with 6:23 into the second quarter. He ended up with 5 points on 1-8 shooting in the first half. In the second half, he found that floater was working and hit several. He’d go 5-7 in the second half. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-15 shooting (0-2 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and no fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +5.

Schröder -- -- His best play tonight was applying full-court pressure after an ATO and getting an 8-second violation with the one-man press. I just like seeing him turn guys multiple times and running clock. Getting a straight up turnover with the pressure had the team hyped. Offensively, slow start in the first half. It looked like he was searching for some fouls and wasn’t getting the call, so it made for a couple ugly moments. He may switch to manufacturing some points when the shot isn’t falling, and if he doesn’t get the calls, then things look a little worse. Still, he was able to scratch out a bucket on a midrange pull-up and a layup in early offense (off a great inside-out dribble). He should have had 2 more points in this game than his 11, but choked an uncontested layup off a great Gasol pass. He had a couple key possession in the fourth while LeBron was resting where he scored (hit a floater and wanted the And-1, got FTs again later). Important we have guys stepping up in the fourth when LeBron is taking a break. So even though the three’s weren’t falling in this one (0-4) and the scoring wasn’t great, he had some timely ones. Five assists without a turnover (Lakers just 10 turnovers as a team, partially as a result). The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-13 shooting (0-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to gow tih 1 board, 5 assists and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +3.

Kuzma -- -- The plan is to slide him into the starters role when we have anyone from the 2-5 spot sitting out. Hot start, knocking down three early threes -- nothing but net on those. Not the same story to start the second half where he clanked early on and we called a timeout as the offense faltered. He’d only score once in the second half on a nice hook when Gasol found him after Kuz missed a shot. Defensively, again he showed some very nice energy and help to reject shots from behind. This has been a nice consistent addition to his defense this season. He’s hustling for those and that’s been fun to watch. Not too much else worth mentioning on that end of the floor. On the negative trend side, we saw the second ball go through his legs on a pass out. Probably just trying to read the game faster, make faster decisions and just not securing the ball first, but kind of a weird thing to see for the second time. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-9 shooting (3-7 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +7.

Gasol -- -- His first game back with the Grizzlies since going to the Raptors/Lakers. He said it was a little awkward being in the other locker room, warming up on the other side, but once the ball was up, it was game on. Too bad the fans couldn’t be there to give him some love. He said that made it a little less emotional. Some great D at times in this game (only a couple times when there was some confusion, including on that opening defensive stand). But he was out trapping on the perimeter at times and the team really rotated well behind him. Definitely more moments playing on a string defensively. Offensively, he again caused problems on the offensive glass. Good things typically happened as a result. His best past tonight, Schröder choked the layup finish (great bounce pass after changing the angle). The team closed the game with him tonight. I think that’s the first time this season. Earlier in the game, he smacked his head on the floor on a loose ball and needed five stitches. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-6 shooting (0-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +3.

Matthews -- -- Strong 3 and D game. With our other guards out, that led to more minutes for our bench and Wes answered the call. He knocked down 4-6 from three and get his other basket on a post up, somehow getting the shot to go as he fell down. I really liked seeing the LeBron/Wes two man game early in that fourth. His shooting was a problem and LeBron used that. Defensively, a mixed bag, but better as the game went along, aside from maybe when play where he took a bad angle and gave up an open lane. He and Gasol had a nice trap on the perimeter that Wes deflected the pass and Gasol secured it. Wes also had another steal where he stepped around a man to poke the ball loose. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-7 shooting (4-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +3.

Harrell -- -- “You have to honor everything he does on the offensive end,” Vogel said of Harrell’s energy. Vogel also praised Harrell boxing out the bigs tonight for others to secure the boards. Some spark off the bench after the Lakers fell behind early. He had 8 points, 5 boards, 2 steals and was a +4 in that 10-minute stretch. He had three offensive boards and those were leading to points. I mentioned in the last one that they would probably be calling his number on some plays specific for him after that low scoring output. Right away on ATO Vogel called his number. LeBron posted up, Wes cut down the lane and screened Harrell’s man, and Trezz then went weak-to-strong to get the pass and score. Very nice sequence. Keep an eye out for more of that play. Defensively, he got a couple steals using his hands well and he was able to get a couple offensive fouls on Valanciunas. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-11 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 9 boards (4 offensive), 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +12.

Horton-Tucker -- -- More minutes available with KCP out. He’d score on a curl into the lane and he was able to stretch back out and hit a layup. He scored a reverse around a big (again that right hand dominance making that look a little unexpected). He swished a three coming off the weakside screens for a catch and shoot. Not an easy shot to make on the move, but we set that up just for him. Good to see him also find Trezz on a drive from the corner. It seeme dlike he was making a little more effort to look for guys and find some balance there. That made a couple plays awkward. Good job on the boards, he had a really nice crack back to sandwich a big and secure one defensive board. That’s especially important when Trezz has a disadvantage with size. Once the team starts doing that with more consistency, we should pull a couple more stops per game. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 6 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a +11.

Morris -- -- Not much going on in this one. The threat of him as a three shooter from his position just helps to have even if he didn’t make any. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting from three to go with 1 board, 1 assists and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +10.

Cook -- -- Garbage time minute. The Stats: No stats. In 1 minute he was a -1.

Dudley -- -- Enjoying seeing him out there with some relative consistency in garbage time wins. Swing pass to McKinnie for three for his assist. He was the C spot in the zone in garbage time. The Stats: He had 1 assist in 1 minute. He was a -1.

McKinnie -- -- He hit a wing three on a swing pass in garbage time. Make the most of your minute. The Stats: He had 3 points on 1-1 shooting in 1 minute. He was a -1.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: That stretch of ball by LeBron to open the fourth. He just imposed his will. Vogel mentioned it was difficult finding a good moment to pull LeBron for rest at the time with how he was going. But the Lakers took control right there.

Key Substitution: Wes and Trezz off the bench combined for 30. But I think that stretch where we had to sit LeBron above in the fourth is something to focus on. We had Gasol, AD and Schröder in the game. AD can get you a bucket on iso if need be, but Gasol and Schröder are the guys who are replacing Rondo organizing the offense and trying to keep things afloat with LBJ rests. Schröder had a couple of scores during these fourth quarter minutes. He was able to hit a floater and manufacture some FTs. Important scores and an important juncture.

Key Stats: The numbers were pretty similar between the teams. The Lakers had just 10 turnovers in this one, which is good to see, but I want to focus on the scoring after the first quarter. They held the Grizzlies to 18, 21 and 19 points -- 58 points in the last three quarters. The cohesiveness on D is improving with reps and practice. They got lit up a bit from three early on for that big first quarter, but held things in check after.

[Annihilator]

First!

Once again, a very nice write up of the game.

[akgolf]

Thanks DB!

[deal]

Thanks DB !!!
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Lakers need to build a freaking team !

[DrDent]

Thanks DB. While not necessarily the best gauge vs the Griz, was pleased by defense (overall) after first quarter.

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB!

It's coming together. By February, I'll expect a nice 14-16 game win streak.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[wolfpaclaker]

Lakers defensive FG stats after 7 games (the lower the better)

Bron 33.3
AD 36.1
Kieff 36.7
Wes 43.6
THT 45.2
Trez 46.3
Kuz 46.3
Gasol 46.6
Schroder 51.4
KCP 52.9

[wolfpaclaker]

Lakers team offense efficiency rating is 116, 4th in the NBA
Lakers team defensive efficiency rating is 105, 6th in the NBA

Considering the new high usage guys, slow start for AD/Bron after a championship and quick turnaround, and situation, the Lakers have adapted quite well. We have beaten a lot of bad teams though, and this may make our numbers look better than they are. The 5 games we won, against Porzingis less Dallas, KAT less Wolves, LMA less Spurs twice and Ja Morant less Grizzlies. None of those teams are even 20 win teams, without those guys, aside from Dallas, who is likely a fringe playoff team without KP. The numbers against two playoff level teams Clippers/Blazers don't look good.

[SPO200]

Awful game yesterday, it was obvious that they didn't care until the 4th when LeBron decided to end the bulls*it. We should win easy tomorrow.

[danzag]

Thanks, DB!

[governator]

[wolfpaclaker]

[lordtrapula]

[DancingBarry]

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!