RAPTORS -at- LAKERS - 5/2 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2021 9:32 pm    Post subject: RAPTORS -at- LAKERS - 5/2 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Dropping Like A Rock... The Lakers headed into the locker room at halftime trailing 72-59 after giving up a 23-6 run. They were lit up in the last 6 minutes of the second quarter. Siakam and Lowry combined for 22 and 19, respectively, in the half.

Vogel called a timeout a minute and half into the third quarter when the Lakers quickly fell back by 18. The point of attack defense, breaking down too easily, and the rotations in team defense sequences were consistently late to react. Give NBA players that much room and they will make shots.

They trailed by 15 heading into the fourth, cut it to 12 and quickly drew a timeout from the Raptors. They’d edge it down slightly, but once Toronto brought back in their stars, they went to work against the soft Laker D again. Lowry and Siakam were just way too comfortable all night, and once Lowry gets going, he’s lit the Lakers up quite a bit over the course of his career.

The Lakers cut it to 6 very late in the game, but they were never really threatening. They fell 121-114 and have dropped 6 of their last 7.

“This is the lowest we’ve been in a while,” AD said afterward.


LeBron -- -- The last two games since returning, I’ve paid quite a bit of attention to how often he’s getting to the rim. Not a lot of attacking from him, particularly when AD/AD2 are in, but even in general, it’s been a bit muted. Hard to say to what extent the ankle is not right yet. He left the game in the fourth with a sore right ankle. Even defensively, at times, he was a bit slow to react to rotations. So he’s clearly not quite ready. Vogel said afterward that it was tough to lose Schröder who they want to lean on more right now to lighten LeBron’s usage, so keep that in mind. He said after the half, it’s gotten sore on him. A few plays in the post tonight. Low post is deadly, but his high post work was pretty effective as well. And anytime someone sent help, he’d pick it apart with the pass from the high post. My favorite score from him tonight was something we rarely see. AD had the ball and was attacking with LeBron as the screen setter and he hit LeBron for the layup. Love to see more of that, particularly with this starting unti. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 6-11 shooting (2=5 from three, 5-7 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 6 assists, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -4.

Davis -- -- Some really poor defense at times in this one. Siakam took it to him early in the game (17 points in the first quarter). To open the third, LeBron and Vogel both looked frustrated with AD being late to react to Siakam taking a three (to be fair, AD was wondering what Drummond was doing guarding no one in the paint and not coming out to help on two men). Offensively, really not imposing himself tonight. There were some double teams in the post that prevented some scoring. They came strong side and he was able to make some good reads there to AC for some points. But he didn’t look like an All Star on either end. The other thing that is noticeable in the last couple games is we haven’t imposed our size on opponents on offense. AD isn’t making his way to the rim. Final play of this game, he did pull down an offensive board, but was blocked on the puback by Siakam. He just lost that matchup badly tonight. We lost the offensive board battle 13-7. Where is our size, AD? Shooting-wise, he said he still doesn’t have his legs. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-16 shooting (0-3 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 7 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a -11.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- At some point, it didn’t matter who was covering Lowry, he was on fire. He hit an And-1 three on KCP and a deep one. But he got hot early on our soft D by AC and the team in general. KCP was in on it, too, at times with guys just dribbling right around him. Offensively, he hit a couple threes in the first half and scored on a baseline drive. All of that took place in the first half. He’d a couple FTs. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-6 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -8.

Drummond -- -- He was at least doing his part in imposing his size. We need AD to join in. We looked to get him the ball early as we ran him off screens to get that low position for a score. Statistically, his post scoring is not an efficient weapon. (It’s actually our worst of our options of post players among AD, LeBron and Trezz.) Tonight, it was solid. Some of that might be the set plays we’re working on. Some good passing sequence on the interior to set him up for easy ones (as well as another dunk that started opposite side with AD in the post and the ball moved around the perimeter until finding him). Defensively, again we’re not playing well as a team. He was certainly late to rotations tonight, but several players were. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-14 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +3.

Caruso -- -- Yet another new starting lineup for this team this season. We have had very little consistency with that. We slid him into the starting lineup in place of Schröder who was out. Quickly into the second half, we sat him for THT. Scoring wise, some good cuts by him off AD in the post and holding up under the hoop to get a pass when his man doubled. Some good passing at times, but he had an inbounds on an ATO that was stolen that just sucks the wind out of a team. We had two turnovers on ATOs tonight. That’s got to a kill a coach. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-4 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -6.

Harrell -- -- He had a couple blocks early on, but his lack of size was apparent at times when we couldn’t control the boards. We just are not playing big at all right now. Just 9-3 from Trezz. He’s got to have more than 3 boards. He should be getting that on the offensive end alone by outhustling/muscling guys. In the first half when Drummond picked up his third foul, we went right back to Trezz instead of calling on Gasol to take over Drummond’s rotation. Gasol with the DNP - Coach’s decision again when he’s got some of the best defensive numbers at the C spot for this team. “We got a good process to evaluate and grow and make adjustments,” Vogel said. The Stats: he scored 9 points on 3-3 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +5.

Kuzma -- -- Best player on the floor for the Lakers in the first quarter with 11 points, making 3-4 from three and blocking a couple of shots from behind. After one of those blocks, he also had a reverse dunk over a defender as he attacked from the corner. Great start to this game. And a pretty decent finish, as well, where he was able to chip away at the lead. He’d lead the team off the bench in scoring, mostly playing that 2-3 spots. Defensively, he had some of the better rotations, as well, in those team scenarios. But everyone else was slow. We needed more guys flying around. “I just don’t think were’ connected right now,” Kuzma said. Six threes and leading the team in scoring. Good work. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 8-16 shooting (6-11 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 36 minutes. He was a -8.

Horton-Tucker -- -- Hard to find any silver linings in these losses, but it was good watching THT stay aggressive and get to the rim for multiple scores. Judging from Vogel’s point about needing Dennis to take the load of LeBron and missing that, I think they told him to be aggressive on the dribble. That’s when he’s at his best. We brought him in early in that second half to do some of that. He was getting to the rim and drawing FTs. A solid 14-7 off the bench. He missed his only three. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-7 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 7 assists, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -1.

Morris -- -- Well, he didn’t miss a three tonight. Didn’t take a shot. Outside of rejecting a drive, no action from him tonight. The Stats: He didn’t shoot or score and had 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 9 minutes. He was a +3.

McLemore -- -- He missed both threes he took in the first half. Defensively, he gave up an And-1 ballwatching. Not good minutes. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 1 foul in 9 minutes. He was a -7.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: The defense was poor from the start. The last 6 minutes of the first half, they just got picked apart with no fight in them.

Key Substitution: Let’s just go with LeBron not coming back in the game for a final shift. Not a good sign as far as his health. “I don’t want to say I came back too early,” LeBron said afterward, but mentioned he wanted to test it and see where he’s at. Obviously, you wonder if he’s playing tomorrow. What about Dennis? The team is staring at another loss without those two going strong.

Key Stats: The Lakers had a 12-point lead in the first half. Once that was gone, they didn’t look like they had any fight in them. The defense was just non-existent. AD mentioned the D and the lack of winning those hustle moments. The 13-7 advantage on the offensive glass for the Raptors in this game just irks me. We have size. We don’t have fight. That’s one of those hustle ones, too. AD got his one offensive boards in the final few seconds, too. “Still trying to get that game wind back,” AD said. Certainly, that could be impacting things. We’ve got to start by winning those boards, winning those loose balls and playing with a sense of desperation. Good things will follow if they can.
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Koalita
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PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2021 9:46 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB, this was tough to watch :'(
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JerryWest_44
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PostPosted: Sun May 02, 2021 10:07 pm    Post subject:

Lebron at 50% and AC as your starting back court = loss
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PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2021 12:04 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

One of the things that did not help - Vog insisting, regardless of results, to use that Trez/Kieff front court.

Lakers were up 27-19 in the first quarter with 3:19 to play when, again, Vog went to Trez/Kieff to replace ADx2.

Essentially, the Lakers D was on pace to keeping the Raptors to 2.1 points per minute, or 25 points, in that quarter.

When those 2 came in? That doubled. It went to 4.3 points per minute, eg 52 over a 12 minute span. Raps would score 13 in that 3 minute time span to end the first.

Runs happen in the NBA, quick hitting ones in a short span, but I do not believe it is a coinky-dink this occurred when those two came in.

The second quarter the Raps would then put up a 40 burger. Of course that run was also allowed by the Laker starters as much as the second unit, but I wonder if that second unit's abysmal defense just allows a team to get hot and keep rolling.

The refusal to use Gasol is mind-boggling, as is the fact reporters seem to dance around asking Frank "look dude, why dont you play him?"

The other thing that was frustrating was the total lack of defensive effort for more than occasional spurts. This team is in its worst defensive slump ever under Vogel. Little effort, tardiness, apparent laziness, and almost no intensity. I saw some of that old Laker smart/toughness on D in the fourth, e.g. Kuz cutting off pass angles to cutters diving to the basket, etc. But it was the exception, not the rule.

This recent play is extremely disconcerting. I note Jeannie Buss posted the reference to the "I dont care" song at halftime, and Worthy bashed the team for playing "like zombies." They are running out of time to get any alleged cob-webs off, and things are not looking good at the moment.

Just a very dissappointing game. If the team comes off like they dont care - why should we?
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PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2021 1:17 am    Post subject:

Is Vogal close to doing a "Pop Substitution" - if the team doesn't have the energy, just bring 5 new players in at one time.

With our 3 starting bigs (LBJ, AD, AD2) not up to speed (lol) on how to play together, opposing teams are doing what they do to bad teams - survive their opening energy because they know that they will badly fade away as the game goes on
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PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2021 1:54 am    Post subject:

You know I am sure there is a lot of negativity right now, but I saw some positive things in our start. I feel we played really well until we went to the RS rotation.

The RS rotation is where Bron and AD both sit, and we run those Trez-Morris-THT lineups. Without Dennis, we really have no one in that 2nd unit there to get any kind of control of the game. This is where we miss Rondo so much this season, IMO. Anyway, point is, we have to stop running those lineups in the playoffs (or play in LOL!!!).

That Trez-THT-Morris lineup without AD-Bron, that was when Toronto took control of the game, and we never really got it back.

I think we have to start to think about AD full time as a backup 5 in those moments, and just run Drummond-AD at the 5. Unfortunately it means Trez gets a DNP, but coach needs to make that decision at some point.

The other thing, with all these guys coming back and new faces, it is like our preseason. We have to get Bron and AD back to speed. We have to get Drummond involved. It is going to be some time before these guys can get that flow. I still think AD is operating at far less than 100%. Same with Bron. But the way we began the game, that was a real positive. We saw a lot of cutting and movement around AD and Drummond on post catches. This is going to work in the playoffs.

As I have said the entire last month. Time just may be running out on us. We just may not have time this year to get things together. We seem like in preseason situation. Only, we may be having to do a play in. And a plan in, thats a crap shoot. Any player can get hot in one game and get the W for his team. So we need to try and avoid that, if we can.

No matter what happens, I will not turn on the guys that won the title last year. Vogel, Bron, AD, KCP, Caruso etc. Still appreciate them. This has been an immensely difficult situation and season for us with the scheduling (quick turnaround) injuries and then Rob went out and made so many massive changes. So we needed some time to gel, and we just never got it. You can not win them all and stay healthy every year. If it is to be a crap season, so be it. Still love for these guys who won a title for us and brough LAL back to respectability. But, I feel we just need a little run of 3-5 good games. If we get that little run of good games before the playoffs. Watch out. Will not happen until Bron-AD are 100% and Frank makes the decision to go AD at the backup 5 full time. So lets see how this plays out.
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PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2021 4:56 am    Post subject:

Are we desperate yet?

I know we've been dealing with all kind of (bleep) this year, but I really can't understand some of Vogel's decisions of late. Those lineups are clearly not working, specially when the starters sit for the first time.

Wes Matthews should play over McLemore and Gasol should definitely play over Keef or Trezz depending on the matchup. THT ain't ready yet for that kind of burden.
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PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2021 5:39 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Another gut punch of a loss considering the schedule we're about to face. If you're not concerned about this team, you're delusional.
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PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2021 8:51 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
You know I am sure there is a lot of negativity right now, but I saw some positive things in our start. I feel we played really well until we went to the RS rotation.

The RS rotation is where Bron and AD both sit, and we run those Trez-Morris-THT lineups. Without Dennis, we really have no one in that 2nd unit there to get any kind of control of the game. This is where we miss Rondo so much this season, IMO. Anyway, point is, we have to stop running those lineups in the playoffs (or play in LOL!!!).

That Trez-THT-Morris lineup without AD-Bron, that was when Toronto took control of the game, and we never really got it back.

I think we have to start to think about AD full time as a backup 5 in those moments, and just run Drummond-AD at the 5. Unfortunately it means Trez gets a DNP, but coach needs to make that decision at some point.

The other thing, with all these guys coming back and new faces, it is like our preseason. We have to get Bron and AD back to speed. We have to get Drummond involved. It is going to be some time before these guys can get that flow. I still think AD is operating at far less than 100%. Same with Bron. But the way we began the game, that was a real positive. We saw a lot of cutting and movement around AD and Drummond on post catches. This is going to work in the playoffs.

As I have said the entire last month. Time just may be running out on us. We just may not have time this year to get things together. We seem like in preseason situation. Only, we may be having to do a play in. And a plan in, thats a crap shoot. Any player can get hot in one game and get the W for his team. So we need to try and avoid that, if we can.

No matter what happens, I will not turn on the guys that won the title last year. Vogel, Bron, AD, KCP, Caruso etc. Still appreciate them. This has been an immensely difficult situation and season for us with the scheduling (quick turnaround) injuries and then Rob went out and made so many massive changes. So we needed some time to gel, and we just never got it. You can not win them all and stay healthy every year. If it is to be a crap season, so be it. Still love for these guys who won a title for us and brough LAL back to respectability. But, I feel we just need a little run of 3-5 good games. If we get that little run of good games before the playoffs. Watch out. Will not happen until Bron-AD are 100% and Frank makes the decision to go AD at the backup 5 full time. So lets see how this plays out.
Agree

If we are in agreement that these games are unfortunately like preseason games, Vogel is giving players like Morris, McLemore and TNT some play to see what they can do.

Bron and LBJ are seemingly not even close to 100% hence trying to play to the best of their current abilities while integrating Drummond

Top Concern is the Defense that is dependent on energy and playing the defensive schemes that has usually been the trigger to their offense. With their defensive ratings plummeting in a very short time, figuring out what combinations will work is the top priority.

This team is still a very deep and talented team. It will be intereting how Vogel will get this roster ready
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deal
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PostPosted: Mon May 03, 2021 3:53 pm    Post subject:

Lakers did not look like a cohesive team at all; just some odds
and ends going at it. We'll see if "coaching" can turn this around.


Thanks DB.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:18 pm    Post subject: Kravitz's comment has received more than 1,360

Kravitz's comment has received more than 1,360 likes while her Instagram post overall has received more than 396,840 likes as of Sunday evening.

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