LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 2-22-24 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Not Happening Tonight... The Lakers came out of the All Star break down LeBron and Wood for this one. That lack of size would hurt the cause tonight.

Quick pace early with the two stars, Curry and AD, scoring at a high clip in the first quarter. The Lakers trailed 31-28 after one.

In the second quarter, the Lakers edged out an early 4-point lead. With 3 minutes left in the half, the Lakers were down by a point. They started turning the ball over as the Warriors knocked down three straight threes.

Meanwhile, AD’s jumper was missing in action for several possessions, and the Lakers fell back by 67-56 at the half.

Zone by Warriors early. Lakers missing threes. They fell back by 17. As Curry sat with 3 minutes left along with most of the Warrior starters, the Lakers made a run, scoring on several straight possessions, and they cut the lead in half.

They could close the quarter strong, however, as L.A. gave up a late run to the Warriors bench in the final minute and found themselves back down 16 heading into the fourth. The Lakers forced no Warrior turnovers in the third quarter. They were doing a good job of that in the first half.

They had a brief run early in the fourth, but were just getting outsized running so many guards. Wiggins strung together several scores abusing that. The Lakers faded away and sat their rotation players early. The Lakers fell 128-110.


Davis -- -- Good job scoring in the paint and using his size early on. His perimeter shot wasn’t there for him, however, in the first half and that hurt the cause as he missed several open jumpers. In the second half, we found him some in the middle of the zone for scores on floaters. Defensively, he did an excellent job challenging around the rim for several blocks and intimidations. The drop coverage against Curry, however, got what we deserved. You have to help Curry’s defenders more. Any kind of screen and he pops a three. AD picked up two quick fouls in about 4 seconds to close the first quarter, putting him in some early foul trouble. He avoided that being an issue later. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 11-19 shooting (0-2 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 15 boards, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -16.

Russell -- -- He struggled with the jumper early in this one, missing most of his threes. He’d finesse his way to the rim for some buckets but was still inefficient. In the fourth, he knocked down some threes early on, but the Lakers struggled to string together scores and stops. Some good work on the two-man actions with Hayes, but the passing wasn’t as solid as it has been lately. He had back-to-back turnovers to start the second half. He still easily led the team in assists. Needed a bigger game from him. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-15 shooting (3-9 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -12.

Reaves -- -- He tweaked an ankle late in the third, but came back in and played later. That’s the last thing we need. So, hopefully, not a big issue and he can play in the next one. He knocked down a couple threes tonight, including one on iso to beat the shotclock. He also had another nice iso on a mismatch where he crossed over the big and hit the pull-up. The midrange and runners looked good. He worked the two-man game with AD to set him up for some scores and also found Rui for a three. Defensively, he chased Curry around a little as we started Prince on him, then decided against it. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-11 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -18.

Hachimura -- -- Really lost in the shuffle in this one. He was a team-low -28 in his 31 minutes. The Lakers did a poor job early on getting him the ball in spots where he’s been effective and even missing some mismatches. I think they found him for one mismatch and a score against Curry in this one. Curry also got away with a flop on Rui on another drive. His best play on that end might have been a tap out of a missed Laker FT, which led to a three. Defensively, he had some moments challenging shots. He was more disruptive on that end, but we missed Bron’s ability to be in the right place on rotations. We also lost our usual size advantage. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-8 shooting (1-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 31 minutes. He was a -28.

Prince -- -- Really not a fan of playing him out of position. Defensively, we tried some early Curry action. We slid him over to backup PF when Rui sat. Very small. We then brought Hayes in to run with AD for a stretch to try a little size briefly. Offensively, he sank a couple threes. He had some attack off the three lines to get the rim and also a sore in transition. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting (2-7 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 32 minutes. He was a -7.

Dinwiddie -- -- Still trying to find his place and Ham is still trying to figure out what he can and can’t do, so we’ll give him a break. Only Laker who played in the first half that didn’t score. He missed a corner three on his first touch and didn’t shoot again. He’d get a couple scores in the second half. He attacked the paint, pivoted around a man and scored. He attacked in transition for an And-1 layup between a couple defenders. Defensively, he found himself having to guard bigger players who were able to muscle him for scores. Somehow the only Laker to be a positive in the +/-. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 assists, 1 block and 5 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +6.

Christie -- -- He sank a three early in the fourth quarter, then missed his next several including a bad one wide open on the right wing. Early on he came in when we slid Prince to PF. This could allow for some better rebounding at the guard spot to help with the size issue there. They also started switching on Curry with all the guards out there. But the team was still very undersized. Some good moments defensively. I’m curious to see where he’ll be in a few years on that end. Really strong on that end for someone his age. Some good passing tonight The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards (2 offensive), 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and no fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -5.

Hayes -- -- We got him downhill to put pressure on the rim. He hammered a big dunk off some two-man action with Russell on one of those. He also had a putback on the two-man with Russell and he rolled and grabbed the missed Russell jumper on a mismatch under the hoop. We really got outsized out there, tonight, though. Some good work on the offensive boards, though. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 block and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -10.

Mays -- -- With about 6 minutes to go, Ham brought in the bench on the back-to-back situation. He scored a layup on a high gather around a man in transition. He crossed over twice and switched hands in air for a layup on another drive. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting in 6 minutes. He was a -1.

Windler -- -- In for garbage time. Good energy. Nothing to report. The Stats: He had 1 board and 1 assist in 6 minutes. He was a -4.

Hood-Schifino -- -- He ran two pick and rolls with Hayes in a row and the Lakers had two turnovers as a result. They would run it again, this time he’d keep it and airball the midrange pull-up. He also didn’t hit rim on a three. Killing me. Finally, he sank a step-back three from the wing. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a -1.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Late in the third, the Lakers had cut the Warriors lead in half. In the final minute, they let the Warriors get loose again and lost all momentum heading into the fourth. Twice in this game, they gave up buckets at the end of the quarter, including this key stretch.

Key Substitution: Lakers lineup of Hayes, Rui, Dinwiddie, Christie, Russell getting outsized early in the fourth. They were missing Bron in this stretch. Wiggins found himself against smaller men and the Lakers gave up some easy ones when they needed to be stringing together stops. He even out-muscled Hayes on a drive for a layup.

Key Stats: The Lakers shot 10-35 from three (28.6%), Warriors made 16-41 from three (39%). They lost the offensive boards 15-10. L.A. was forcing turnovers early, but the Warriors cleaned that up finishing with just 9 individual turnovers for the night.

[miggz23]

Thanks DB...

Couple guys I was worried about going in to ASB break was DLO and Rui... Both guys were playing in a high level before the break. I thought the long week layoff will affect them the most.

It kind of showed tonight.

[slavavov]

The Lakers pretty much guaranteed a loss when they decided to sit LeBron out for this game. I'm not saying they shouldn't have sat out LeBron, but we were up against it without him.
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[eddiejonze]

So glad Lebron chose the all star game over beating a division rival...God forbid you set aside the brand, for the good of the team.
Kobe would have played.
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[A Mad Chinaman]

DB, thanks for your work!!!

With Prince mismatched when playing against the Dubs’ starting lineup (especially on D), Rui not ready to take this opportunity to shine and Hayes not playing enough (since Rui was not up to the challenge) - not a big surprise that they lost

With Vanderbilt, Vincent, Reddish and CWood not available - lacking in length, energy and defensive intensity.

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB! Last two games against GS are home games. Need that tiebreaker.

[venturalakersfan]

Good game by AD last night
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[bryants2hot2handle]

LeDuck strikes again! At least he played in the ASG - a game that has 0 competitiveness