KINGS -at- LAKERS – 3-24-19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Meaningless vs. Meaningful… You play the vets to get a W and it might seem of meaningless. Play the youngsters and take an L, well, at least they are getting experience…and your draft pick improves.

Luke has played his vets big minutes during this home stretch and they pulled off a W tonight against the Kings. Hopefully, that changes up on the road and we see the young guys get more minutes to develop. Really, though, W’s from your vets are a bit meaningless at this point in the big picture.

Behind a LeBron triple-double, a strong scoring game from Kuzma and another excellent outing from JaVale McGee, the Lakers took the win, 111-106, over the Kings.

“We’re on them all the time of playing to a certain standard,” Luke said.


LeBron – -- His 81st triple-double of his career. He had 9 points, 6 boards and 3 assists in the first half. He was in on a couple Lakers shotlcock violations in the final two minutes. We sure know had to suck the air out of the ball at times. Tonight, he at least made his FTs in the fourth. Some nice passes in transition, including a no-looker like Magic in the paint and another long bounce pass to Caruso for the score. We’re out of it, but he’s putting ups some strong numbers. He said his knee was a little swollen. We should sit him. The Stats: He scored 29 points on 9-22 shooting (3-6 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He was stripped under the hoop for a layup. Cross-court feed to KCP for a three. He attacked down the middle of the paint and hammered. He attacked and missed. He attacked, held the ball up high and scored the And-1 layup on his way down, he missed the FT. He sank an 18-footer in transition. He missed a fade at the FT line. His bounce pass was picked off but he stole it back in transition. He sank a deep three. He hit Lance filling the lane for the throwdown. He pushed out the break and dumped it off Magic-style to McGee for the dunk. He attacked and missed a one-handed layup he should have finished. He posted up and was blocked, got it back and airballed, wanting the foul. He missed a turnaround against the shotclock. He posted up and missed but Chandler cleaned it up. Second Half: He sank a wing three. He quickly fired up court to Kuzma for the And-1 layup. He sank a flat-footed three at the top of the arc. He missed a wing three. He found Kuzma in transition for a couple of scores. He blocked Fox in the corner to ignite the break. Superb pocket pass to McGee for the dunk. He dunked off the extra pass from KCP. No-looker to Kuzma on the break for a dunk. He missed a step-back three on a mismatch. He missed a step-back 18-footer. He probed and missed a runner on a two-for-one. He forced a man into an airball. He posted up and threw a bounce pass away. He attacked, spun, up-faked and scored a layup. He scored a layup off the two-man game with Rondo. He threw a pass out of bounds. He missed a wing three on iso. Bagdonovic iso’d on him and scored a layup. Perfect bounce pass between defenders in transition to a streaking Caruso for a reverse. Change of directions to get into the middle of the paint and he was fouled on the dunk attempt, he made both FTs. He lost the ball and it led to a shotclock violation with 2 minutes left. Shotclock violation with 1:17 left as he missed a corner turnaround. He was fouled with 37 seconds left up 3 on the offensive glass, he made both FTs. He was fouled with 16 seconds left up 2, he made both clutch ones. A couple more FTs with 16 seconds left, he made both again.

Kuzma -- -- He had the three ball going for him. Last year, once he got warmed up in the season, the three was a huge weapon. It’s been largely MIA this season, which has really put a damper on this game (especially since he’s shown some defensive improvements on the other end). He sank five tonight on a robust 14 attempts. Good job chanStrong third quarter that helped the Lakers extend to their biggest leads of the game. He was quiet in the fourth. The Stats: He scored 29 points on 10-22 shooting (5-14 from three, 4-5 form the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He couldn’t finish a monster dunk to start the game. He missed a corner three. He lost the ball on a drive. Great extra pass to McGee for the And-1 dunk. He scored a layup trailing the break. He missed a three in early offense. He missed a wing three. He passed up an open three and threw pass away expecting Chandler to move his body. He sank a pull-up three straight away. He missed a sideline three. He missed a corner three. He attacked off the three line and hammered. He missed a wing three in early offense. Second Half: He scored an And-1 layup and made the FT after changing ends with speed after a made basked. His long outlet was picked off. He was hit as he elevated at high speed for FTs, he made both. Changing ends with speed again and LeBron found him for a layup. He drained a wing three. He drained another wing three in transition. He scored a layup off the no-look bounce pass from LeBron. He missed a wing three. Great hustle back to force a miss on a breakaway layup with a strong challenge. He went between his legs and sank the corner three. He sank a quick-fire wing three. He missed a deep three. He iso’d and bricked a bad attempt from 15 feet. He missed a layup off the UCLA cut. He didn’t hit rim on a deep three with 39 seconds left. He was fouled with 6 seconds left up 4, he made one FT.

Rondo -- -- He sank one three as his only score of the game, but did have 9 assists. Some foul trouble but he avoided fouling out as Luke ran him for big minutes with 37. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 5 boards, 9 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He was on his way to a layup and was stripped. Weak outlet and it was picked off. He found Kuzma trailing for a layup. He found KCP for a three in transition. He hit Lance cutting off his drive for a score. He was stripped on a drive, dunk the other way. He sank a wing three when the D sagged off. Good challenge on a shooter to force an airball from three. He missed an open three. He missed an open corner three. He lost the ball but found Caruso cutting for a layup. Second Half: Weird pass to Chandler on the perimeter in transition, who gave him a worse pass in return, turnover. Pocket pass to LeBron for a layup. He attacked and missed a layup. His kickout pass hit the baseline, turnover.

McGee -- -- A strong 17 and 14 with 5 blocks from McGee again. He 8 points on 4-4 shooting and 6 boards in the half, playing consistently strong effort throughout. Maybe he’s feeling better, maybe he’s thinking about his next contract. Whatever the case, the effort has certainly been much better. Did feel like he was pouting earlier in the season when Zu took his spot. Luke quickly credited McGee for the Lakers playing better defensively. The Stats: He scored The Action: He rejected a drive and controlled it. He tipped a missed drive from LBJ. He powered in an And-1 dunk off the extra feed from McGee, he missed the FT. He dunked off the no-looker from Lance. He dunked off the drive and dump-off from LeBron. Second Half: Good job changing ends and KCP lobbed to him on the break for the dunk. He blocked his man in the post and controlled it. Lazy inbounds to give up a score. He dunked off the great pocket pass from LeBron. He swatted a layup and it led to a break. He scored an And-1 layup off the two-man sequence, he made the FT. He sank a tough running hook trailing the break. He had the ball swiped in the backcourt. Fouled on the offensive glass to regain possession. He swiped an interior feed. He easily blocked his man at the rim, control block, too.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He slid back into the starting lineup and scored 16 on 15 attempts. He sank some threes, but also did a good job making some extra passes in this game. That’s something he’s needed to improve upon, for sure. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-15 shooting (4-12 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 4 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He swished a wing three on a kickout. Not close on a wing three. He missed a three in transition. He missed a jumper at the top of the arc. He swished a three in early offense. He set up Chandler for FTs on the two-man game. He couldn’t hit rim on a three. He missed a corner three. He drew a charge on Fox. Wide open for a wing three and he was wide right on the miss. He drew FTs and made both. Second Half: He lobbed to McGee on the break for the dunk. He fumbled away a layup, pulled it out and swished the three instead. Short on a pull-up at the top of the key. He lost the ball on a cut. The D left him so he sank the wing three. Extra pass to Kuzma for a three. Extra pass to LeBron under the hoop for a dunk. Ridiculous advance pass about 10 feet over the head of a Laker, turnover. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He curled into the paint, showed the ball and went high off the glass over the help for the layup. He missed a pull-up three in early offense.

Chandler -- -- Vets getting run. He had a nice putback jam off a LeBron miss. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He didn’t cut and Kuzma threw a pass way expecting a roll. He was called for three seconds. He drew FTs on the two-man game with KCP, he made one. Easy putback jam after LeBron missed in the post. He blocked a drive. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Stephenson -- -- We haven’t seen him for a while but with Bullock and Hart out, we dusted him off and threw him out there. He played under control and had a nice throwdown as he filled the lane on the break. Also, a nice behind-the-back feed that was on the mark. Overall, quality minutes. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnover and no fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He missed a leaner at the FT line. He threw a pass away. No-looker to McGee on the break for the dunk. He filled the lane and hammered. He cut off Rondo’s drive, took the pass and hit the short one. He broke his man down and scored the layup. He attacked a big with speed and drew FTs, he made both. Second Half: His lob pass in a crowd was picked off.

Caruso – -- Quiet minutes from him other than a nice reverse on the break off a great bounce pass from LeBron. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting (0-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He airballed a corner three. He missed a three from the same spot. Bad pass that LeBron couldn’t handle, turnover. Nice cut as Rondo fumbled the ball and Rondo found him for the layup. Second Half: He missed a three at the buzzer. He attacked and missed the layup, looking for a foul call. Aggressive attack off the catch from the top of the arc and he drew FTs, he made both. Wow, great reverse layup finish off the long bounce pass from LeBron on the break.

Wagner -- -- Limited action and limited notes. He missed a deep three. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 1 board, 2 fouls in 5 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He bricked a three. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Machado -- -- Rondo picked up his fifth foul in the third quarter and Scott came in to takeover for a few seconds. That was it. The Stats: He didn’t have any stats in 2 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Walton -- -- McGee out for Chandler midway through the quarter, Lakers up 1… Moe in for Kuzma, score tied with 4 minutes left… Stephenson for LeBron… The Lakers led 22-20 after the first quarter… He started a McGee, Kuzma, LeBron, Stephenson, Caruso… Moe in for McGee… Rondo and KCP in for Caruso and Moe, Lakers going small, lead just 3… Chandler in for Lance, Lakers down 1 after going small… Lakers up 1 with 4:25 when Lance came in for LeBron… Down 3, Kuzma out for Caruso… The Lakers trailed 49-48 at the half… The Lakers opened the third with an 8-0 run and forced a timeout, up 7… They extended to a 13-point lead… Luke called timeout with the lead trimmed to 8 after a lucky bounce. Kind of unnecessary timeout… The Lakers hit some threes in early offense (Kuzma with a couple) and they extended to a 15-point lead to force a timeout… Timeout with the lead trimmed to 13, again seemingly unneeded… Caruso in for KCP. Kuzma hitting threes and extending the Laker lead… LeBron in for Kuzma, Machado for Rondo… The Lakers led 87-77 heading into the fourth… McGee, LeBron, Stephenson, KCP, Caruso lineup… The lead was extended by a couple of baskets before it was trimmed to 9 and Luke called a timeout… Rondo in for Caruso… The lead was trimmed to 4… Up 2, he called a timeout with 6 minutes left… LeBron out. Tank on… Up 2, LeBron back in with 4:50 left for Stephenson in. Tank off… Kings 5 second violation with 16 seconds left when they were down 3. Ouch… “Because of the way the guys were flying around and still competing we were able to win the game,” Luke said…

[Chronicle]

thanks didn't know we even had a game
_________________
Kobe

[A Mad Chinaman]

I was surprised that there was a Laker game

Hopefully Luke is trying to let the younger players know what it takes to win, especially during crunch time by watching the vets to see good habits

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB

[oldlakerfan]

Thanks DB

Nice to see Kuz stroking it again.

[forzaCOREA]

[TDRock]

[Rek]

McGee playing for that next contract and Luke making sure he gets the minutes to showcase himself. Meanwhile, Wagner gets 5 minutes of burn.

On the bright side, didn't have to watch Muscala out there.

[Wino]

[DancingBarry]