LAKERS -at- THUNDER – 4-2-19 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 8:31 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- THUNDER – 4-2-19 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

20-21-20… A little history made tonight as Russell Westbrook hit the extremely rare 20-20-20 triple-double against the Lakers tonight. Wilt last did that half a century ago in 1968.

Only the second one of those ever recorded.

As for the Lakers, they stayed close for most of the game. The lead was just 5 points midway through the fourth. They just didn’t have enough fire power to wrestle control of the game from there and fell 119-103 to the Thunder.

Only a few more games.


Rondo -- -- The Lakers hung in this game for a while. Not easy to do with essentially bench players starting. But the ball was moving for the Lakers and wasn’t just running through Rondo. He led the Lakers with assists but had a few too many turnovers (and ended up with the team worst -25). Turnovers tonight usually meant a dunk the other way. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-11 shooting (0-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 9 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -25. The Action: Off the mark on a lob pass, turnover. His kickout was picked off. Flat telegraphed pass, turnover, dunk the other way. He hit Lance for a three in transition. He missed an open three. He missed a layup at high speed. Bounce pass to KCP for a score. Bad outlet and it led to a Thunder three (possible 5-point switch there). He attacked left, took contact and banked in the And-1, he made the FT. He attacked, stumbled after taking contact and was tied up. He airballed a heave from three trying to beat the shotclock. Second Half: He fed Kenny slipping a screen for a layup. He missed a three. He missed a corner three on iso against a big. He swiped a ball back at midcourt and dunked. He attacked, shed a defender and flipped in a layup. He missed a wing three. He missed a reverse.

McGee -- -- The Lakers got burned quite a bit by the Thunder changing ends with speed. I thought Adams did a good job taking advantage of us tonight in that regard. Not a clean game with a few too many turnovers from someone with low usage. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-10 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -24. The Action: His hook shot was blocked. He missed a 70-footer at the buzzer. He deflected a pass to help get a stop. And-1 layup off the screen-roll with Caruso, taking a shot to the groin in the process, he missed the FT. He cleaned up the Bullock dribble penetration miss. He dunked off the drive and dish from Lance. He finished a tough lob that was a bit behind him. He tried to iso and was stripped. Poor seal and he was called for a foul. Second Half: Good job keeping the ball up high on the roll and he finished the layup. He couldn’t finish in the post and wanted a foul. He kicked to Lance for the three. He was blocked on a drive. Illegal screen, turnover. He fumbled a pass away, turnover. He missed a jumphook.

Wagner -- -- He had 8 points on 3-5 shooting before picking up his third foul in the first half. I enjoyed seeing him battle and trying to box out Adams. That’s a tough challenge for him, but he put up a good fight before finally getting a bit foul prone. Three ball was looking good as he sank a couple and his two misses nearly went in, as well. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-9 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -16. The Action: He swished a wing three on a kickout for the Lakers first score. Bad angle on a close out to give up an easy score. He couldn’t finish a drive. He got tapped on a three. He blew past Adams for a layup. He jab stepped next time down and then swished the three. He drew a loose ball foul on a good box out of Adams. His interior feed was deflected for a score the other way (should have bounced it). He drew a double team in a post and found Muscala for three. Second Half: Quick layup as he cut weak to strong to take a pass. He missed a three. He couldn’t finish a lefty layup. He was blocked easily on a roll to the hoop.

Caldwell-Pope -- Big minutes for Kenny tonight. He had 12 points on 5-8 shooting in the first and helped the Lakers to regain the lead at one point with a couple of threes. He’d finish with the team-high 23 points, making five threes. It’s a little annoying to see him light it up now when the games are meaningless. He was garbage to start the season. Just awful. Some good passing in this game, as well. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 9-16 shooting (5-10 from three) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnover and 3 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He swished a wing jumper (could have hit Moe for a dunk). Unforced turnover, dunk the other way. Kickout to Muscala for three. He swished an elbow pull-up jumper. He grabbed a tough bounce pass from Rondo and somehow reversed. He bounced to Caruso on the break for a layup. He missed a three. His man went for a steal, came up empty and Kenny hit the three. Kenny knocked down another one in his man’s face next time down to take a lead. He missed a corner jumper. He missed a three at the end of the half. Second Half: He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He missed a wing three. He hit McGee rolling for a three. Slip screen and he scored a layup. He swished a catch-and-shoot three in early offense. He iso’d and bricked a three. Bounce pass to Caruso backdooring his man for a layup. He sank a wing three in early offense. He missed next time down off the dribble. He knocked a ball loose on D on the other end, then hit a wide open wing three. He telegraphed a kickout, turnover. He fumbled a drive away, turnover.

Stephenson -- -- Foul-prone (three quickly in the third) to sit with five fouls barely into the second half. That limited his minutes in the second half. He drained 3-5 from three prior to that and was competing hard. He had a very nice play getting around George, drawing the help and feeding McGee for a dunk. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting (3-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnover and 5 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He missed a turnaround on iso. He sank a wing three on the break. He fumbled away a pass under the hoop he should have had. He iso’d, spun around PG13, drew the help and fed McGee for the uncontested dunk. He was called for a charge, clearing a man out on a drive. Second Half: He swished a corner three on a kickout. He missed a three off a crossover. He missed a sideline three. He sank a step-back wing three.

Bullock -- -- The shot is looking better, and he knocked down three threes tonight. Although, to be fair, he did bank in one of those threes. Still, he seems to be getting his confidence back. “It’s all about just seeing them go in for me,” he said. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-10 shooting (3-7 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 30 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He swished a wing three behind a screen. He missed a wing three. He swiped a bad pass and missed a three trailing that break. He swished a sideline three. He attacked from the corner and missed but McGee dunked it in. Second Half: He banked in a wing three. He missed a deep three from the other wing next time down. He coughed up the ball for a dunk the other way. He banked in a pull-up wing jumper (that one was intentional). He missed a wing three next time down. He hit a pull-up jumper.

Caruso -- -- “We didn’t do a good enough job limiting him,” Caruso said of Westbrook’s big game. I think Westbrook may have had 10 assists before Caruso even checked into this one. Caruso quietly worked his way to a 15-7 game tonight. He sank his only attempt from three, a step-back from the wing over Adams. He also had a jam down the lane, as well. A few too many turnovers (one of those was on a teammate, but the rest were a bit sloppy). Thunder did a good job getting into the passing lanes and stripping Lakers on drives, as well. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting (1-1 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He scooped up a loose ball and hit a floater. He had McGee open and over threw the lob (could have thrown any pass). He deflected a pass on the other end to get it back. Quick burst of speed in transition and KCP found him for a layup. He got knocked down on a jumper with no call. His pass was deflected back to him, he attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He bounced to McGee rolling for an And-1 layup. He attacked and lost the ball getting caught in the air. Blocked out of bounds on a drive. He was fouled trailing the break, he made one FT. He got backdoored for a score. Second Half: He drew a clear-out foul on Westbook. He missed a wing jumper. He was picked from behind for a score the other way. He flipped in a lefty layup over his head working off ball to take a pass. He attacked the paint and drew FTs, he made one. He lost the ball on a cross-over, turnover. He blew past his man and hammered. His jumper was blocked. His outlet was deflected. He sank a step-back wing three.

Williams -- -- He came in to start the fourth down 16. The Lakers went with their shooting bigs for most of the game. He helped them trim the lead down with his usual effort on both ends. Really nice D on Westbrook on one stand to force a turnover. He ended up leading the team in +/-. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He gathered a loose ball off the screen-roll and dunked. Great D on Westbrook on iso, eventually forcing him to throw the ball in the backcourt. He scored a layup around the D trailing the break. He grabbed a blocked shot and scored a layup. He missed a hook on iso.

Muscala -- -- Man, it seems like anytime he touches the ball, it’s going up. He did sink a couple of threes tonight on his way to 10 points. Reasonable game from him tonight. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-7 shooting (2-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He sank a wing three off the kickout. He missed another three, but hustled back in transition to disrupt a play. Quick-fire airball from three on his next touch. He missed a wing three out of a timeout (we definitely drew that up for him). He missed a wide open three. He sank an open wing three off a kickout. He was fouled rolling to the hoop (probably should have finished the layup), he made both FTs. Second Half: He sank a face-up, flat-footed jumper over Felton.

Bonga -- -- He’ll get in the highlight reel for missing that shot that gave Westbrook his 20-20-20. Only a minute of action tonight. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting in 1 minute. He was a +0. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a short jumper that led to Russell’s 20-20-20.

Jones -- -- He badly missed a wing three in his one minute of action. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three in 1 minute. He was a +0. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He bricked a three.

Walton -- -- Is it too late for the tank? Lakers are battling in that 10/11 spot. I imagine we aren’t keeping this pick, but we’ll see. I wasn’t expecting having a quality asset in this draft, but we do… Quick timeout after giving up a dunk on an inbounds. Lakers down 3 after 2 minutes… Sloppy turnovers led to easy scores the other way. The Lakers trailed 19-8 when the timeout came at the 7:22 mark… Muscala in for McGee out of that… An 8-0 Laker run… Bullock in for Lance… Lakers trailed 21-19 to force a Thunder timeout… Transition D problems all quarter… Caruso in with 1:29 left, down 7, for Rondo. McGee and Stephenson in for Wagner and Muscala… The Lakers trailed 34-28 after the first… McGee, Stephenson, Bullock, KCP, Caruso lineup to start the second… Rondo and Moe in for Bullock and KCP… KCP in for Lance, down 2… Transition D better this quarter… Luke got up off the bench (after Rondo missed Wagner rolling and instead gave it to him late in the post) and called a timeout mid-play… Muscala in for McGee out of that… Lakers took a 2-point lead on a 7-0 run… Up 1 when McGee came back in for Moe who picked up his third… Down 2 Bullock in for McGee… The Lakers trailed 59-55 at the half. Thunder had 36 points in the paint to the Lakers 16. Lakers made 9-20 from three… Lakers forced a timeout after a series of layups to open the quarter. They still trailed by 4… Lance out with 5 fouls, Lakers down 9 with 7:34 left. McGee out. Bullock and Muscala in… They fell back by 12 midway through the quarter and Luke called a timeout… Caruso in for Rondo, Lakers down 11… The Lakers trailed 94-78 heading into the fourth… Williams, Lance, Bullock, KCP, Caruso lineup… They cut it to 7 to force a timeout… Thunder starters all in as the Lakers cut it to 5… Down 7 Rondo in. McGee in shortly later to go with KCP, Caruso and Bullock…. An 8-0 Thunder run buried the Lakers for good…
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tony
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 8:41 pm    Post subject:

Surprised we only lost by 16, I'll take it. AC is showing he belongs in this league, love what I see from him (even if sometimes it doesn't translate to box score stats).

Muscala clearly gunning and throwing up his bricks in hopes of his next contract.
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akgolf
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 9:23 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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TooMuchMajicBuss
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:09 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Caruso is about the only bright spot in this game. I wish they'd play Bonga just a bit more.
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:39 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Why play Rondo so many minutes And Lance any at all at this point? I would want to see what Bonga can do, see if he can keep his head above water. Maybe he’ll surprise and get an opportunity out of the gate next year instead of setting in the same spot he was this year again.

I mean our top 5 guys out, everybody else probably won’t be back and we ain’t going to the postseason. That should be all the reason we need to see the rook get some meaningful run.
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lakersfan8
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:42 pm    Post subject:

PartyMan wrote:
Thanks DB.

Why play Rondo so many minutes And Lance any at all at this point? I would want to see what Bonga can do, see if he can keep his head above water. Maybe he’ll surprise and get an opportunity out of the gate next year instead of setting in the same spot he was this year again.

I mean our top 5 guys out, everybody else probably won’t be back and we ain’t going to the postseason. That should be all the reason we need to see the rook get some meaningful run.

I think it depends on what the front office thinks about those soon to be free agents. If they still haven’t decided who they want to keep, now is the time to evaluate them.
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tony
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 1:20 am    Post subject:

lakersfan8 wrote:
PartyMan wrote:
Thanks DB.

Why play Rondo so many minutes And Lance any at all at this point? I would want to see what Bonga can do, see if he can keep his head above water. Maybe he’ll surprise and get an opportunity out of the gate next year instead of setting in the same spot he was this year again.

I mean our top 5 guys out, everybody else probably won’t be back and we ain’t going to the postseason. That should be all the reason we need to see the rook get some meaningful run.

I think it depends on what the front office thinks about those soon to be free agents. If they still haven’t decided who they want to keep, now is the time to evaluate them.
I think it's more of a courtesy to the vets since they are playing for a new deal with or without us
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yinoma2001
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:14 am    Post subject:

Man, KCP sure shows up when the pressure's off.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 6:32 am    Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:
Man, KCP sure shows up when the pressure's off.


He's the basketball definition of fool's gold.
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Lakers#1Team
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:02 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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Nobody
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:09 am    Post subject:

danzag wrote:
yinoma2001 wrote:
Man, KCP sure shows up when the pressure's off.


He's the basketball definition of fool's gold.


Hopefully he'll be somebody else's gold next season.
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