SUNS -at- LAKERS - 10-26-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

LeBron v. Durant... With no Booker or Beal, this is a game the Lakers need to win.

We haven’t seen a regular season Bron vs. Durant game in five years. They didn’t disappoint. The ebb and flow of the first half was entirely related to whether Bron or KD were on or off the court.

In that third quarter, KD put the Suns on his shoulders with 15 points to extend the lead to 12 heading into the fourth. Durant closed the third quarter with a 6-0 run.

When Durant sat, the Lakers started the fourth with a 6-0 run in the first 2 minutes to force a timeout. Ham ran a big lineup of AD, Wood, LeBron and two guards. When Durant returned, they put Wood or AD on him.

That took the Suns out of their game. Their lack of point guarding skills hurt as the Lakers forced turnover after turnover and took the lead.

KD had back-to-back scores to tie the game up with 1:30 left. LeBron returned the favor, attacking Nurkic off the sideline pick and roll, getting downhill for back-to-back layups to take control back with a minute left.

They’d hit their freethrows down the stretch and hold the Suns to just 11 points in the fourth quarter. The Lakers took their home opener 100-95.


LeBron -- -- “I felt very fresh going down the stretch,” Bron said in this one. Ham kept the minutes low in the first three quarters, than ran Bron the entire fourth. He used some timeouts, as well, to get some rest in. Loved the focus from Bron in the fourth quarter. He’d snatch a board or jump a passing lane for a steal and he was in freight train mode on the break. The defense was in trouble. To close this game, we went to that high screen action with AD and Bron got downhill for layups. Two big ones in a row with about a minute left. I love the explosiveness and speed he’s getting into the lane. Just a killer. He also had a double team he split to finish around another help defender that was just crazy for his age. Nearly a triple-double pace in this game. His size at the SF help give us some of those one-and-out possessions in the fourth. Some issues handling the ball tonight. It slipped out of his hands a couple of times as he was about to go to the gather, so that led to some extra turnovers. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-14 shooting (1-5 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +22.

Davis -- -- They went to him in the post twice in a row to start the fourth quarter. Some intention here after ignoring this to run 5-out in the last game in the second half. No quiet second half in this one. We don’t have to run 5-out to the point where we ignore the post or don’t get him paint touches. Thankfully, they corrected some of that in this game. Down the stretch to close, we ran the sideline pick and roll action with Bron. Suns were toast. Good job, also, hitting some crunch-time freethrows. Defensively, just a beast. In the first half, we’d use him to zone either strong side on help or on the weakside where he’d cover two players (he had a great steal off a KD pass on one of those weakside free safety efforts). In the fourth, I was wondering if we’d use him on KD to close this game. Ham went for it and it paid off. (Good job by Wood, as well). They shutdown Durant after a dominant 15-point third where we had no answers. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 10-17 shooting (1-2 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 13 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a +7.

Russell -- -- At some point here, we will get our three shooting on track. Russell was a poor 1-7 from three tonight. He’d slither into the paint for some buckets, including a nice drive in transition that had a defender going one way while he went the other for a layup. Lots of craftiness going on with the dribble. I wasn’t thrilled with some decision-making in the fourth quarter where I felt we had advantages at other positions that we should have focused on. Defensively, again, some good hands and anticipation. He’s been looking a lot more disruptive on that end. That still doesn’t mean there aren’t fundamental issues, but he’s finding a way to get into passing lanes or help situations that are giving the team some positive plays on that end of the floor. Combining the good defensive moments and bad decision making, he had a great steal on KD when matched up with him on iso D. He pushed that out, botched the fastbreak, then settled for a three and missed. Not ideal, but I still love that effort to get the stop against KD. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-16 shooting (1-7 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +8.

Reaves -- -- He needs to keep his foot on the gas. There’s been a lot of possessions in the first couple of games where he’s hesitating or he’s not making the defense commit on a play when he has the ball in his hands. When he was decisive in this game, good things tended to happen (pull-up three, an attack for a layup in the second half). He’ll ramp it up. We’re seeing a lot more offensive board crashing from him in these first two games. He got to one tonight that led to a Bron-to-AD score. He’ll need to be careful as it also got him into a bad matchup defensively against KD on one possession as another Laker had to cover his man when Reaves didn’t come up with the board. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -11.

Prince -- -- He got the initial KD assignment, but picked up his second and third foul in the second quarter. He’s a bit foul-prone, for sure. Not the night he had previously, but his minutes were cut short in the second half when the Lakers went to Wood and AD taking on Durant. Big difference here, too, is the defensive rebounding. In the first half, Prince had his man go right around him for a putback. In the second half, we had AD/Wood/Bron in that fourth controlling our defensive glass. That lack of rebounding is an issue in Prince’s game and I’m not expecting that to change. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-5 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 steal and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -15.

Hachimura -- -- He drained an open three on his first touch. Then had a nice help D block on Durant on a back line rotation. He also rotated later to draw a charge on a big. In the second half, he had a steal jumping a passing lane. A pretty quiet night, but I do like that he had multiple defensive plays. We need more from him, of course, but I think once the team game comes together, his offense should follow. We just are out of rhythm a bit. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-3 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -13.

Vincent -- -- Good pressure D on the perimeter, just the effort resulted in a couple of first half Laker steals. He’d give up some penetration, but with our bigs in the paint, he could keep pressure on and the Lakers were able to get some stops. The perimeter shot was not there, but the threat of it made the Suns play him honestly down the stretch. That’s kind of a big deal compared to last year where they’d crowd the paint and help on Bron. So when you had Bron working off those high screens late, there was more space to deal with. Some nice passing from Gabe in this game. I particularly liked the post entry to AD in the paint for a score. We had that advantage and needed to recognize it. Scoring wise, they called his number on a handoff sequence out of a timeout to make sure we attacked the rim when there wasn’t much deterrence. He scored a layup. Late in the game, he had a layup off a perimeter steal late. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-10 shooting (0-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +13.

Wood -- -- Loved this game from him. Such a difference maker. First, the Woods/AD duo on court really gave the team some excellent rim protection. There was always a big by the rim to disrupt shots. That was apparent in the first half as the Suns would get past a primary defender but still had few easy finishes at the rim with those two on the floor. In the second half, we put Wood and AD on KD in that fourth quarter and their length was immediately disruptive. KD couldn’t shoot over them like he wanted. That changed the game in the fourth quarter after we got torched in the third by Durant. Meanwhile, Wood was also gobbling up defensive boards. That led to a ton of one-and-out possessions. He got to some highly contested boards, too, and came away with them. Offensively, just his perimeter threat allows us to play him alongside AD. They could have gone to him some in the post as the Suns hid smaller defenders on him. I think that will come once we build more trust. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +21.

Hayes -- -- Another first half stint of 6 minutes. He had 3 fouls during that stretch and a couple of turnovers. One should have been a foul as he got hit in the face. The Lakers found better minutes with Wood on the floor and able to put Bron at the SF for stretches. So that was it for Hayes. The Stats: He didn’t shoot or score, had 2 boards, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +3.

Reddish -- -- Again, we are using him and Prince as our primary defenders against the top perimeter threat. Tonight it was Durant. The goal was to try to crowd KD and get some help. He tried hard, did a reasonable job but isn’t Vando and that’s a tough ask. He scored a couple of layups, one off a feed from Bron in transition. Another when Russell found him under the hoop after a broken play. Again, these will likely be Vando minutes at some point. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -12.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: I really feel we wasted a lot of reps in preseason with sitting guys as much as we did, never getting a complete game of rotations in. All those minutes to deep bench or G-League players just means we need to make up more reps in the regular season to get their bearings. So we’re going to slog through some things early on. We don’t run plays crisply and are processing the game a little slower than we will down the line. Some patience will be needed. When the Lakers were down 12 to start the fourth as KD sat, they went back to some of the basics. Get the ball to AD in the post (we ignored that in the second half of the last game). That got the team going. Bron followed that up with some freight train end-to-end runs for scores. Then to close the game, it was simple AD/Bron sideline pick and roll game with Bron getting downhill (with room in the paint!) to attack. That got the Lakers over the top. There were stretches in the middle of the quarter where they didn’t pay to their strengths on that end, but they got their bearings. Defensively, the big lineup dominated. It took KD out of his rhythm. The Suns then had to game plan to shake the big defenders with screens and were in trouble against the pressure. The Lakers won the quarter 28-11. Dominant stretch of ball despite not shooting the three ball well.

Key Substitution: AD, Wood, LeBron, Vincent and one of Russell/Reaves in that fourth quarter. Tall, but with floor spacing. Bron had room to work late. Defensively, they controlled the boards, they challenged KD well or forced others out of their comfort zone. Good job leaving Bron in all quarter and allowing the man to finish for us with a nice 35 minutes on the night.

Key Stats: KD was a +19 in his 18 minutes in the first half. Dominating. The Suns will likely have both Booker and Beal out there when KD rests and are banking some good experience with those KD-only lineups. The Lakers shot a poor 4-17 (23.5%) from three in the first half. The Suns made 5-17 (29.4%). The Lakers made just 1-12 threes in the second half to finish 5-29 (17%). Horrible. Suns finished with 9-31 (29%). Suns had 10 turnovers in the fourth.

[mhan00]

Nice to get a win. I fully expected a loss today when the schedule was first announced. Nice to get a game where Beal and Booker were out and an extra win.

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB! Big difference with AD in the second half. Less hesitation (which was called out by Kenny the Jet at halftime) and more quick, intentional post moves.

[slavavov]

This wasn't the kind of game we want to play, style-wise, but it was gratifying to win it, and that's a good sign. If we play with the kind of effort we had in the fourth quarter, we will win lots of games.

I hope everyone paid close attention to the little things Vincent did. He made plays on defense that led to turnovers, and on offense, several times he recovered a loose ball, and instead of us committing a turnover, we got a score. He's the kind of gritty intangibles guy you need to win a championship. If his shooting improves, he will be our glue guy.
_________________
Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks. DB!
_________________
On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[mad55557777]

The weakness of this lakers team is isolation play. We don’t have a guy that can get a bucket when things go bad, lebron can not do it every game. I am sure that’s why he wanted Kyrie last season.

[joeblow]

I agree with the praise for Wood tonight. For one, unlike Lakers in the first half who wouldn't box out or crash the boards with aggression, Wood came in and really helped to limit all those second chance opportunities the Suns were enjoying.

I'm actually most proud of coach Ham. He tried to play AD straight up with several forwards (Prince, Rui, Reddish) but they are simply to short to affect his beautiful jumper. Ham put Wood and AD on him in the second half and that really helped to get him to finally start to miss.

Also, choosing to have ball-pressure-pest Vincent in over DLo to close out the game was defensively brilliant, as was his general approach to play BIG as much as he could.

Durant literally had to deal with twin towers on him in several key plays down the stretch, to which I give Ham credit for messing around with combinations of Laker players until something finally clicked. I mean, the Suns were 1 for 13 in the 4th up until less than two minutes left! Our defense playing with size and aggression like that was crazy.

Lebron's 1-5 night behind the three point line was killing me, but props to him for putting his head down and attacking the basket when it mattered most. It was good to see AD fired up in the second half as well. Even if he isn't shooting well, there should always be a certain tenacity coming from him to let everyone know he's locked in on both sides of the court.

Great win!

[michaelg]

Thanks DB! Agree, great game from Mr. Wood. He was battling out there, getting up for rebounds and checking KD on the perimeter. Something got his motor going, keep it up please. Whatever offense we get from him is a bonus.

Loved 4th quarter free throw shooting by Bron and AD.

[lordtrapula]

Gabe's shooting needs to better... that said. WOW, how the heck is guy this good of defender at that size?! He's awesome also his playmaking looks solid.

[wolfpaclaker]

[A Mad Chinaman]

Team is getting its "Season Legs" with the needed reps in the early season games

Letting LBJ be the Point Forward that allows DLo/Reeves/Vincent be shooters/secondary ball handlers is presently the best scenario

Even after 21 seasons, LBJ is still Da Man for the Lakers.

Maybe in the future, AD will have the mentality of "Just Give me the Damm Ball" (shades of Shaq) to takeover games. AD is uber talented and worth the Max Contract, but he is still not Da Man (despite the words of all those around him)

Past history says that Vincent, Rui, Reeves, DLo and Woods will eventally have a high percentage of 3pt shooting.

[RI Laker]

Thanks DB. I do not care who was out as a W is a W.

Nice take Joe Blow: Also, choosing to have ball-pressure-pest Vincent in over DLo to close out the game was defensively brilliant, as was his general approach to play BIG as much as he could.

[av3773]

Nice to get the win, but Ham has to step it up…for most of the game players looked lost on both sides of the ball, a lot of iso ball, lack of competitive effort….really don’t like how the lakers have looked so far even in this win, really uninspired basketball where it seems we’re not even playing half way to our potential

[governator]

Waiting for rhythm
Reddish not Vando
AD-Wood meshing
Bron fresh for the fourth

Ok, I’ll be patient
_________________
“The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.“

[Ryan1973]

Both Russell and Reeves need to step it up. They have been bad in these first two games.

[Laker7]

Thanks DB!

Reaves need to be the PG and DLo needs to be the SG. DLo will call his own number even when his shooting is off. Reaves has a better feel for who is hot and who is not.

Wood was HUGE in Q4. May not have showed up in the box score but his rebounds late in the game saved us.

The Good: Lebron with a +22, only 14 shots to get 21 points. AD 17 shots to get 30 points. Wood only got 7 points on 10 shots but the 10 rebounds and a +23 will get it done.

The Bad: DLo 16 shots to get 14 points. Yikes!

The Ugly: Prince 0-5 from the floor with 0 rebounds.

Shout out to Reddish and DLo for their effort on defense. Not stoppers but the effort and some results are there.
_________________
Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[Chronicle]

The (non) rebounding and (non) boxing out in the first quarter was depressing to watch

Good to see the win though. I miss having the howard/mcgee rotation at C though, dominating the boards is such a powerful thing that we keep seeming to ignore
_________________
Kobe

[Halflife]

just because we are deeper does not mean we are better. Hope we reach close to post trade level of play because this game was not that.

We are going to need #23 to play way above his allotted 29minutes per, to win more than we lose.
_________________
Kobe.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Clw9scopegx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[pio2u]

[TDRock]

It was not a phenomenal game but yay winning.

Thanks DB
_________________
#IStillBelieveTaurean

[Triumph]

Team just doesn't look sharp to start the season because, as DB said, it seems like the preseason priority was keeping LeBron, AD, and Austin fresh for the regular season instead of getting enough reps with the actual lineups they play on the floor in real games.

Everything just looks discombobulated like the guys are still learning roles and how to play with each other.

[LakerSD]

The Lakers will not win the chip if Lebron has to be their best, 2nd best or maybe even 3rd best player (depending on matchup).

It’s been like that for a couple of years. They need AD to find top 5 form or they need a trade and the trio of Reaves/New Acquisition/AD leading the way with bursts here and there from LeBron.

We aren’t winning a chip with Lebron as the #1 or #2. He’s too old for that kind of grind even in the playoffs. Just the reality. We will always lose to the younger led top echelon teams like Denver. We beat GS last season because they are old too, but that series was 50/50 tbh.

[LakerSD]

[oaktown_dimond]

i think we should start wood at C, move AD back to his natural position... PF.

the other forwards will get their run because we can't keep milking LBJ every game.

[Theseus]

It felt like the rest of the suns were giving us trouble in the first half, then in the second half KD caught fire and the rest of his teammates were kind of frozen out with all the KD stuff they were doing. Then in the 4th it meant we could throw everyone at KD and not have to worry about the rest of the suns. We had the answer for him individually with Wood and/or AD.

It looked like Durant really was not comfortable with that.