SUNS -at- LAKERS - 12-5-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Quarterfinals... “Money on the line or not, this was going to be a hotly contested game,” Ham said after the Lakers 106-103 win.

The Lakers took on the Suns in the quarterfinals of their first in-season tournament, having earned home court advantage for this game.

They unleashed some aggressive defense out of the gates, forcing the Suns into 10 turnovers in the first quarter. (The Suns lack of point guard skills can be exposed.) That had the Lakers out on the break, taking a 33-23 first quarter lead.

The Lakers would lead by as many as 15 in the first half, but the lead was trimmed to 4 as L.A. went without a field goal for 5 minutes on 0-10 shooting.

They started turning defense into offense once again and pushed the lead back up to 59-47 by halftime.

To start the third, the tables were turned quickly. The Lakers coughed up the ball on the first play and the Suns were off to the races with a 10-0 run in under 2 minutes. They’d tie the game up after a Laker timeout. Anything that could go wrong, did for the Lakers. So much for the lead.

Austin Reaves helped resuscitate the Lakers offense, coming in for Russell after 5 minutes. He scored 13 points in the third, hitting threes, And-1s, getting to the rim a couple of times, and the Lakers got back into their flow.

But the lead was just 1 heading into the final quarter. The stars came out for the fourth. Down the stretch, Bron and KD knocked down multiple shots as the teams traded blows and leads.

On multiple trips down the floor in the stretch run, LeBron came up big for scores as he imposed his will.

Shot of the game, however, went to Reaves. He sank a cold-blooded, step-back three with 15 seconds left to go up 4 points, nothing but net.

The Lakers held the Suns off, KD missing a tough three at the buzzer as the Lakers took the win and advance to the semifinals.

“Could you all give me two seconds?” Ham asked the press after the game. He then put his head down on the table and rested for a moment.


LeBron -- -- He scored or assisted on the first 19 points in the fourth quarter and carried the team late in the game. Really good job getting downhill. Late in the game, he got downhill on the two-man game for al ayup. He then drilled a three next time down. He found AD for a reverse. With 3:18 left, he attacked downhill for FTs, mad he didn’t finish an easy And-1. He hit an elbow pull-up with 2:45 left. He attacked off the high screen next time down for another layup with 2:20 left. He’d later miss a layup with all kinds of contact as the refs swallowed their whistle. Huge close to the game after a really good first half. He had 14 points and 7 assists in the first half. Great job setting the table early and often for teammates. Then he closed the deal for the Lakers on big minutes (40!). Defensively, he was a steal machine. The Lakers put a lot of pressure on the ball and Bron is one of the smartest players in the game and can read that well behind the plays. He had 5 steals on the night. He’s looking much more healthy than last year, but the 5-out offense sets are also really allowing him to get downhill with a little more space this year. It’s trouble for teams. The Stats: He scored 31 points on 12-25 shooting (2-4 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 11 assists, 5 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 40 minutes. He was a +12.

Davis -- -- He and Vando were beasts on the offensive glass. AD had 9, which included some putbacks (he also choked a point-blank one late in the game). He led the Lakers with 20 points on 8-16 shooting in the first half. Really taking it to the Suns soft interior. Just 7 points in the second half on 2-10 shooting. He was fouled with 6.6 seconds left up 2 as we set up the inbounds for him. Not clean, he missed one of the clutch ones, but the Suns didn’t have a timeout and had to take a tough three to try to tie it. Offensively, keep in mind just how much attention he draws on those screens, that gravity got space for teammates for drives or big threes down the stretch. Defensively, the Lakers were very switchy in this game. When you’ve got AD, Reddish and Vando in the mix (even Prince), that’s a lot of arms and length out there to disrupt things. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 10-26 shooting (7-8 from the line) to go with 15 boards (9 offensive), 1 assist, 2 blocks and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a -12.

Russell -- -- Quiet game for Russell. We sat him 5 minutes into the third when our offense died out of the gates and our D couldn’t get stops. Reaves came in and sparked the team. We brought Russell back to start the fourth, then sat him. So we limited him as we opted to hide one of Reaves/Russell on the lesser of the Suns guards. There were some offense-defense subs where you could have brought him in for a freethrow situation that we didn’t. EArly in the game, he hit a three and had a breakaway layup. But not a lot of action. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-11 shooting (2-6 from three) to go with 1 board, 5 assists and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -7.

Prince -- -- On KD there at the end to force that airball. Some solid D down the stretch. KD might have tweaked an ankle to slow him down some, hard to tell. He had a nice drive late for a big score, so he was good enough to do that. Very disruptive hands and reads on D at times tonight (3 steals). Offensively, he got a couple layups early, then was quiet the rest of the night. The first layup was a great cut off Russell’s baseline drive. Perfectly timed, and Russell hit him for the layup. He had another backdoor cut on the baseline and Bron threaded a bullet to him for a layup. The Laker off-ball cutting in their offense has picked up as the chemistry has built. Some sloppy passing by Prince, however, that took some shine of those chemistry plays, for sure. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a -12.

Reddish -- -- Back in the starting lineup, he got the Booker assignment. So many excellent defensive possessions, just forcing Booker to pick up the dribble and pass is a success and that happened a lot. Having multiple athletic defenders now we can throw at guys makes this team so much tougher. Come playoff time that will help, but teams will also force them to score more. Booker had 21 on 6-16 shooting and 7 turnovers. Reddish scored his only points from the line tonight. It looked like he jammed a finger in the third quarter, but played through it. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 0-4 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -7.

Reaves -- -- Manu-like game off the bench. What’s that mean? Some great drives, some wildness that can irritate a coach on occasion, some stretches where he dominated and then a major clutch shot at a key moment. Where to start. Let’s go with the third quarter when the Lakers were floundering in the third quarter. Just 4 points in the first half for Reaves. Ham brought him in early for Russell and Reaves got after it. He blew past his man on a hesi for a layup. He popped out on the wing for a catch and shot three. He attacked past three defenders, missed at the rim, but AD cleaned up the dribble penetration with a slam. He hit a deep three on a swing pass. Then a few seconds later, he’d hustle down court to putback a Rui missed layup on the break. He’d sink a big And-1 runner in transition. Then he went cold fora bit, missing a couple threes and midrange shots, including a big three with a minute left. He’d get the big one, though. With 15 seconds left and 10 on the shotclock, he worked himself free on a step back wing three and swished the clutch one to go up 4, screaming and flexing after the make. Huge. Playoff-like atmosphere in this one and playoff-like response from Reaves. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-16 shooting (3-8 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a +17.

Hachimura -- -- Back in the mix with the mask on, Rui scratched a few scores for the Lakers. He attacked off the three line for a layup. He drained a three trailing the break. In the second half, he cut baseline and Bron found him with a no-looker for a dunk. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a +5.

Vanderbilt -- -- Just a terror on the offensive glass in the first half. A couple of them led to three-pointers for teammates. The team has been really, really poor on the offensive glass this season. We missed this. The Lakers won that battle of extra possessions tonight because of that kind of energy. He missed both his threes he took, but we didn’t have him exposed too often in this game where he’s standing in the corner wide open and the team just ignores him. Shuttling him in and out had the Suns not as methodical as they could have been to zero in on that. Just 15 minutes, but effective ones. Defensively, he and Reddish tag-teamed on the Booker assignment. All that length and athleticism is just what the doctor ordered for this team. “This is what we envisioned all along,” Vanderbilt said of the Lakers swarming defense. Ask how he felt, he said he’s not where he could be yet. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-2 shooting from three (1-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +6.

Christie -- -- Short minutes, but he drilled a big three in the third quarter. On a near turnover, Reaves recovered the ball and hit Christie for the open three and he drained it. Just 8 minutes, but a big play there. We used him to bring the ball up a little and relieve some pressure from Reaves. I suspect, Christie’s minutes will disappear whenever Vincent reappears, but he’s been really making a positive contribution lately. Maybe they can give him some extended minutes and reduce Cam some every now and then depending on matchup. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting from three to go with 1 assist and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. He was a -2.

Hayes -- -- He came in to start the second quarter for AD. Short minutes, but we were a +4 while AD sat. That’s good enough for me. He got called for a bogus foul on a shotblock. He also had a nice sequence where he challenged Booker on help, then deflected his pass for a steal. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 9 minutes. He was a +4.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: You kind of have to step out of the way when Bron is rolling. Ham mentioned, however, the importance of getting Bron downhill. That’s really the key there. Make sure he has the space to do it. Make sure he has the energy. Don’t let them settle for tough shots. There was a stretch near the very end where we took a little air out of the ball, but the team had decent focus. Reaves stepped into the mix in the final minute, missing a three but hitting the big one with 15 seconds left. Good energy by the Lakers tonight. Out of one of those late timeouts, the Laker defense forced the Suns into a shotclock violation.

Key Substitution: That sub to bring in Reaves for Russell early in the third helped stop the bleeding. Ham kept one of Vando or Cam out there for most of the game. He limited the Russell/Reaves combo minutes defensively.

Key Stats: The Laker defense forced a ton of turnovers out of the gates, 10 in the first quarter. By halftime, L.A. had a 14-4 advantage. Additionally, good work on the glass helped the Lakers to a 15-4 advantage in second-chance points. Suns had 11 points off those 4 Laker turnovers, Lakers with 16 points.

Coach’s Challenge: None? Could have challenged a Hayes foul that was a clean block that resulted in two FTs in the first half. Could have challenged a Reaves blocking foul on Booker along the sideline that looked like a charge that resulted in two FTs late in the third. We could have used the extra possession in a tight game.

[mhan00]

Nice win

[mad55557777]

They played great defense on both Booker and KD, and yet KD is still 12/17 from the FG(lol), but they sure have limited Booker with their length because unlike KD, he could just rise up and make an in yo face 3

[tox]

Thanks DB!

[Nobody]

Great win. First half D was a thing of beauty. If they could sustain it for an entire game, this team can be scary good.

[sonic the laker]

Thanks, DB! A really good win! Great defensive pressure forced the Suns into tough shots, and a ton of turnovers. That defensive pressure lasted all game long, which was heartening. The Lakers offense was humming in the first half. Fueled mostly by those Phoenix turnovers, and AD punishing his opponents in the paint. But, as always, basketball is a tale of two cities...

The Suns made a game of it, after being down double digits heading into the second half. They tightened up their defense, and coughed up the ball less. This resulted in the Lakers offense stalling. The Suns were able to get going off of some bad turnovers from the Lakers, KD making tough shots, with a little help from the Suns role players making open shots. Booker was relatively quiet, thanks to our suffocating defense. That said, I think he got away with a few too many shoulder-lowering offensive fouls, that got called as defensive fouls.

AD went quiet in the fourth. But, the Lakers were able to eke out a win, thanks to great play from LeBron, timely shooting from Austin, and some fortunate whistles our way. The Lakers definitely showed the potential nightmare they can be, against their opponents. And, that's still with Gabe out. But, they HAVE to figure out their offense. Runs are a part of basketball. But, the Lakers half court offense is just...bleh, imo. There were a few times where we had good off ball movement. But, that needs to be a regular occurrence, as opposed to a rarity. Hoping that comes with time, and chemistry.
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ZOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

[governator]

That hounding defense, 5 guys switching at will, offensive boards… the Vando effect

Love it
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“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.“

[RI Laker]

Thanks DB. We are getting a taste of our depth. Sure the pieces have warts, but there is something to be said for putting multiple versatile defenders on the opposition studs. Very disappointed in AD in the second half (like a different player). He missed a ton of chips in the second half then would complain and not go back on D. I knew he was not going to hit both FT's. LJ was gassed (rightfully so) at the end of the game. We need to make things a little easier for him because we can not expect a Herculean game from him night in and night out.

[PenG_]

Thanks DB!

We nearly lost a game in which we had 27 more FGA than the other team, 75 vs. 102.

That's how bad our offense is this season.

[defense]

Loved what I saw defensively. Even Legramps was engaged.

[Laker7]

Thanks DB. Loved what I saw (for the most part). Sitting LBJ and AD at the same time really hurt the Lakers. Ham needs to stop doing that.
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[Halflife]

we own them.
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Kobe.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Clw9scopegx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[CervantesRises]

No way we should win a game where the opponent shoots as well as they did and we crap the bed on so many wide open 3's that would have busted the game wide open...

But that's the power of defense and I Love it!

Have only 1 gripe...

How is it that TP gets 27 minutes without hitting a 3?

How is it that he consistently gets more minutes than Rui?

I think Vando will displace him in the next 5 games, but at this point Max looks like the better player too.

I have no idea why TP was on the floor during the final possession when CLEARLY our best defensive lineup is Max, Cam, Vando, Bron, AD.

Ham has to stop falling in love with guards who don't knock down their shots.

TP must come off the bench and only cross 20 min in a game if he's on a heater.

Thanks DB!
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"If You're Afraid To Fail...Then You're Probably Going To Fail."
- Kobe

#BannersOverBillboards

[joeblow]

I didn't realize it going in, but one of the best things about the in-season tourney is that we get to see how our players perform early in a playoff-esque environment.

Sadly, playoff D'Lo made an appearance in the game, and it looks like nothing has changed from last season. Wow. We'll see how he performs in the next one, but I really hope Ham is prepared to pull hard on a short leash if needed.

~~~

What was the major reason our defense (a lot of the time) was why we led most of the game? We were able to play athletically BIG against Phoenix with the superior size available on of our roster like we did against 3 out of the four teams we beat with Lebron and AD in the 2020 playoffs.

That fourth team was Jokic and the Nuggets. We had an even bigger line up there, but do not have a D12-type muscle brawler to defensively slow don offensively skilled big centers like Jokic and Embid yet. It is why, more than anything else, we aren't yet complete for a championship run.

Get us a big, defensive center, Pelinka!!!

[mad55557777]

[SGSD32]

Having a Cam able to really harass the hell out of Booker is soooooo great.

Vando, obviously, brought big energy on D and the boards as well.. and Max wasn't a problem at all when he played.

Length and athleticism on D is crucial.

To get to the next level, though.. I feel like they need to combine some assets and turn them into a guy who can do most of those things on D and consistently hit open shots.

I wonder if Jerami Grant is an option and how much it would take to get him.

Obviously need one more ball handler and the might... MIGHT be Vincent? And getting a big who plays consistently like a big on defense will be critical in the postseason, imo. Just a short minutes banger type.

[mad55557777]

[joeblow]

[Dr. Laker]

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

[mhan00]

[tox]

The identity as a physical, switchy, athletic defensive means playing guys who are bad shooters. This will make AD in particular look bad because you load the paint on a guy who has not been able to make any jump shots this year.

The Lakers lack a strong two-way identity in that sense and I don't see it changing. That's my downer take on this team

[governator]

[danzag]

Thanks, DB!!!!

Championship or bust!!!!

[LakerDYnasty72]

[joeblow]