NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 12-16-22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 10:44 pm    Post subject: NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 12-16-22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

The Bench... With AD out after the first half, the Lakers would need their bench to step up. Multiple players answered the call as they pulled off a 126-108 win over the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers went up by 9 in the second quarter, then gave up a 20-2 run. Turnovers against the zone, missing easy shots, and general awful basketball were all featured during this stretch of basketball suckage.

Austin Reaves sparked the team out of their funk with a series of scores. As the Lakers got out on the break, punctuated by a soaring LeBron dunk, they trimmed the lead down to 65-64 by halftime.

AD stayed in the locker room at halftime with a right foot injury, done for the night. That put a damper on the game and the night, and the Lakers fell back by 8 after just 3 minutes to start the second half. But AD’s replacement, Thomas Bryant, would deliver his best game of the season.

His energy helped the team rally back to trim the lead down to 4 when he tagged out and LeBron came in at backup C. The Lakers closed out the third quarter strong, hitting threes and attacking the paint to take a 5-point lead with their small ball lineup of Bron, Brown, Reaves, Russ and Schröder.

Back-to-back threes by rookie Max Christie had the Nuggets taking a timeout as the Lakers went up by 11 early in the fourth. With Russ pushing the pace, Bryant changing ends with speed, the Lakers continued to extend the lead.

Bron closed the door with a series of fades and finishing in transition as the Lakers ran away with it.


LeBron -- -- He had 16 points in the first half mostly on a series of layups and a huge dunk over a defender in transition late in the half. Late in the game, it was a series of scores where he attacked across the lane and got his fade to drop. The midrange shot was looking great tonight. He also was able to get downhill in transition and in the halfcourt on cuts. This lead to some massive dunks by LBJ. The Lakers really made a strong push with LeBron as the C in the second half. They were able to contain Jokic when he was in against those lineups, but also take advantage on the offensive end. Good job by LeBron there. We also got him some rest briefly in the fourth and were able to keep him fresh enough down the stretch. We don’t give him enough credit for how decent he looks when playing through injury or sickness. When he’s been healthy this year, he’s still just a beast. Massive impact tonight and made it look easy. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 13-20 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +26.

Davis -- -- Welp. A right foot injury sometime during the first half. He played on it, but stayed in the locker room at halftime. X-rays were taken and he was driven out to his car. So who knows what’s up, but all not good signs. He had 10 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half. He needed to be a little more aggressive and get Jokic on his heels. But, perhaps, the injury kept him from playing at another level like he has been. In any event, he was done early in this one. Bryant, thankfully, played with that aggressiveness you want to see against Jokic and the Lakers were able to pull off the W without AD. I want to also bring up his passing again since it’s been better this season. He had a great short-roll read checking off the corner defender and finding an open wing shooter for a three while in air. We talk about his scoring and D, but that ball movement has been really good, as well. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -4.

Walker IV -- -- He was 1-6 from three in this game. Some good looks. They just weren’t falling. That’s how it goes some nights with him. He choked a layup on his one miss from inside the line. Defensively, poor. He let a man blow by him in transition and generally didn’t make an impact. The Stats: He scored 3 point son 1-7 shooting (1-6 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -14.

Beverley -- -- He sank a couple of threes, including one he turned around on to say something to the Denver bench as it was going in. He’d get a couple other buckets. On the bad side, he had a horrid lob pass that KCP spiked out of bounds on the break. He also had another wild drive where he tried to create on iso. At one point, Ham was talking to him for a bit on the sideline after he subbed him out in the third. He started, but didn’t finish. The Lakers opted to keep Christie in at one point over him in the fourth. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a -11.

Schröder -- -- Aggressive early in this one. Our first play was set up for him to attack off a high LeBron screen while AD was spaced out to the corner. He scored a layup on that. Then he stole the ball and hit Bev for a layup a few seconds later. He would then swish a corner three shortly later. He knocked down three threes tonight. He came down on a foot when a man stepped under him during a challenge on a jumper (flagrant-1). Hopefully, that doesn’t swell up overnight. This is a pretty good mix of game from him tonight. That jumper was dropping, he mixed in the drives and also found guys in transition for scores. We need to find a way to get this more consistently. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-12 shooting (3-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +16.

Westbrook -- -- Triple-double off the bench (his second for the Lakers off the bench, only Laker to have two off the bench, apparently). He had someone else flying up and down the court with him tonight in Thomas Bryant. Those two change ends fast and multiple times tonight that meant Russ finding Bryant for a score. In the half court, some nice cuts from Bron that Russ directed to him for scores. He had all 4 of his turnovers in the half, but did a good job playing with pace and causing problems for the Nuggets. (His play against the zone, however, was generally poor.) But a lot of grabbing boards, turning that into transition opportunities and getting the Lakers to play with speed tonight. Team balled with im on the court tonight. Closing in on 200, he had his 196th triple-double tonight. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-13 shooting (0-3 from three, 5-8 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 12 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +25.

Reaves -- -- Strong second quarter as he rattled off a series of scores to spark the Lakers out of their funk. It was not looking good after getting outscored by 18 during that stretch. Then he got aggressive and the team rallied back. He had a give-and-go with AD. He hit a three on a kickout. Drew some FTs in transition. Then hit an And-1 bank across the lane. He had 11 of his 16 on 3-5 shooting in the first half. He hit another three in the second half. Defensively, disruptive, jumping into passing lanes and he had a great rejection on Jokic under the hoop. Loved our young guys in this one. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-9 shooting (2-5 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +26.

Bryant -- -- When AD didn’t come out in the second half and Bryant was starting, you hoped he would get amped up. His mindset in the second half was “just giving the team that life we needed,” he said. And amped up, he was. He was getting up and down court with speed on both ends. He was getting after it on the glass on both ends. It was great work. He picked a good game to go off. Super efficient 9-11 for 21 points. In that fourth quarter, he had a string of plays hustling in transition for steals on one end or dunks on the other. He forced a couple timeouts tonight, one on a putback in a crowd. Russ found him trailing the break for a dunk that forced a timeout later. After that timeout, he got down court with speed and finished a lob dunk from dunk. Then he helped force a turnover hustling back on D. Next trip down, we gave it to him in the post and he powered in a layup. In the first half, he also nailed a three. Defensively, some really good communication and hands on D. There was a play in the second half, you could hear him telling his teammate to scram and pointing out where he wanted him to go. Afterward, he mentioned how their communication improved in this one. He was in the middle of that. These are the kinds of games you know he is capable of having. Hopefully, AD is back quickly. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-11 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +10.

Brown -- -- Quiet night tonight. He rejected Bones from behind as his main highlight. We used him at PF at times in some small lineups that managed to hold the line. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and had 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +12.

Christie -- -- He’s been lighting it up a bit in the G-League. So the Lakers got him some minutes tonight, pretty much in the Nunn rotation spot. That three ball helped get the Lakers rolling in the fourth when he buried back-to-back threes and forced a timeout. The first of those threes was a pick and pop that he didn’t hesitate on. He was a +15 in his 15 minutes. The length was also on display getting to some boards and challenging shots. The Laker scouts liked the clay. The Spurs have tried to draft guys who are over themselves and just put in work. With Reaves and Christie, the Lakers have a couple young guys like that. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 3 boards (2 offensive), 1 block and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a +15.

Nunn -- -- Garbage time run only. I’m hopeful that’s the case going forward and we use Christie more. Short-term, long-term it’s just in our interest to give Christie the minutes. Impact-wise, he’s just making more of an impact than Nunn. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three. He was a -3.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: THe battle late in the third quarter by the Lakers changed the tone of this game. The Nuggets caught a break with no AD and pounced in that third quarter. But late in the quarter, they had a stretch where LeBron sat and the team chipped away. And when he returned in small ball, the Lakers were able to catch and pass the Nuggets. This could have been one of those games where we got down on ourselves and were steamrolled. Instead, they rallied in that third and carried that momentum throughout the fourth. Some great efforts on D and the boards as a team.

Key Substitution: The bench was great tonight for the Lakers. Bryant with the 20+. Russ with the triple-double. Reaves with 16. Even Christie had his moments. But the job by Bryant and LeBron to dominate at the C spot tonight against Jokic was just huge.

Key Stats: They held the Nuggets to 43 points in the second half with no AD. Show me that some more.

Coach’s Challenge: With 8:17 they challenged a Russ block from behind that was called a shooting foul. He basically smashed the ball onto Aaron Gordon’s face. The foul was switched from Westbrook to Beverley. So no FTs, no timeout used, but the challenge was burned and the Nuggets got the ball back to score.
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mhan00
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 10:48 pm    Post subject:

Great win. PLEASE BE HEALTHY AD
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sonic the laker
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 11:02 pm    Post subject:

On point analysis, as always, DB! Thanks! Great Lakers win!

Aside from the production from the bench, in AD absence, this game made me hopeful for the future. It showed that Ham is beginning to learn, and adjust outside his former rigidity. I know that lots of coaches tend to coach out of "comfort". While playing established vets, and giving heavy minutes to yours stars is comforting, it wasn't leading to winning basketball. Or, even good basketball, on a consistent basis.

Giving guys off the bench, like Bryant and Christie, more minutes to spread out the load, really paid off in the end. Fresher legs, more energy, for the team to play hard, and seal a win!

Only thing I would like to see more of his on ball offensive actions for Reaves and Lonnie, going forward.

Lakers!
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 11:23 pm    Post subject:

Happy about the team coming together and getting it done, praying that AD's injury is the most minimal version It can possibly be.

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 11:46 pm    Post subject:

Lakers in general is a great fast break team, probably best in the league

Good half court defense as well. This was developed over the past month as players getting more familiar with the Ham defense system.

Bad-
Bad transition defense team because Russ and Bron always complains and slow getting back
Bad half court offense(especially against the zone) lack of shooters is the main reason.
Lack a closer

Can they address some of the issues? IMO, they can. Just stop complaining and get back on D would be a good start. Getting a shooter could also be huge
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:05 am    Post subject:

Westbrook found somebody that can run WITH him in Bryant.

Christie has fresh legs and Reeves has smarts. When Gabriel returns, he will join this group.

Get Healthy AD!

Good writeup DB!

Skywalker has the opportunity to be the third option, if he is consistent. Recognize that he is streaky that translate into his MPG not being consistent

Did Troy Brown played in this game - lol!

Lakers are one game behind the Warriors in the standings

Lakers are 3.5 games from sixth place in the standings

This is even after having a horrendous start to the season!!!


Last edited by A Mad Chinaman on Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:35 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:32 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Lakers 3 shooting down the stretch, and Nugs lack of it, made a difference. That Nugs zone went to heck once the Lakers were hitting jumpers.

Am definitely more concerned about that AD injury. Many potential talking points come up if, indeed, he misses significant time.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:10 am    Post subject:

The overall defense was admirable by the team today. I appreciated that they didn't let off the gas when they got a solid lead in the 4th. Lebron played under control, not forcing the action or making terrible decisions as he's done too many times this season.

A satisfying win, and I hope AD gets well soon.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 6:27 am    Post subject:

Really impressive 2nd halfs from Russ lately. LeBron 4-5 FG & +17 in the 4Q, no threes.

Very nice win
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 7:51 am    Post subject:

Agreed, this was a strong performance by the team without AD. I think having Lebron at the 5 helped a lot, and Bryant is also a good 3 point chucker, so the spacing was even better with an open paint, for Russ/Lebron.

We did this last year also without AD, to get wins, and we didn't even have a guy like Bryant. If AD is out a few games or a week, we will need to rely on Bron at the 5 and Bryant, and a more potent offense as defense will slip a bit.
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governator
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:54 am    Post subject:

We're at the Bucks, Celts, Sixers, Nuggets level... trade for a tall wing, do your job Rob!
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:06 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
Agreed, this was a strong performance by the team without AD. I think having Lebron at the 5 helped a lot, and Bryant is also a good 3 point chucker, so the spacing was even better with an open paint, for Russ/Lebron.

We did this last year also without AD, to get wins, and we didn't even have a guy like Bryant. If AD is out a few games or a week, we will need to rely on Bron at the 5 and Bryant, and a more potent offense as defense will slip a bit.

We got wins without ad last year?
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:07 am    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Westbrook found somebody that can run WITH him in Bryant.

Christie has fresh legs and Reeves has smarts. When Gabriel returns, he will join this group.

Get Healthy AD!

Good writeup DB!

Skywalker has the opportunity to be the third option, if he is consistent. Recognize that he is streaky that translate into his MPG not being consistent

Did Troy Brown played in this game - lol!

Lakers are one game behind the Warriors in the standings

Lakers are 3.5 games from sixth place in the standings

This is even after having a horrendous start to the season!!!

He and TB were really good in wiz together. Small sample size
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 9:46 am    Post subject:

Lakers match up well against the Nugg's...

Hopefully they can play that type of INSPIRED basketball every night....!
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mad55557777
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 8:59 pm    Post subject:

Halflife wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Westbrook found somebody that can run WITH him in Bryant.

Christie has fresh legs and Reeves has smarts. When Gabriel returns, he will join this group.

Get Healthy AD!

Good writeup DB!

Skywalker has the opportunity to be the third option, if he is consistent. Recognize that he is streaky that translate into his MPG not being consistent

Did Troy Brown played in this game - lol!

Lakers are one game behind the Warriors in the standings

Lakers are 3.5 games from sixth place in the standings

This is even after having a horrendous start to the season!!!

He and TB were really good in wiz together. Small sample size

He is good in general with bigs that can catch the ball. ibaka, adams, TB, AD, etc. Vogel with the lebron at the 5 lineups were really not friendly with his skill sets
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:51 pm    Post subject:

mad55557777 wrote:
Halflife wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Westbrook found somebody that can run WITH him in Bryant.

Christie has fresh legs and Reeves has smarts. When Gabriel returns, he will join this group.

Get Healthy AD!

Good writeup DB!

Skywalker has the opportunity to be the third option, if he is consistent. Recognize that he is streaky that translate into his MPG not being consistent

Did Troy Brown played in this game - lol!

Lakers are one game behind the Warriors in the standings

Lakers are 3.5 games from sixth place in the standings

This is even after having a horrendous start to the season!!!
He and TB were really good in wiz together. Small sample size
He is good in general with bigs that can catch the ball. ibaka, adams, TB, AD, etc. Vogel with the lebron at the 5 lineups were really not friendly with his skill sets
As game announcers shared, Russ is at his best when he is the Alpha and with others that can run with him.

With each rep, Westbrook is getting more effective and efficient with AD/LBJ (couldn’t get worse),
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:52 pm    Post subject:

mad55557777 wrote:
Halflife wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Westbrook found somebody that can run WITH him in Bryant.

Christie has fresh legs and Reeves has smarts. When Gabriel returns, he will join this group.

Get Healthy AD!

Good writeup DB!

Skywalker has the opportunity to be the third option, if he is consistent. Recognize that he is streaky that translate into his MPG not being consistent

Did Troy Brown played in this game - lol!

Lakers are one game behind the Warriors in the standings

Lakers are 3.5 games from sixth place in the standings

This is even after having a horrendous start to the season!!!
He and TB were really good in wiz together. Small sample size
He is good in general with bigs that can catch the ball. ibaka, adams, TB, AD, etc. Vogel with the lebron at the 5 lineups were really not friendly with his skill sets
As game announcers shared, Russ is at his best when he is the Alpha and with others that can run with him.

With each rep, Westbrook is getting more effective and efficient with AD/LBJ (couldn’t get worse),
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