CLIPPERS -at- LAKERS - 1-24-23 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

No Comeback Tonight... Despite the loss, there is at least good news on the horizon. Help is on the way with the return of AD and the Lakers trading Nunn for Rui Hachimura. Before that would happen, though, the Lakers had to play a very under-manned game against the Clippers.

The Clippers got off to a quick 9-0 start to force a Laker timeout after 2 minutes. The Lakers started attacking earlier in the offensive sets and forced a Clipper timeout as they fought back, down 20-17.

The Clippers, however, took advantage of the Lakers sending extra help defensively. That led to good looks from three and they did not miss. The Clippers made made 15-23 in the first half -- tough to hang in a game with that kind of shooting.

The Clippers had a stretch of 7 straight field goals that were all threes and hit 9 of 11 as they got early separation. Once again the Lakers trailed big at halftime, 77-54, after giving up another 40-point second quarter.

The Clippers did struggle to keep up the hot shooting in the third and the Lakers started to trim the lead. As LeBron dropped 13 in the third, hitting a number of threes, they cut the lead from 23 to 16 heading into the fourth.

Bron would continue to stay on fire from three, sinking multiple threes and mixing in a couple of dunks as the Lakers tried to muster another comeback win. They would cut it to 10 with 6:46 left.

Then a disastrous inbounds pass that was tipped into our backcourt. Schröder dove for it, recovered, but threw it away while on the ground and fouled to give up an And-1 for good measure. The rally would sputter out. After an 8-0 run in less than a minute by the Clippers, Ham pulled his guys and put in the deep bench. The Lakers fell 133-115.


LeBron -- -- He had the three ball going early in this one, and he never cooled off. The Lakers got a lot of switches where he was up against Zu and just shot over him again and again. Occasionally, he’d knock down an early offense three, as well. In the fourth, he was mixing in some dunks in between the threes. He had the lead down to 10 with half a quarter left, just throttling the Clippers offensively. Throw in some beautiful passes, too, like a pocket pass to Gabriel, with barely a gap to thread it and leading him on the roll for the score. So he’d lead the team in scoring, in boards and assists. Defensively, we couldn’t get stops (he did have a steal in that fourth, which he took the distance). He also had a save attempt where he dove over the first row. Honestly, though, it wasn’t a good defensive game from him. There was a lot of standing and watching early on. But look at all the other numbers above where he led the team. We just need more energy and D around him. You’ve got to have others step up more, giving second and third efforts, when he’s expending a lot of effort carrying the attack to the opponent. The Stats: He scored 46 on 16-29 shooting (9-14 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and no fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -14.

Bryant -- -- No rim protection in the fourth. That quietly killed us. With AD so close to returning and Rui waiting in the wings, we can finally level up our size. Some all-too-easy scores by Zu in the post earlier in the game, but the drives in the fourth that scored over him when we needed stops were painful. Offensively, he’d continue knocking down some threes. He’d muscle in some points in the paint, as well. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting (2-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a -6.

Schröder -- -- Oof. That possession in the fourth where he dove to recover the loose ball in the backcourt. I thought he should have called a timeout, but he tried to pass it around Kawhi. It was stolen, then he tried to take a foul while on the ground and gave up a rally killing And-1 layup. All of his scores came early. He had a layup on a push out (faked a pass and scored). He hit a midrange pull-up. Then he drained a corner three. He’d then miss his next six shots, I believe. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -11.

Beverley -- -- He got the Kawhi assignment defensively to start this one. Having guys play up a position will, hopefully, be cut down significantly with Rui in the mix as we balance out the roster. Kawhi got some easy scores early on him. Bev made some scrappy defensive plays later. Offensively, I think he made his first shot, a corner three, then missed his next seven. Like Dennis, just not giving a lot on that end as the game went along. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-8 shooting (1-6 from three) to go with 2 offensive boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -15.

Brown -- -- Looking forward to seeing if we run a Bryant/Hachimora/Brown/Westbrook lineup out there. Get that Wizards crew some time together. They had a good run to get into the playoffs. As a second unit, maybe we see some chemistry. He made just one of five from three tonight, a corner three late in the game. Earlier, he knocked down a step back jumper in the lane, but the perimeter shot wasn’t there for the most part. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 block and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -13.

Westbrook -- -- Slow start to this one. I think he was 1-8 at one point. He made one three, a deep one that was really a poor quality shot. He had a couple others he shouldn’t have taken, as well. I wish he was more selective with those early shotclock threes. Good job getting to the line in this one (he’d miss a few which would also hurt his overall efficiency tonight). He had a nice And-1 score off a Bron handoff in the paint late in the game to help the Lakers to get within 11, but no late-game magic from the team tonight. Really looking forward to seeing the Rui/Russ combo on the floor. They had some good chemistry together with the two-man action or how Russ would read when Rui had a smaller man sealed in the paint. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 4-13 shooting (1-4 from three, 8-13 from the line) to go with 1 board, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a -11.

Gabriel -- -- Some really good work on the offensive board (he had 4) and at least a couple scores off those, including an And-1 he flipped in over his head. He and Bron teamed up a couple of times for scores. The nicest one was a sweet pocket pass from Bron down the middle of the lane for a layup. Bron led him with that pass and Gabriel ran to it and finished. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 6 boards (4 offensive) and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -12.

Toscano-Anderson -- -- He’d get a couple of garbage time scores, one a layup on an attack, another he hammered a dunk getting a runway. Prior to that he was swatted after getting away with a travel in the paint and missed a three. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -4.

Christie -- -- The Lakers were just a -4 with him out there (and that includes the +0 of garbage time). He made some plays defensively that don’t go down as stats. One, he recovered on his man to block a drive (it might have touched rim, but the shot wasn’t close on his recovery). Either way, no credit for a block. He also broke up a lob on another excellent recovery. He also poked a ball free from George to ignite a Laker break. With Nunn out of the mix, Christie will move up in the depth chart, but once our guys get healthy, it may be harder to find minutes for him. He’d score a couple of hoops in garbage time. The first was a three, the second was a two-handed jam after getting past his man on a hesi. A solid 17 minutes from him. Hopefully, we can continue to find minutes for him. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards and 1 steal in 17 minutes. He was a -4.

Jones -- -- Some rare action for him tonight as we went to garbage time for a few minutes. He swatted a drive and missed a floater badly. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 block and 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a +0.

Swider -- -- In for some garbage time run. He missed a three, having to force it up to beat the shotclock. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three and had 1 board in 5 minutes. He was a +0.

Pippen Jr. -- -- He drew some FTs, made one, got back the miss, attacked and was swatted. Next possession, he probed and hit a short baseline fade. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 1 assist in 5 minutes. He was a +0.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: We could go with one of those rally killing plays in the fourth, but really another 40-point second quarter. Hopefully, the return of AD brings the return of our defensive mindset.

Key Substitution: We gave up that 8-0 rally midway through the fourth that was the nail in the coffin. Ham quickly brought the bench in to save some minutes for tomorrow’s game. Bron still ran 33. Beverley went 35, which is way too many for him in any situation. I’m more curious tomorrow about whether they throw Rui into the starting lineup or bring him off the bench. I suspect he comes off the bench for the first one along with some of his former Wizard teammates, but we’ll see.

Key Stats: The Clippers were lighting it up in the first half from beyond the arc with 15-23 makes. They hid 4 of 14 in the second half, but the damage was already done. When the three ball wasn’t falling, they attacked the paint and got too many easy buckets. Control the paint or control the perimeter. If you can’t do either, you’re toast. Lakers gave up 133. They were toast.

[Omar Little]

First
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“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[TMG]

Fought til the end but it's hard to overcome ridiculous shooting from 3. We need AD badly for rim protection.

Brodie is frustrating but what else is new. Hopefully he'll light it up against the spurs.

Really dont like his overall vibe every post game interview being so hostile. Own up to your mistakes dude it's not hard.

[slavavov]

This game was evidence of why we need Hachimura. I hope he gets some significant run at the 3 so that there won't be any more 3-guard lineups. The return of AD, Walker and Reaves will also help defensively.

[danzag]

Thanks, DB!

Westbrook sucks. Can't wait to see him gone.

[Harlemlakerfan]

[Halflife]

Crazy Lue is 10-0 against Lakers. Dang Russ!
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Kobe.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Clw9scopegx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[governator]

Thought Bron was dueling well against Kawhi-PG, matching blow per blow but the threes and Norman Powell out dueling Russ, re-eval when Reaves, LW, Rui and AD is there

[PenG_]

Thanks DB! Frustrating game despite LeBron's insane scoring barrage, but this matchup almost never works out for us.

Kawhi's midrange game is such a spectacle. So simple, so efficient.

[mad55557777]

it was ok to let Kawhi and PG got theirs, but Reggie Jackson and Norman Powell really killed us.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Clippers at full strength > Lakers with LBJ minus Reeves, Walker, Rai and AD

[ThePageDude]

[yinoma2001]