LAKERS -at- PISTONS - 11-29-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Deeee-troit Basketball...Sucks… After the awful outing in the previous game, the Lakers got an easy one against the Pistons. Like most teams visiting the Pistons these days, that meant a blowout 133-107 road win for the Lakers.

They pounced on them early behind D’Angelo Russell’s 6-6 first quarter (and 35 points on the night). He pushed the pace early and the Lakers won the first quarter 38-24.

The outcome seemed inevitable. Detroit had a brief little run, but it was quickly extinguished and they never threatened the rest of the night.

With Russell shooting lights out and AD and Bron able to get what they want with consistency, the Lakers cruised and had extended garbage time.


LeBron -- -- Surprised he played as many minutes as he did. We brought him back in to start the fourth quarter up 25. (Why do that with a game tomorrow? Stu ranted on it.) I want to highlight how a little Russell worked with his stars tonight as he, AD and LeBron were dominant. So how did Bron work with Russell tonight? First quarter, we saw a rim run where he sealed his man early and Russell hit him over the top for the layup. Later in the second quarter, they worked an early offense sequence before the D could setup. Bron hit Russell with the handoff on the wing, then set a screen for him. This allowed Russell to get middle, Bron cut and that was an easy dunk. Bron had another dunk on iso with a quick first step baseline. That’s the type of move that he couldn’t make work last year after his injury. He’d throwdown on the break, as well late in the third quarter. Throw in some threes and it’s an easy night for Bron. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 9-19 shooting (2-6 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 4 assists and 1 turnover in 29 minutes. He was a +26.

Davis -- -- Strong first half with 19 and 9 to go with 3 blocks. I like the effort and energy from AD that shows up in a few areas -- putback scores (he had some nice dunks on the offensive glass) and freethrows. He had double-digit attempts from the line, which is always a sign of engagement/activity from him. Really nice play setup for the Lakers first score in this one where AD was the assist man. AD was setup in the midpost, Russell and Prince were weakside. Russell set a pin-in screen on the high defender at the elbow. Now AD can either attack on single coverage (or draw help and set the table). As the low man help defender communicated on coverage, Russell slipped the screen, took the pass under the hoop and scored a layup going to his strong hand before the D could switch again. A lot of options out of that play and it could work with a player that isn’t a shooter instead of Russell on that cut. AD and Russell did a really nice job working the two-man action. The Pistons got chewed up on some easy buckets for L.A. as they ran it at the top of the lane. First play of the second half was an easy layup for Russell as the D was concerned with AD. He probably should have had a bigger scoring night, but he missed some easy ones and some FTs. Defensively, multiple shotblocks, but also shot alterations. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 9-15 shooting (10-13 from the line) to go with 16 boards (4 offensive), 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a +29.

Russell -- -- Dominant first quarter and game. Good pace early on that led to him finding his stars on rim runs for easy hoops against mismatches and an AD lob on the break. Some good two-man work, as well. There was a nice sequence where he hit AD rolling for a layup, then next trip down, he ball-faked to AD and went in for the easy layup as the defense bit. He followed that up with a short pull-up off the same play. Scoring-wise in transition in that first quarter, he’d iso for a layup and swish a three to start 6-6 from the floor and push Lakers to a 28-14 lead early. The three ball was going off for D’Angelo. He was flamethrowing from start to finish. After some layups early in the second half, he dropped the three bombs. He’d sink an And-1 three in transition (AD was fouled off ball). He’d swish another on a swing pass to the wing late in the third. Then lose his man on a step-back on the next trip down. Defensively, some pass deflections and nice block from behind. The Stats: He scored 35 points on 13-17 shooting (5-7 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers in 34 minutes. He was a +31.

Prince -- -- He got the three ball to drop for him in this one. He sank a wing three in transition. He sank a corner three. And he rattled in a wing three for his third. Defensively, a nice steal on a dig down in the post. Easy night and not asked to do too much on that defensive end. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-4 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 23 minutes. He was a +26.

Christie -- -- Still in with the starters despite Cam’s availability. All his points came from the line as he missed both threes he took. He was fouled on a three for FTs and fouled on a layup attempt. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 0-3 shooting (0-2 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a +13.

Reaves -- -- The lack of intensity in this game seemed to have Reaves throttle back his usual effort/intensity. Early on, he attacked off a screen and banked in an easy runner to his right. He attacked from the wing for a reverse. He hit a short one off the two-man game. Hopefully, he saved up the energy for the next one. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-8 shooting (0-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +13.

Wood -- -- The three ball wasn’t falling, but he was still productive. He had a nice attack off the three line, pumpfaked twice and scored a layup. He hit an elbow jumper. I’d like to see more of that easy midrange from him. Late in the game, he threw down off the two-man with Lewis. With Rui out, he’s got to be that scoring bigman off the bench for us. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-9 shooting (0-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 1 astral, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a +2.

Hayes -- -- Not a lot of action in this one, but a couple defensive stops in limited minutes. He rejected a step-through attempt on help D for a shotblock. He also stepped in to draw a charge. The Stats: He didn’t shoot or score and had 1 board, 1 block and no fouls in 7 minutes. He was a -4

Reddish -- -- Good to have him back in the mix. We need that defensive energy. He came off the bench for 20 minutes in this one. He didn’t score but gave some good energy on the glass. He forced a traveling violation in the backcourt after a Laker make to get a turnover. (He’d cough it up a few seconds later, though.) But we’ll credit him with another backcourt defensive play there. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +13.

Hood-Schifino -- -- Nice minutes from JHS. He’d get to double digits in just 11 minutes. Even if it was garbage time against Detroit, it was good to see good things happen for him for a change. He iso’d and hit a long step-back from the wing midway through the fourth for his first bucket. He’d score a layup on the break off a feed from Lewis shortly later. He swished a sideline three in early offense. He drew FTs on a quick attack on the catch at the wing (could have had a few more points but shot poorly from the line). Very smooth, competent minutes. Hopefully, we see more and more of that. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-4 shooting (1-2 from three, 3-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -6.

Fudge -- -- He missed a couple open threes and a short one in the paint he should have had. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 offensive board and 1 foul in 4 minutes. He was a -3.

Hodge -- -- He drained a wide open three from the wing off a drive and kick from JHS for his only bucket. He probably should have been to the FT line getting hit on the break with no call. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 steal and 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a -7.

Lewis -- -- He swiped the ball and hit JHS for layup on the break. He also worked the two-man game with Wood and hit him for the slam. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot, had 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 7 minutes. He was a -3.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Ham mentioned wanting to play more decisive and more downhill. We saw rim runs from our stars and Russell pushing the pace from the start. That resulted in easy buckets and a big scoring first quarter for the Lakers. They kept the Pistons in their place all game.

Key Substitution: Should have sat Bron to start the fourth. Up big, playing a tough one tomorrow. Give him the rest. Maybe he didn’t trust the deep bench after the last one, but this is Detroit basketball these days.

Key Stats: The Lakers won all four quarters with three of them over 30+ points. Pistons secured their 15th straight loss. Ouch.

[waterman40]

First
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LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[Hanging from Rafters]

Good to get a blowout following the Philly debacle! Thanks DB! Hope we get that production from Dlo more often!
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“When it looks as if it is a realistic possibility, I want to focus on winning a ship like it’s a goal that can’t be denied. I didn’t see that this off season.”

[Nobody]

We beat the worst team in the league in a comfortable 26-point blowout. Which is still 18 points short of the Philly debacle.

[sonic the laker]

Thanks DB! Glad for the win, because NOTHING is guaranteed in this league. Win's aren't given. They're taken. And, the Lakers took it to the Pistons, in a much need bounce-back win.

The sloppiness/carelessness with the ball continues. Against subpar teams, this may not hurt you as much. Against the better teams in the league (like OKC), those unforced turnovers are game killers. That has GOT to improve. I REALLY hope that with chemistry (and a full healthy roster) that this happens.

DLo was blistering. His shooting catapulted the Lakers to a hot start. We saw a little more off ball action, which I hope to see more of. That said, there were still too many moments of stagnation/hesitation on offense. Once again, could be a chemistry issue.

This season's Reaves is not the Reaves of old. And, that's very noticeable. Austin has never been super athletic. But, this season, he really looks like he's playing on dead legs. Which would explain his inconsistency, on both ends of the court. Once we get more of our perimeter guys back (Gabe/Vando), I really think Ham should look into curtailing Reaves minutes. Either reducing them on a game-to-game basis. Or, just sitting him out every other game, or so.

Good win, and looking forward to the next one against OKC. Lakers!
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ZOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB! As the great Lou Boudreau said; "Ya gotta beat the bums."
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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".

[pio2u]

Any win is a good win. Thx DB