LAKERS -at- MAVS - 12-12-23 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Dante’s Inferno... You expect the big names to put on a show, but when the role players turn into stars against you bad things happen.

The Lakers fell behind early. AD picked up two quick fouls in the first 6 minutes of the opening quarter. The team then went scoreless for several minutes and trailed the Mavs 34-26 after the first.

Luka went to work in the second quarter, helping the Mavs to a 10-0 run midway through the quarter. He’d finish the half with 18 points and 9 assists. The Mavs sank 12 first half threes on their way to a 71-61 halftime lead.

Bron throttled up the activity in the third with a couple of layups and a couple more threes. They trimmed the lead to 5 after that flurry and forced a timeout. As Bron sat, AD took over at the end of the third to take the lead back by 2 heading into the final quarter..
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While Bron and Luka traded some hoops during the fourth, it was the Mavs role players that killed the Lakers. Dante Exum was 7-9 from three and Williams was 5-7. Exum, on fire from downtown, had multiple big scores down the stretch, including a huge dagger three with under a minute left to go up by 7.

Exum had 5 of his 7 threes in the fourth quarter (had time to square up and get clean shots off). He’s hit 8 threes all season. If Exum is going to get 26 on 10 shots, you might not win. The Lakers played him to beat them and he did. The Lakers fell 127-125.


LeBron -- -- Offensively, he got the Lakers off to a strong start in that second half with a drive for a layup, a steal for another layup and a couple of threes. He’d miss a heat check three and then another. Then went back to attacking the rim for some scores as he got downhill multiple times. A couple big miscues down the stretch -- he was called for an offensive foul sticking his rear on out a screen. He also missed a big three with 2 minutes to go. Defensively, good hands tonight (3 steals, 1 block), but some poor perimeter defense to give up open threes in this one. Too many times we didn’t force guys off the three line or stay attached. The Stats: He scored 33 points on 14-27 shooting (3-8 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 9 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 40 minutes. He was a -4.

Davis -- -- He picked up early foul trouble, getting his second foul with 6:11 left in the first quarter. That forced him to sit early and we gave up a lead. He’d still finish with 20 points on 8-11 shooting at the half, however. Late in the third as Bron sat, AD took over. He swished a fade in the post. Drew FTs. Ignited a break knocking a ball loose on the two-man defense. He then hit a long jumper on a two-for-one. After we got the stop, he followed that up with a three at the end of the third to take the lead back. He’d lead the Lakers with 37-11, following up his big previous game. Defensively, too often the Lakers didn’t funnel shooters to AD to make them uncomfortable. They tried using AD to trap early on. Later in the game, some switches. He’s still not looking healthy at times, but is still crushing it. He said it was feeling well until that Indy game. Again, this is why the prize should be a little more for teams playing in an extra game that no one else does. (I mentioned elsewhere I think they should get the tiebreaker against any team in their conference at the end of the year as a benefit for winning the extra game. This will allow them to rest a player if needed for a game prior to the playoffs as a tradeoff. The Lakers are going to deal with this AD injury for a while.) The Stats: He scored 37 points on 15-21 shooting (1-2 from three, 6-10 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +0.

Russell -- -- Bron was talking to him a bit about his defense tonight. He gave up a couple open threes and a foul on a putback where Bron said something. He made a three in this one, had another rattled out. Some sloppy ball. He had an awful angle on a post entry pass that went out of bounds. He also got away with a double-dribble in transition that nearly cost the team a fastbreak. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 7 assists, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -6.

Prince -- -- We wasted a good game from Prince. His 5 threes were negated by Williams 5 threes. Still, Prince’s three shooting is regressing positively to the mean and balancing out now. Some good passing by Prince in this game. He hit reaves for a jumper. He attacked off the three line and found AD for an And-1 dunk as another of his 4 assists. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting from three to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +5.

Reddish -- -- He got the Luka assignment to start before picking up a couple of fouls, then Prince took over. We missed the Vando tag teaming. The Lakers defense had been next level with that combo. Tonight, they were back to giving up big numbers. Offensively, he probably gave back more than he accomplished. He charged in transition for a turnover and fumbled a drive away on another. He also couldn’t finish a drive he probably should have. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -10.

Reaves -- -- Twice in this game, he had And-1s erased with charges. We could have used those points. Still just an aggressive, productive game from Reaves with 22 points and 8 assists. He buried 4 threes in the game. Despite the charges that erased some points/possessions, I loved the aggressiveness of late. He was still able to get 8 assists despite looking shot-first at times. Some good passing sequences with him and Bron on two-man scenarios. That’s tough for teams as Bron gets downhill with a man advantage. Late in the game on a couple of possession, he got caught on Luka defensively and Luka was able to drive for some short runners. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 7-14 shooting (4-7 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 8 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +4.

Hachimura -- -- He was out there to close this game after barely seeing time in the last one. He was a little frustrated with the contact the Mavs were getting away with against him. Twice he went into the paint late in the game and drew contact with no whistle. He said the mask is annoying to play with but he thought he might have had his nose broken again tonight if he didn’t have it. He’d make a quick-fire three to beat the shotclock. He scored on a face-up baseline bully drive. And he’d attack off the catch for another layup for his other bucket. “We were trying to cover for each other but couldn’t figure it out,” Rui said. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -3.

Hayes -- -- A bit foul prone in his 13 minutes. He quickly picked up two fouls in his first minute and half coming in for AD midway through the first quarter because of his foul problems. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 4 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist and 4 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a -1.

Christie -- -- He was tied for the team high in +/- with a +5 in his 6 minutes. Some interesting lineups with Hayes, AD, Rui, Christie and Reaves. Occasionally, we have him bring the ball up to initiate the offense. It’s possible, apparently, that Gabe might be back in a week. That ballhandling and time Christie has been doing will likely be done unless we go smaller. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and had 1 assist and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a +5.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Maybe when Vando wasn’t available for this one. The Lakers took the lead when Luka sat late in the third quarter. Luka played all but 5 minutes in this game. He regained control for the Mavs when he returned in the fourth quarter. Had the Lakers been able to throw Vando on him for just a few minutes that might have been a difference maker.

Key Substitution: We let Hardaway go off for 32 points off the bench.

Key Stats: In addition to their 12 first half threes, the Mavs had a 14-4 advantage on the break, capitalizing on 10 Laker turnovers in the half. For the game, the Lakers made 15-29 shooting. They gave up 21-43 from three to the Mavs. Luka finished with 33 points and 17 assists. Just picked the Lakers apart.

[kfkilla]

Thank you! I knew they were gonna lose this one. The high of winning the cup was bound to have a let down.

[deal]

Thanks DB! It did end closer than it was projecting, but still, a lose.
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Lakers need to build a freaking team !

[slavavov]

I don't buy that the team was spent after winning the IST. It had two full days off before this game, and it should've been well-rested.

That being said, we saw one part of the Lakers' 3-point troubles. They shot really, really well from downtown, but they attempted 29 3s, while Dallas attempted 43. Dallas made six more 3s, which means 18 more points for them just on 3-pointers.

Even when the Lakers shoot well from downtown, which seldom happens, they still have a deficit in 3-point shooting because of volume. They need more reliable 3-point shooters so that when teams like Dallas go on a hot streak, they can blunt that streak by hitting some 3s, especially contested 3s, of their own.
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Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers

[Nobody]

Welp, that awesome defense quickly went to (bleep). It takes a team effort so it's a little unfair to point the finger at one player, but what the heck was DLO doing out there. He gave up multiple open threes or his disinterest led to them with half-assed closeouts. One in the corner was particularly egregious where he kind of pretended to have his hand up multiple feet away from the open shooter. Dallas really gives us fits, and those problems are exacerbated when the teams collectively decides to play with no effort on defense.

[cathy78]

[PenG_]

Really sucks to lose a game in which we shot 52% from three. Congrats to the 30% career three pt shooter for lighting the net on fire.

When Luka is surrounded by people you can't help off of, and Reddish/Vando aren't out there... scary hours.

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB.

Teams are going to get hot from 3 on occasion, especially at home.
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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".

[Nobody]