Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 10:46 pm Post subject: HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 1-7-22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings
Four Straight... An entertaining game as the team was getting up and down with speed tonight and moving the ball in the half court.
They had a hot hand in Malik Monk, whose 21 first half points helped the Lakers into a 19-point lead in the second quarter. He was on fire from three, and the ball was finding him.
In the last 6 minutes of the half, however, the Lakers gave up 27 points to the Hawks (a 27-7 run), and the lead was back to just 3 by halftime. The Lakers had 19 assists with just 3 turnovers in the half.
“It’s a beautiful game when the ball is popping,” LeBron said.
They kept the ball moving in the second half as they poured in 70 points. They didn’t shake the Hawks loose until later in the fourth quarter and LeBron flipped the switch to Dominant Mode and took over. The Lakers took the win 134-118.
LeBron -- -- We were milking hot hands for the first three quarters. When he draw attention, guys like Monk reap the rewards. Then it was time for LeBron to close in the fourth. He scored 17 points in the quarter, showing he had that closing kick again. Certainly, that extra day off helped, but he also paced himself as we had others scoring at a high clip. That post up fade is a ridiculous shot. You need your stars to bail out the offense at times and that’s really his go to these days. Loved seeing all the defense turn into offense. He had 4 steals and 3 blocks. That got the Lakers out in transition for some Showtime action. “I’m trying to be proactive and not reactive,” LeBron said on the defensive end. That’s really a key for the small ball center. We need to be aggressive and anticipating what’s going to happen. Beat teams on passes, to the spot and on strips versus trying to always erase mistakes by blocking shots up high at the rim. Mobility and smarts need to be our strength when we don’t have size. LeBron and Russ were both a couple small stats from having triple-doubles in this one. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 13-24 shooting (1-6 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 9 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 4 turnovers and 4 foul sin 37 minutes. He was a +4.
Westbrook -- -- Russ continued his turnover-less ball with 8 assists in the first half with no turnovers. The perimeter shot wasn’t falling and he took a few too many of those. So scoring-wise he was just 1-7 for 3 points, but he was still a +10 by keeping it clean elsewhere and helping out on that defensive glass. His first turnover of the game came in the third off one of those wild drives where he thought he saw a lob at the last second that wasn’t there. That’s really been one of the bigger differences -- it seems like he’s been trying to “just score” or “just pass” on plays versus trying to make last-second decisions. Hasn’t been great scoring-wise, but 6 straight quarters without a turnover I will take. He picked up his fourth and fifth foul in a few seconds early in the fourth quarter and had to sit. We brought him back in with 6 minutes left and he fouled out two minutes later. Really a weak call to foul out on. He just had an arm straight up in the paint. Lakers were up 10 and we brought in THT for him and didn’t skip a beat despite Russ leading the team with the +22. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-14 shooting (1-3 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 13 assists, 3 turnovers and 6 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +22.
Monk -- -- What turned for the team? “We just don’t like losing,” Monk said afterward. He buried 5 threes in the first half, shooting 8-10 on his way to 21 points in the half. He was just automatic. I mean, you knew it was falling every time he got it. Credit the Lakers team in the half as they did a great job of moving the ball to find him. It was popping around the perimeter and all of a sudden, bam, it finds Monk and there goes the three. Killed the Hawks. To start the second half, he buried a couple more threes and forced a quick timeout. He went cold for a stretch and we also didn’t continue working the ball to him in that third after that. He had 27 points after three quarters. The shot wasn’t falling in that final quarter, either, but late in the fourth, he came up with a couple of defensive plays to get stops (one led to a LeBron dunk and the dagger). Then Monk followed that shortly later with a monster putback jam crashing the glass. Quite the exclamation point on a great game from him. I love the consistency from him right now. Not just on offense, but on both ends. Earlier in the season, he was getting lit up a bit too much and would also have really bad decision making for turnovers. We’re not seeing that. He’s getting the minutes and we are leaning more and more into his offensive game as he’s been a walking bucket. LeBron mentioned the importance of stability after this game. It appears that is making a big difference for him. The Stats: He scored 29 points on 11-20 shooting (7-12 from three) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 4 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +14.
Bradley -- -- He had Trae Young guarding him. After the first 8 minutes of that, Bradley had 13 points, sinking two threes, an And-1 pull-up and a layup off an interior feed. The Lakers were hunting Young as the Hawks tried to hide him. In the second half, he had another great cut off a Russ drive to create and easy scoring opportunity and Russ found him for the layup. He’d sink his fourth three to finish off his scoring. Scrappy D, Trae was turnover prone and never had too many easy looks. Bradley got his contract guaranteed today. He’s certainly found a home here and has played a big role. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-11 shooting (4-7 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards and 5 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +15.
Johnson -- -- Back in the starting lineup with another 10-day contract. Seems pretty clear we’re going to sign him for the rest of the season at some point, but are leaving a roster spot open as we come up to trade season. Two steals and a block tonight. He gives those young legs around our vets. His only score tonight came off a steal of a perimeter pass that he pushed out for an And-1 drive. He also stole a lob that ignited a breakaway. The Lakers got out on the break again and again tonight. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +4.
Anthony -- -- “Carrrrrr-MELOOOOOO…” We hear a lot of that from Billy Mac when Melo is launching from three. He buried 4 tonight and is kind our version of the Hawks’ Gallinari. You really want to hunt both those guys on D when they are out there so that they don’t kill you on the other end. The Hawks did a little of that, but we also saw Melo coming out for the hard doubles to get the ball out of the attacker’s hands. Sometimes players don’t want to make that dump off pass that won’t always lead to an assist. So they stop hunting that matchup. In addition to the 4 threes, he also was fouled on one that was a flagrant -- a classic step under the landing space. Melo stepped on the foot on his way down, glad he wasn’t hurt. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-10 shooting (4-7 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and no fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +2.
Horton-Tucker -- -- THT got them off the bench with a massive dunk in the second half. He worked off the high screen, then crossed over the big to get into the middle of the paint and took off from there for the throwdown. Really good second half. The first half was a bit so-so. He was a -10 in his first 13 minutes. The Hawks started sagging off him and disrupting the Laker offense elsewhere. THT proved them right by missing all three of his attempts beyond the arc in the first half. In the second half, the ball was in his hands more for scores. Once he got going, he buried a three. The last couple of games, the three ball dropped when he was scoring in other parts of his game first. Good passing game, finding shooters like Melo or hitting LBJ on the break. Again, hard to say whether he’s just feeling better after Covid or if the small ball floor spacing (and the sub pattern) is favoring him more. Probably both. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-13 shooting (1-4 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 31 minutes. He was a -2.
Reaves -- -- Again, one of those games that you won’t notice by looking at the stat sheet. So many little defensive plays, like challenging guys on the perimeter and forcing airballs/bricks. I loved seeing Trae trying to go at him. On occasion, looking for that high screen and then trying to see what Reaves had. Reaves killed him. On one he forced Trae into a bad pass that we stole. He had another good challenge on a drive to force a miss. He then strip-blocked Trae’s drive and threw the ball off his face to get the stop. Offensively, he hit a floater from the elbow for his only hoop and missed a couple of threes. He also once again found Melo for a long jumper. He does a good job spotting him. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +10.
Howard -- -- Brief stretch of ball in the first half. I could have sworn he blocked a shot off Reddish, but no credit there. Still, he grabbed some boards at a high clip. The Lakers went small the rest of the night. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and grabbed three boards to go with 1 foul in 4 minutes. He was a +6.
Ariza -- -- With Stanley back in the mix, Ariza was back on the bench for some spot duty. He didn’t score on a couple of attempts, but he did have a nice feed on the break to THT for an And-1 layup. He didn’t settle for the three, kept attacking and fed him. Only memorable part of his game. The Stats: Hedidn’t score on 0-2 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and no fouls in 12 minutes. He was a +8.
Bazemore -- -- He came in for some late garbage time and had a couple boards. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 2 boards (1 offensive) in 2 minutes. He was a -3.
Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Let’s go with LeBron finishing a lob to start the fourth, then getting into the midpost for a couple of fallaway buckets early on in the quarter. He just throttled up his scoring in that fourth when guys like Monk were cold or Russ was in foul trouble and not playing.
Key Substitution: THT again did some heavy lifting for LeBron as our backup PG. The first half the Hawks sagged off him a bit. In the second half, he had the ball in his hands more and was a +8 in that half. When Russ sat in the fourth, we didn’t skip a beat. He went 30+ minutes off the bench.
Key Stats: Let’s start with 4 in a row. We got some defenders back and are able to match up a little better and string together some wins. The big stat in this one, though, is the 37 assists with just 8 turnovers. In the half court, you’ve got small ball, floor spaced well, make the simple pass. The defense also led to easy offense in transition and that led to easy passes and buckets.
Another welcome win. Not sure if the high scoring affairs will end up biting them due to not really having great D...but, we shall see. AD will make a difference there when he returns. _________________ "One thing I admire about Kuzma is his unwavering confidence. He truly has no idea that he’s not as good as he thinks." - Killer_Z
Playing and competing with passion - the complete opposite on how the Pistons are currently playing (as described by the TNT crew)
As Big James shared, the Lakers are starting to have a Defensive Identity with Johnson, Reeves and Bradley leading the way.
Westbrook is learning what pace works best for the team, oppose to the pace that is good for Westsbrook because he was the Da Man. Here, LBJ is the Alpha Male with everybody following him
2nd game in a row I needed to go to bed (for work not cause I don't want to watch lol) before we took off in the 2nd half. Lebron looked bad in the minutes I watched, but apparently his shot started falling.
Living in Raleigh NC doesn't allow me to stay up late to capture the Lakers most of the time. The east coast just doesn't cover the Lakers with any kind of substantive depth. I grow weary of all the click bait and media talking heads that focuses more on off court issues than what is actually taking place on the court.
I may not say it often, but I truly look forward to your game takes sir. You have, barnone, the best recaps I've seen online and on TV.
Thanks, DB! _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".
2nd game in a row I needed to go to bed (for work not cause I don't want to watch lol) before we took off in the 2nd half. Lebron looked bad in the minutes I watched, but apparently his shot started falling.
I'm really happy for AB. He's been huge for us
The last couple games have kind of reminded me of back when Magic was playing. He’d orchestrate the game for others, pick his spots here and there, but then when it came down to the wire, he’d impose his will/dominance for several big scores himself.
Frank Vogel has put his imprint on the roster with players like Stanley, Avery, Reaves, Dwight. He began the season with not a good idea or understanding of which players would be there to replace those high motor role players.
However when I was watching this team yesterday, one of the things that stood out. How much better coached and together we look now that we have those pieces. They are no names. Even a guy like Monk, he was a defensive liabilty and now he can hold his own defensively.
The team is 20-14 with Vogel, 1-5 without. I think we're going to see talk about a different coach in the offseason, but it would be a gigantic mistake. We have a very good coach in LA. Steady, consistent, patient. Mentally strong.
Perhaps:
When AD comes back, you have AD takes Stanley's spot. Stanley is not really a floor spacer. AD would be same, but he would be able to be a much bigger scoring threat. Defensively, AD can slide into Stanley's spot again, but also rotate with LBJ, so we get better rim protection. Stanley had some good rim protection sequences yesterday. Hope AD is watching a lot of tape where he would be playing.
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 143283 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 11:25 am Post subject:
I only caught the second and third quarters so I saw some crappy defense and then some beautiful offense. With lineup turmoil and guys in and out, I think that the Grammy tour tells us what this team is. _________________ If you’ve got a dream, chase it, cause a dream won’t chase you back.
Frank Vogel has put his imprint on the roster with players like Stanley, Avery, Reaves, Dwight. He began the season with not a good idea or understanding of which players would be there to replace those high motor role players.
However when I was watching this team yesterday, one of the things that stood out. How much better coached and together we look now that we have those pieces. They are no names. Even a guy like Monk, he was a defensive liabilty and now he can hold his own defensively.
The team is 20-14 with Vogel, 1-5 without. I think we're going to see talk about a different coach in the offseason, but it would be a gigantic mistake. We have a very good coach in LA. Steady, consistent, patient. Mentally strong.
Perhaps:
When AD comes back, you have AD takes Stanley's spot. Stanley is not really a floor spacer. AD would be same, but he would be able to be a much bigger scoring threat. Defensively, AD can slide into Stanley's spot again, but also rotate with LBJ, so we get better rim protection. Stanley had some good rim protection sequences yesterday. Hope AD is watching a lot of tape where he would be playing.
Insights provided by yourself and DB are insightful and On Point - KUDOS!!
Yes, Stanley was having problems with various size mismatches in the post. What he is bringing is consistent and constant energy with a “Never-Say-Die” attitude that means that he never backs down - hence always making an impact on the games that he is playing.
Even though he is not gifted offensively, the Lakers have not suffered because his movement has provided opportunities for others
He has been receiving effusive compliments because there is a stark contrast when he is either in or out on the court. Is he a star player (no), can be consistent throughout the season (hopeful), be successful against the top players (maybe) and maintain his effectiveness in the playoffs where teams will have scouted his weaknesses (he can with the guidance of Vogel and LBJ/AD/AB
LBJ & The No Names Lineup
LBJ (Draymond Green role with extra offensive skills)
Stanley (in the Marcus Smart role)
Reeves (in the "Alex Caruso" role)
AB (in the Gary Payton/Dennis Johnson role)
Monk (Poor Man's version of Stephen Curry)
Vogel’s “Stamp” on the team is bringing the team greater clarity, focus and effectiveness. Before there was talk that Lue is better, that has gone away
Last edited by A Mad Chinaman on Sat Jan 08, 2022 8:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35194 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 2:21 pm Post subject:
DancingBarry wrote:
PenG_ wrote:
2nd game in a row I needed to go to bed (for work not cause I don't want to watch lol) before we took off in the 2nd half. Lebron looked bad in the minutes I watched, but apparently his shot started falling.
I'm really happy for AB. He's been huge for us
The last couple games have kind of reminded me of back when Magic was playing. He’d orchestrate the game for others, pick his spots here and there, but then when it came down to the wire, he’d impose his will/dominance for several big scores himself.
Who was better overall, Magic or LeBron? Is LeBron’s court vision on the same level as Magic? _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
-- Russ continued his turnover-less ball with 8 assists in the first half with no turnovers. The perimeter shot wasn’t falling and he took a few too many of those. So scoring-wise he was just 1-7 for 3 points, but he was still a +10 by keeping it clean elsewhere and helping out on that defensive glass. His first turnover of the game came in the third off one of those wild drives where he thought he saw a lob at the last second that wasn’t there. That’s really been one of the bigger differences -- it seems like he’s been trying to “just score” or “just pass” on plays versus trying to make last-second decisions. Hasn’t been great scoring-wise, but 6 straight quarters without a turnover I will take. He picked up his fourth and fifth foul in a few seconds early in the fourth quarter and had to sit. We brought him back in with 6 minutes left and he fouled out two minutes later. Really a weak call to foul out on. He just had an arm straight up in the paint. Lakers were up 10 and we brought in THT for him and didn’t skip a beat despite Russ leading the team with the +22. 
-- What turned for the team? “We just don’t like losing,” Monk said afterward. He buried 5 threes in the first half, shooting 8-10 on his way to 21 points in the half. He was just automatic. I mean, you knew it was falling every time he got it. Credit the Lakers team in the half as they did a great job of moving the ball to find him. It was popping around the perimeter and all of a sudden, bam, it finds Monk and there goes the three. Killed the Hawks. To start the second half, he buried a couple more threes and forced a quick timeout. He went cold for a stretch and we also didn’t continue working the ball to him in that third after that. He had 27 points after three quarters. The shot wasn’t falling in that final quarter, either, but late in the fourth, he came up with a couple of defensive plays to get stops (one led to a LeBron dunk and the dagger). Then Monk followed that shortly later with a monster putback jam crashing the glass. Quite the exclamation point on a great game from him. I love the consistency from him right now. Not just on offense, but on both ends. Earlier in the season, he was getting lit up a bit too much and would also have really bad decision making for turnovers. We’re not seeing that. He’s getting the minutes and we are leaning more and more into his offensive game as he’s been a walking bucket. LeBron mentioned the importance of stability after this game. It appears that is making a big difference for him. 
-- Back in the starting lineup with another 10-day contract. Seems pretty clear we’re going to sign him for the rest of the season at some point, but are leaving a roster spot open as we come up to trade season. Two steals and a block tonight. He gives those young legs around our vets. His only score tonight came off a steal of a perimeter pass that he pushed out for an And-1 drive. He also stole a lob that ignited a breakaway. The Lakers got out on the break again and again tonight. 
-- “Carrrrrr-MELOOOOOO…” We hear a lot of that from Billy Mac when Melo is launching from three. He buried 4 tonight and is kind our version of the Hawks’ Gallinari. You really want to hunt both those guys on D when they are out there so that they don’t kill you on the other end. The Hawks did a little of that, but we also saw Melo coming out for the hard doubles to get the ball out of the attacker’s hands. Sometimes players don’t want to make that dump off pass that won’t always lead to an assist. So they stop hunting that matchup. In addition to the 4 threes, he also was fouled on one that was a flagrant -- a classic step under the landing space. Melo stepped on the foot on his way down, glad he wasn’t hurt. 
-- THT got them off the bench with a massive dunk in the second half. He worked off the high screen, then crossed over the big to get into the middle of the paint and took off from there for the throwdown. Really good second half. The first half was a bit so-so. He was a -10 in his first 13 minutes. The Hawks started sagging off him and disrupting the Laker offense elsewhere. THT proved them right by missing all three of his attempts beyond the arc in the first half. In the second half, the ball was in his hands more for scores. Once he got going, he buried a three. The last couple of games, the three ball dropped when he was scoring in other parts of his game first. Good passing game, finding shooters like Melo or hitting LBJ on the break. Again, hard to say whether he’s just feeling better after Covid or if the small ball floor spacing (and the sub pattern) is favoring him more. Probably both. 
-- Again, one of those games that you won’t notice by looking at the stat sheet. So many little defensive plays, like challenging guys on the perimeter and forcing airballs/bricks. I loved seeing Trae trying to go at him. On occasion, looking for that high screen and then trying to see what Reaves had. Reaves killed him. On one he forced Trae into a bad pass that we stole. He had another good challenge on a drive to force a miss. He then strip-blocked Trae’s drive and threw the ball off his face to get the stop. Offensively, he hit a floater from the elbow for his only hoop and missed a couple of threes. He also once again found Melo for a long jumper. He does a good job spotting him. 
-- Brief stretch of ball in the first half. I could have sworn he blocked a shot off Reddish, but no credit there. Still, he grabbed some boards at a high clip. The Lakers went small the rest of the night. 
-- With Stanley back in the mix, Ariza was back on the bench for some spot duty. He didn’t score on a couple of attempts, but he did have a nice feed on the break to THT for an And-1 layup. He didn’t settle for the three, kept attacking and fed him. Only memorable part of his game. 
-- He came in for some late garbage time and had a couple boards. 
-- Key Moment: Let’s go with LeBron finishing a lob to start the fourth, then getting into the midpost for a couple of fallaway buckets early on in the quarter. He just throttled up his scoring in that fourth when guys like Monk were cold or Russ was in foul trouble and not playing.
