WARRIORS -at- LAKERS – 3-5-22 - DIY Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Sorry for the delay posting this. I haven’t seen the game yet. Looks like we actually got a good one.

Post your thoughts/recaps here.

[deal]

I only saw certain minutes of the game but looks like LBJ went off. I'll be interested to see the game and player recap.
_________________
Lakers need to build a freaking team !

[Laker7]

Very up and down game. Took a 56 piece from Lebron and 20 from Westbrick to get a win.

Lakers won the rebound battle but lost points in the paint. 3 point % and FG % were basically even but GSW shot less than 50% from the free throw line missing 10 free bee's.

All starters except Johnson were + on plus minus. All bench players were - except Melo. GSW bench outscored the Lakers bench 54 to 22.
_________________
Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[PenG_]

Didn't watch it live but just sped through the recording. I expected a prettier game tbh. We hit a ton of tough looks in the 2nd half, especially Lebron from deep, and played a team that's lost 8 of their last 10.

-Reaves and Monk are special
-Lebron 76% TS on 56 pts is insane

[A Mad Chinaman]

This is what has been reported

-

LeBron turns back the clock
The story of the night, without a doubt, was LeBron James. Speaking to ABC's Lisa Salters on the court after the win, he described a sense of "desperation" given the Lakers' recent poor run of form. Intent on making sure their slide did not continue, he dialed up one of the best performances of his career.

He got off to a terrific start, outscoring the Warriors by himself over the first five minutes, and never looked back. Every facet of his game was on point on Saturday. He was bullying his way into the paint for easy baskets and trips to the free throw line (12-for-13), and was feeling it from downtown (6-for-11).

There were plenty of highlights along the way, including a few huge dunks, but nothing was more exciting than his run of three straight 3s in the fourth quarter. After he made the first two, it was obvious he was searching for room to get off another one, and Jeff Van Gundy on the broadcast said it was a mistake. Then LeBron calmly drained it anyway to put the Lakers in front for the first time since the second quarter.

LeBron finished the night with 56 points, setting a new high for his Lakers tenure and tying the third-highest scoring game of his career. He also became just the fourth player in NBA history to score 50 after turning 37 years old, joining Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Jamal Crawford.

This was a truly incredible showing by LeBron and another reminder that he's still one of the league's premier players. He might be nearing the end of his career, but he still has a lot left in the tank, and it's a joy to be able to watch him.


2. Amid drama over role, both sides of Westbrook were on display
Russell Westbrook's tenure with the Lakers has been a borderline disaster and could be approaching a tipping point. Recent reports indicate that both sides want to part ways in the offseason, and some in the organization want him to be benched -- an idea head coach Frank Vogel has resisted so far.

Amid all the drama, Westbrook has maintained that he's going to continue fighting and doing his best to make it work. For most of the night on Saturday, that's just what he did. He played under control, made some smart cuts off the ball for easy baskets and finished with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists on 9-for-17 from the field. Overall, it was the type of performance the Lakers have wanted from Westbrook this season.

In the final few minutes, though, we saw why this has not been a great fit. Westbrook checked in with four minutes to play, and down the stretch had two turnovers and a badly missed fade away as the Lakers were trying to hold on to the lead. They ended up winning anyway, but those are plays you aren't going to get away with on a regular basis.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lakers-vs-warriors-score-takeaways-lebron-james-scores-season-high-56-points-to-help-l-a-end-losing-skid/live/

[A Mad Chinaman]

Another Report

-

After a strong start, the Los Angeles Lakers fell behind by 14 in the second quarter, and it looked like the same old tired story for them.

But they rallied to make it a ballgame in the third period, and in the final frame they outplayed one of the best teams in the NBA for a thrilling 124-116 win.

LeBron James led the way with a vintage performance, but for once he got help, and the most maligned player on the team helped out in a major way.

This was, without a doubt, the Lakers’ best win of the season, at least so far. With 19 games remaining, perhaps it will end up as the turning point of the year.

Stanley Johnson: C

At times, Johnson made his presence felt on the defensive end, using his 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame to his advantage and making his man work.

But offensively, he struggled, shooting just 2-of-7 from the field and missing all three of the 3-pointers. He did contribute in other areas though, with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

Malik Monk: B

Monk didn’t have one of his greatest games, but he did contribute to the win with his outside shooting, as he went 4-of-9 from downtown.

He finished with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block in 32 minutes.

Austin Reaves: A-

Reaves fought and hustled as hard as any of his teammates on Saturday. His defensive impact was noticeable, as he registered three steals and two rejections.

Offensively, he helped stretch the floor by making three of his five attempts from 3-point land, while adding two assists.

Russell Westbrook: B+

Westbrook did a good job of attacking the basket and playing downhill, particularly in transition.

When LeBron James went to the bench with 3:06 left in the third quarter and the Lakers trailing 91-82, Westbrook scored two baskets to trim their deficit to five at the end of the quarter.

He finished with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He had just four assists while committing five turnovers, but he was arguably the Lakers’ second-best player on Saturday.

LeBron James: A+

The four-time MVP did just about all he could to keep the Lakers in the contest. Down the stretch, the 37-year-old played like he was 27 and delivered the victory for Los Angeles.

He finished with 56 points, tying Trae Young for the highest individual scoring output this season, by shooting 19-of-31 from the field and 6-of-11 from downtown, to go along with 10 rebounds.

All things considered, this was probably James’ best individual game in his four seasons with the Purple and Gold.

Carmelo Anthony: A

Anthony continued his strong play of late by giving the Lakers some much-needed scoring punch off the bench. He was their only reserve who gave them any major offense.

He scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from downtown, plus eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

Avery Bradley: C-

After missing the last five games, Bradley was almost a non-factor on Saturday, missing both of his field-goal attempts.

He did, however, give his team five rebounds and one assist.

Talen Horton-Tucker: D+

Horton-Tucker simply didn’t have it against the Warriors, at least offensively. He missed all three of his shot attempts, although he did have two assists, one rebound and one steal.

D.J. Augustin: B+

Augustin isn’t being called on to do a whole lot off the bench, but he did do a good job on Saturday.

He hit two of his four shots from the field, all of which were 3-point attempts, while adding four assists against just one turnover, plus two rebounds.

https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-player-grades-l-bounces-145741196.html

[Laker4lifer4real]

Lebron took the Jordan role with 31 shots. He was the offense. Don't expect that from him every game at his age.

[LakerDYnasty72]

[gng930]

Felt like the team kept storming back but would lose momentum before breaking through. Russ was solid most of the game, trying to get to the rim often. Early on, it seemed he was getting stuffed, stripped, or just forced into more difficult shots near the rim that led to fast-breaks the other way. He found ways to be more assertive later on, getting closer under the rim for more manageable layups. In crunch time, he had consecutive boneheaded turnovers, later compounded by an offensive foul by Melo, and an 8-second violation by Lebron that prevented them from pulling away after taking the lead. Really felt that we were just a Warriors mini-hot streak away from giving away another one.

Monk had some monster weak side blocks that fed the crowd. I'm really pleased that he's channeling his athleticism towards defense. Melo also played some solid man D and Austin gave his usual consistent effort on D and prevented the game from getting out of hand in the 2nd. It felt the team was giving up way too many easy buckets though so the team D is still an issue although that's probably to be expected playing without a true center.

I was pleased to see that Monk, Melo, and Reaves were all reliable threats from the perimeter last night. If we're going to have any deep playoff success, it's probably going to boil down to those 3 around our big 3. I'm not sure I trust anybody else to close. But you still need fillers like Johnson, THT, Dwight, and AB to maintain that team energy on D.
_________________
Luxury Tax/FA Spreadsheet (Save to your Google Drive to edit)

[Startrout]

It was the most fun game to watch in along time. LeBron’s play for much of the contest didn’t seem all that different to me except a lot more shots were going in (including his free throws).

With this game everything was going our way. Luck was totally on our side. Scoring attempts that wouldn’t normally go in, were going in repeatedly. Boneheaded plays and turnovers, especially all the ones down the stretch, that would normally cost us dearly, weren’t leading to scores by the other team. The Warriors were missing free throws. Rebounds and loose balls were magically coming to us.

It was a great effort for sure, but I don’t see us getting that lucky most games. None the less, good things happen to teams that play hard and we played our butts off in this one… good to see. I thought Vogel did a good job of keeping as many “effort” guys on the floor as possible tonight as well.

[LakerLanny]

Lakers win! I repeat, Lakers win!
_________________
Love, Laker Lanny

[venturalakersfan]

It looks like the simple formula to win is for Lebron to score 50 and shoot 50% from 3. Easy peasy.
_________________
RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.

[Laker's Fan]

LeBron was spectacular on offense. Reaves was spectacular on defense. We kept the old man minutes down (exempting LeBron who is an alien), playing Monk, Stanley and Reaves a combined 90 minutes, and looked quicker and more connected defensively because of it.

[DrDent]

Thanks Mad for the recap. DB getting well deserved rest.

On a positive note, if LBJ goes 50/10 every, oh, 2 of 3 games, Lakers got a shot at a title
_________________
"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

[TDRock]

Just watched. That was fun.

Thanks for the write-up A-Mad

[wolfpaclaker]

Yeah finally got through the game.

Lebron was bringing that mentality that I wanted in the previous game. He was getting on teammates. He was intense. This is the Lebron we need. Obviously he can't score 50+ each game, and we can't win each game, but this is the mindset we need.

One note. Man, those late game TOs. Monk and WB are a TO/careless play waiting to happen.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Funny that the Nets and Lakers are going through similar issues - lol

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kevin-durant-does-everything-in-his-power-but-his-time-with-the-nets-has-been-a-disaster-so-far/