LAKERS -at- BLAZERS - 2-13-23 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Flamethrowing... The Lakers had a few moments early in this one. And then they were scorched.

After the Lakers took an early 12-5 lead, it was all Blazers in the first quarter. They sank an incredible 10-14 from three in the quarter, outscoring the Lakers 29-7 after that early lead.

Then Dame took over. He poured in 24 of his 30 first half points in the second quarter as the Blazers hit 17 threes, the Lakers just 3 in the first half. The Lakers left defenders on an island and Dame just went after it on iso. Ham said the analytics on the shot defense looked good, the Blazers were just hitting. That was certainly true for Lillard, whom you just needed to take the ball out of his hands.

The Lakers tried to play with a bit more pace in the third quarter and finally sent some doubles at Lillard. While the offensive output picked up, they still struggled to get stops as the Blazers continued to find good looks.

The Blazers controlled the first three quarters and could cruise in the fourth. Thankfully, they didn’t drop another 17 bombs on the Lakers in the second half, but it didn’t matter. The Lakers fell 127-115.

The 23 threes were tied for the second-most threes given up in Laker history.

“That barrage of threes, man. That’s hard to overcome,” Ham said.

Not having LeBron in this game made a big difference as the Blazers could put bigger defenders on our guards and hide Lillard. Schröder, who has usually been a reliable scorer with LeBron out, was held to just 2 points tonight.


Davis -- -- He was able to get low position with some frequency early in this one. That led to easier hoops versus last game where he was constantly 15-20 feet from the hoop. He had 13 points on 13 shots and 13 boards in the first half, still not efficient shooting. Not a lot of shots in the third quarter. He hit an elbow jumper, choked a finger roll and had a nice swat on Lillard on the defensive end. His highlight was when Simons tried to take it to AD on a drive and was soundly rejected. Good job on the glass tonight with the near 20-20, but the team needed a bit more than the 19 points on 18 shots. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-18 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 20 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 3 blocks and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -10.

Russell -- -- He had 9 points on 4-10 shooting in the first half, making just 1 of 5 from three. He’d hit another three in the second half, but like AD, it was 16 points on 16 shots. With every new game, they can go deeper into the playbook, but I think we’ll see a bit of just hooping for a stretch as they figure things out. They could have used the garbage time to work on some stuff, but didn’t. At some point, DLo will get a bit more methodical and surgical. Can’t wait to see him with Bron out there as that changes him from being a No. 2 to a No. 3. But more importantly, I’m curious to see the spacing we now have for Bron to get surgical on offense. Really liked his interview after the game. “We’ve got every excuse in the world. Are we going to use it or are we going to go out there and make something happen?” Russell said afterward of all the new pieces. He said for the team to be consistent, they need to figure out the offense and Bron will help with that. That might also flow into the defensive side. He mentioned not getting too high or getting too low. Such a veteran now. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-16 shooting (2-8 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 28 minutes. He was a -7.

Hachimura -- -- We saw a smaller Rui/Vanderbilt lineup at one point in the third as we were desperate. It felt like we played a bit small all night. Hopefully, LBJ and Bamba are in the mix in the next one and that flips the tables. Offensively, he hit a post-up turnaround. He got blocked, got it back and hit a jumper. He scored a layup on a rim run that Lillard had to matchup against. He had 8 points on 8 shots. Defensively, we seemed to be willing to give certain guys some threes and that backfired. Ham said that was part of the plan after. A couple times Rui just let them shoot without a challenge and it was just like a practice session with everything going in. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 block and 2 turnovers in 22 minutes. He was a -1.

Schröder -- -- He, too, had his hands full with Lillard defensively. Maybe the bigger problem was that Dennis wasn’t getting anything back on the offensive end. The Blazers were able to stick some bigger defenders on him with LeBron not in this game. If you eliminate the impact Schröder has been giving us offensively when LeBron has been out, that makes it especially difficult on the Lakers. Not a good night for Dennis. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-7 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 6 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -6.

Brown -- -- Quietly, I think this was where the game was won for the Blazers. It wasn’t Brown’s fault, it was this should be LeBron’s spot. With LBJ out for another game, Brown got the start again. While we slid him to SG when Bron was healthy, DLo changes all that. But for the Blazers tonight, it allowed them to hide Dame on Brown defensively. This is an advantage of running a Schröder/Russell combo in starting lineups. You make the opposing guard work. With LBJ in the mix, there is no place for the opposing PG to hide on your SF. So, you make them work on D and hopefully that impacts their O. The Blazers have to use size on Bron instead of our guards. It just changes the dynamic of this game. Brown tried to get more aggressive in the second half, ideally he does that against Dame (but he’d do it against defenders at times, too, and pay the price). But in the third we found him for a few layups and he also hit a three. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-9 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal and no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -2.

Vanderbilt -- -- He was picking up some cheap touch fouls tonight, a couple trip-like plays where defenders stumble and another light arm touch on a layup. I want him to help us win the battle of the little things: loose balls, offensive boards, stops…getting extra possessions over the course of the game. A little bit of that tonight, but it seemed like a few too many plays where we’d come out on the wrong side of things. Defensively, he was able to turn stops (or even made baskets) into transition opportunities on the other end. He quickly outlet a couple of Blazer turnovers that turned into points on the other end. He also had a nice steal jumping into a passing lane and saving it back to a teammate. Portland did a good job keeping him from easy putbacks around the rim. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -29.

Reaves -- -- Rough night. Put on an island against Dame. On iso, there would be no help so you need to stay on one shoulder to avoid letting him get to his step back. But there wasn’t any help coming, so Dame got hot and went off. You might go with an even taller defender to help against those step-backs and push him to drive. But when he’s hot like that you just need to send doubles. I was more irritated with seeing him let Simons go around him with ease in the second half on one score. There’s always a lot of comparisons with Reaves and AC, but this matchup against Dame, you can really see just how much more effective the athletic AC is in making Dame do what you want him to. Offensively, Reaves would get one three to go. He’d draw a couple of trips to the line. He’d attack off the three line for a reverse. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and 1 turnover in 25 minutes. He was a -25.

Beasley -- -- With the three ball still struggling a bit early, he mixed in some drives. That led to a bucket and setting up some teammates. He finally hit a pull-up three in transition in the third and also got a layup on the break. That seemed to take the lid off for him from distance. He would swish a wing three off a handoff early in the fourth, then hit the ground for a loose ball to get a stop. He’d knock down back-to-back threes to force a timeout in garbage time. He’d hit another three to cut it to 15. That’s the kind of game-breaking shooting we are hoping for, except when it’s in the middle of a tight battle and suddenly he sparks us to a lead. He’d end up the team’s high scorer after knocking down another three in the final possession. Hopefully, this carries into the next game and makes an impact. “For me personally, it helped me out mentally,” he said of seeing the ball go in on a high clip. Can’t wait to see him with Bron out there. “I got my confidence back tonight,” he said. What worries me for Beasley is how the Lakers may be looking to trim some expenses this offseason for tax purposes. His team option will be tempting for some penny pinching. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-16 shooting (6-12 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -8.

Walker IV -- -- He sank a couple of threes. Some early action, then we went away from him in the second half until garbage time. I’m not sure what his role will be and it seems certain he won’t be in the mix next season as they’ve got to deal with tax issues. What they really need is someone to replace Pat Bev’s defensive role right now. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-6 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 turnover and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +1.

Gabriel -- -- Some good effort on the offensive glass, but not much impact during the heat of the battle. We have Bamba available for the next one. We tried going for a Rui/Vando lineup at one point in this one. I suspect Wenyen sits in the next one as we run Mo/Vando. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-4 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -1.

Reed -- -- Your team high +14 in 6 minutes. That’s because his 6 was when the game transition to garbage time midway through the fourth. He scored a layup on his first touch as Wenyen attacked and found him. That was his only shot and score. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +14.

Christie -- -- He got in for some garbage time and looked like one of our few competent defenders. Wish it was on the winning side of garbage time, but glad to see him get more minutes. We need him to develop. Short stretch but a lot of action. He had his man try to iso on him under the hoop and swatted the shot. He came up with a steal shortly later and drew FTs in transition. He’d then throw a really bad pass for a turnover not recognizing a trailing defender on the perimeter. He’d find Wenyen for a couple FTs next time down. He missed his only three. His campus had a mass shooting today. “It definitely hits home,” he said. They also referenced another mass shooting where he grew up. “”The fact that this is still going on. We’ve had this issue for years in this country, it hurts,” he said. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-1 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a +14.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: I’m not going to say when Dame was going off in the second quarter. That certainly felt like when the Lakers were against the ropes. But maybe the key was anytime Thybulle hit a three. The coaches game-planned to leave him open. He’s a 33% three shooter, but knocked down 4-6 tonight. We were in trouble when it was raining threes from all over. I don’t think our game planning did anything but give some mediocre shooters even better looks to go with the other guys who were on fire. That was the real backbreaker.

Key Substitution: Let’s go with Beasley catching fire in the fourth. I thought we could have used that fourth quarter of garbage time to get some reps in and work on some plays. Instead, we sat our main guys. But getting Beasley to find his shot and get his confidence going might be something that can carry over to the next one.

Key Stats: The Lakers made 3-17 from three in the first half -- a problem, of course. But the Blazers were on fire, hitting 17-29 from three -- a franchise record for a half.

[Startrout]

That was ugly. I never turnoff games before they’re over, but about half way through the 4th I was done, I just couldn’t watch another minute. Oh well, at least we get to see Bamba in the next one.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Rough game in a tough city against a team that was missing its two bigs that was difficult to watch since it appears that (surprisingly, we appeared to be outclassed).

At this time, it appears that AD is an uber talented player that we need to help him by setting up plays to have him more involved. He did get 20 rebounds

Since we don't have the MVP AD on the court (hopefully after the ASG, we will find him) to be the solid rock foundation that sets the table for others (when LBJ is not playing), we need a plan that sets up our shooters (since outside of AD, only Rui can score in the paint area) by using AD as a screener and to get rebounds.

Missing chippies, losing 51/50 plays, not getting rebounds and not having consistent Energy Effort and Urgency on the floor - game quickly got out of hand and the team never felt that it had the chance to comeback in this game.

Hopefully the team will learn how to funnel shooters into AD in the future.

Look forward to where we get consistent offensive production from DLo, Beasley, Rui and Schroeder very soon.

Time for the team to get back into the classroom.

[DrDent]

Thanks DB...missed it so thanks for write up.

Well, at they've been consistent this season. Just when we get optimistic...


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"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

[slavavov]

Seems like this was just one of those games where nothing went our way. You can count on a few games like that every year no matter how great you are. Not sure how much we can take from this one.

But it was great to see Beasley get hot, even if it was in garbage time. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come.

[A Mad Chinaman]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[wolfpaclaker]

Some advanced metrics on the game that stood out

Offense rating
Good
129 Walker
127 Gabriel
117 Beasley
116 Brown Jr.

Bad/ugly
101 Dennis
100 Rui
98 Austin
91 Vandy

Net rating
-61 for Vandy
-49 for Austin
-15 for AD
-14 for DLO

[Aeneas Hunter]

Good heavens. I had to hit the sack early, so I saw only the first few minutes of the game. I thought we'd win by 20 or 30. Portland looked like garbage. I'm glad I missed the rest of the game.
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Internet Argument Resolved

[Bron2AD]

Please do something about a troll that pops up in every game thread.

[pio2u]

THX DB

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB.

I can see some criticism for the Lakers perimeter defense not chasing players off the 3 point line, if the Lakers are employing a gimmick defense that counts on every opponent having a player you can leave open, then perhaps the Blazers took to the film room and exploited it.

Then again, there is a long, rather unexplainable history of the Blazers having their best 3 point shooting game of their careers against the Lakers, no matter what year it is, who's coach, and what squad we have out there, Blazer players who have no business taking 3's all turn into Ray Allen out there at the same time, then Lillard goes hysterical. Sometimes it fades at halftime, this time it lasted all game long.

On to the next game, and hopefully some defensive rotations and coordination, and just maybe a little perimeter pressure start showing up soon.

[Startrout]

I believe we need to find a way to make the opposing team work much harder on defense as that will usually have a negative effect on the offense. This game, it felt like Portland was stopping us easily most of the game, then running down with lots of energy left to swish 3’s.

[joeblow]

After that horrendous display on the court, Ham actually said after the game that "analytics" told him at half time that the Lakers' defensive performance was #1 in the league. He seriously said that!

Hey genius, how about ditching the three and four guard lineups you are so passionately in love with now that you have bigger Lakers on the roster! My guess is that at least 80% of the game Ham had more players on the court of a traditional guard size than not, and he wonders why the opponents' jump shots continue to go in.

It's because your little ones are easy to shoot over! It's not astrophysics! Who cares if a Laker defender is in range to guard a TBlazer shooter if he's not tall enough to seriously affect the shot itself? That's not counting all the times NOBODY was near an outside shooter, despite what your "analytics" tell you.

He also said he had no answer for Dame's shooting. How about trapping him with an extra defender coming off of Portland's least skilled shooter and live with the results? I mean, what's wrong with this coach?

This guy gets an F for that pitiful job he did last night. After Lebron and Bamba start playing, if we see Ham STILL going small for extended stretches, then all hope will truly be lost.

[A Mad Chinaman]

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB! Not sure how winnable this game was with Portland’s hot shooting. But, I agree with what DLo said post-game: We have all kinds of excuses but can we just play our hardest and get something accomplished? Answer to be determined.

More questions and answers:
1. Can Ham coach his way out of a paper bag? Not so far.
2. Why must we play our two point guards together? See #1.
3. Is Bron going to play injured in the All-Star game after missing so many recent important games? Seems likely.

The coaches and players need to find their identity. I’ve been wondering if we should start half-court players with youth and speed off the bench. For instance:
Start: DLo, Beasley, Bron, AD, Bamba
2nd unit: DS, Reaves, Vandy, Rui, Gabriel
Hope to see DLo and DS separated at the very least.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[danzag]

I'm losing faith in Ham

[LakerSD]

What a (bleep) pathetic performance to lose to a team without Grant and Nurkic. Just embarrassing man.

[Cutheon]

Way different defensive talent but I miss Vogel’s ability to create stifling defensive schemes that just broke opposing offenses. He completely corralled Portland when we played them in the playoffs. Don’t see Ham or anyone on this staff whipping up an equally competent defense

[A Mad Chinaman]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[A Mad Chinaman]