LAKERS -vs- NETS - 10-9-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Firepower... One thing about this roster, it’s a lot more balanced than last year, and they should be able to put up some points.

They ran what could be close to a regular season rotation in the first half of this one (no Vando, but Hayes in the mix).

The Lakers made 12-29 threes in their first half on their way to a 75-61 lead. Had they not completely short circuited at the end of the first quarter, they would have easily had 80+ points.

No LeBron, AD or Russell to start the second half, and guys started to iso, ball movement died, and the lead was quickly gone.

The Lakers were up 8 when they went to the summer league roster again with 8 minutes left in the fourth. Basically, Lonnie Walker versus the rookies. The rookies hung on with some nice ball from Max Lewis and Castleton to close.

The Lakers won 129-126. The defense is a work in progress, for sure. They won just one quarter in this game, but certainly had some dominant stretches with their stars.


LeBron -- -- Played a bit of SF in this game and very perimeter oriented. Ham said Bron has “worked feverishly” on that perimeter shot. He led the team with 17 minutes in the first half, essentially showing us his typical rotation. He’ll ease into it. I’ll be curious to see how much driving he does early in the season. He had some post possessions he worked into his turnaround fades. I liked the two-man action with Reaves. He hit Austen rolling for a score to start the second quarter. They ran it again and this time, he swung it weakside to Vincent for a three as the D got sucked into the paint. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-8 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +2.

Davis -- -- With just 14 minutes in the first half, he led the team with a +17. The three blocks saved teammates and the Lakers helped shore up the boards around him, giving up just 1 offensive board in the first half. He drained another three, a catch and shoot from the corner. He got downhill a couple times for scores and hit a midrange jumper. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-6 shooting (1-3 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 3 blocks and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a +17.

Russell -- -- Draining threes early and often. We found him for an open catch-and-shoot wing three and that got him going in the first quarter. He then sank a couple of threes straight away as the defense went under the screen. Then, he hit another three from the wing given just a hair of space. Four threes in the first quarter and then he also scored a layup leaking out off an AD board to take the outlet. The playmaking was just as big as he dished out 6 assists and had the offense popping. Just a half of ball like the three above. He’s looking great this preseason. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting (4-5 from three) to go with 1 board, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +10.

Reaves -- -- He had 10 points in the first half, sinking a couple of threes. I think he might lead the team in three shooting this year. There was a stretch in the second half where he drilled a three on a kickout, Cam answered him on the other end. Austin hit another next time down and Cam answered again. Austin then drew FTs on the next trip down. Short minutes with the preseason, but he still got his 18. They should keep one of Reaves or DLo on the court at all times. There was a stretch when Russell got his first rest where we had neither on court. Reaves had been sitting for a stretch and could have come in then. The other option would be that Bron needs to throttle up his playmaking work more during that rotation. Defensively, he looked slower footed than usual, but we always had size back there to help deter. Still, I think most of the time guys shot on him, they scored. Not a great outing on that end. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 5-7 shooting (4-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 turnovers with no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +4.

Prince -- -- He got the start at the SF and avoided the foul-prone pace of the previous game (he is a bit foul prone in general, but not like the last one which was about triple time on the whistles). We got to see how easily he slots around our four best players. Just a smooth fit, which is why I think he’ll be a major part of the rotation. Great job mixing in the three ball with attacking off the three line. He’d score a couple around the rim off the dribble. The D has to respect him and if they try to help, he can make them pay. Note the lack of rebounding. That’s a weakness of his game. This seemed like a pretty prototypical outing, including the fouls. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-7 shooting (3-5 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 5 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +4.

Hachimura -- -- Strong first half off the bench with 14 points on 6-9 shooting. He sank a couple of threes, got into the midrange for a couple more and then had a couple dunks in transition, including a lob from Bron. I especially appreciate how Rui can bail out the offense with that midrange. He’s very good at hitting with someone in his jersey. He did that a couple of times in this game. That’s a huge skill come playoff time when the importance of every possession picks up. He got the start in the second half and became the Lakers leading scorer with 19 points in 20 minutes. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-14 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -11.

Vincent -- -- He hit a wing three when Bron drew attention on the strong side. I expect we will see a lot of that this season and the floor spacing and lanes should open up more for Bron or just a lot of good looks for Gabe. He hit a couple tonight. He’s struggled on some passing over the top of traps in both of these games. We need to make sure we have more playmaking around him. I think that will improve as we get into our playbook with consistency. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-8 shooting (2-7 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -3.

Christie -- -- The three ball wasn’t there like it has been. Some good looks, just not hitting the ones he’s usually been drilling. Defensively, some excellent moments containing men off the dribble (bogus foul on one) and his usual rebounding effort. We gave him the ball to close the quarter and he worked the clock low, took the high screen and drilled his one make from three. A couple of guys decided to corner fill on the break and it cost the team points. Christie had a step on the D, but faded instead of going to the rim and that cost LeBron a turnover and the Lakers a bucket. Reaves also faded instead of going to the rack. Take the easy ones. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting from three to go with 3 boards and 4 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +2.

Wood -- -- Again, some action with AD which give this team that two-big lineup, except with perimeter shooting (once Wood warms up from there). Not a lot of flow yet with him. It will happen. When the starters all sat, he got more aggressive and had some excellent moments in the post. He dislodged a defender on one and dunked. On another he faced up, spun and scored a layup. On the move, he had a couple of And-1s. Nice seeing him as a secondary break option where he can either pull up from three or take a dribble into a couple big strides and score at the rim. Defensively, we’re seeing some better rebounding with our improved size. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-10 shooting (0-3 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a -3.

Hayes -- -- He was in the mix a lot tonight. Good job on the boards. I’d like to see some more rim protection, but I’m glad he’s not chasing every block opportunity and leaving the glass open. One-and-out possessions were hard to come by last year. Offensively, again he and DLo teamed up on the two-man action. JHS found him cutting backdoor for a dunk. He cleaned up a LeBron missed drive at the end of the half with a putback dunk. You can see the chemistry issues, though, as he is getting caught in no-man’s land a lot out on the perimeter. Got to get those games under his belt. We’ve got a couple non-shooting defenders on the team (Vando and Hayes). Keep an eye on how/when they are used. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-4 shooting to go with 7 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +12.

Hodge -- -- The three ball wasn’t calibrated correctly in this one. He sprayed the ball around a bit. He still showed some nice D with a big steal and a block. The steal was a blindside that led to a Lewis dunk. The block was a strip block under the hoop when the Nets had numbers late in the game. That led to another Lewis dunk. Big play late in this one. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-4 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and no fouls in 8 minutes. He was a -5.

Hood-Schifino -- -- Not great outing again. He kind of killed me not taking a pull-up in the paint on one of our final possessions of the game. That’s your shot, don’t play scared. He didn’t score in this one, but did have a few assists. Not without some passing issues, though. Wood had some discussion with him heading into one timeout. It looked like something related to passing. JHS missed him in the last game and I’m sure that stuck out on the film review. He also had a 5-second violation with 2 minutes left out of a timeout trying to run a BLOB sequence. That cost them the lead for the first time in the fourth. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-5 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -2.

Castleton -- -- Some big plays down the stretch, including an offensive board and a layup with 50 seconds left. They need to remember to run offense through him from the high post. He’s a great passer and screen setter. Our playmaking with JHS out there is pretty sub par, so go through him more. He had another putback score earlier and drew some FTs. Also a nice steal with a reach on the two-man game. He secured the final board for the win. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 1 steal and no fouls in 8 minutes. He was a -5.

Lewis -- -- Good energy and some quality shooting. Really glad to see him rolling in this one -- something he can build off of. He drilled a three on a kickout to the corner. He jab stepped and hit another three. He had a couple breakaway dunks, including a windmill that the bench loved. He also hit Hayes on the break for a dunk. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -2.

Fudge -- -- A couple of crunch-time plays to help get the win. He kept and offensive board alive off a perimeter brick and Castleton scored off that. He slid in to draw a charge on a drive late for another key stop. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. He was a -5.

Ham -- -- Starters had some dominant offensive stretches. The team could have done a better job chasing the Nets off the three line. I feel like the 75-61 first half could be pretty typical of this team. High octane on offense and a little soft on D at times. Hopefully, Ham can tighten the D. No Vando in this game to cool anyone down (possibly including the Laker offense)... First rotation we went to AD, Hayes, Rui, Gabe and DLo.. Then cycled back in Bron for Hayes and Wood for AD… The Christie/Vincent backcourt lacked playmaking. Bron will really need to throttle up on the playmaking with that combo and we’ll need to fine tune the set plays…. The AD, Wood, Bron, Reaves, Vincent lineup that started the second quarter dominated…

[pio2u]

THX DB!

[JUST-MING]

Hodge to Schifino to Lewis for the jam!

[tox]

Haven't actually been able to watch any preseason. DB you mentioned Vincent/Christie as backcourt lack some offensive playmaking. I wonder if that means more of the offense can run through Wood? I'm imagining a lineup of, say, Vincent/Christie/Vando/LeBron/Wood. LeBron does some creation but we really take advantage of Wood's offensive abilities? And that's 3 plus defenders next to Wood. Plus Wood means Vando is the only non-shooter in this lineup.

It's purely theorycraft and it probably just makes more sense to include one of Reaves or Russell in that lineup anyway?

[Laker7]

Thanks DB! Great report.

Defense needs work. Lakers have lost 7 of the 8 quarters they have played so far. Gave up 41 in the third quarter of this game. Does not inspire a lot of confidence so far. The question is it chemistry or effort. Just not seeing a lot of consistent effort on the defensive end so far.

Stu mentioned the Lakers were going with a 5 out offensive set this year with everyone setting up on the perimeter, moving the ball around to the open shooter. While the team seems set up for this talent wise there are going to be nights where the outside shots don't fall, particularly on back to back games or late in the year when legs get tired. There needs to be back cuts and screens similar to GSW or guys willing to take it to the rim when the defense commits to defend the perimeter. Prince and Wood seem to be the only players I saw willing to go into the paint to try and score and I did not see a lot of cutting / diving to the hole. The Lakers lost points in the paint 50-44 and the Nets are not a particularly big (tall) team with lots of rebounders.

Stats show the Lakers got out shot on FG%, 3PT% and free throw attempts. Not exactly a recipe for success but the G Leaguers were laying bricks late the Q4 so I am going to write that off. Lakers won the rebound and turnover battle but lost points in the paint.

The good: AD, DLo, Prince, Rui and Hayes
The bad: LBJ (1-4 from 3), Vincent (8 shots to get 6 points), Wood (10 shots to get 10 points)
The ugly: JHS (0-5 from the floor), Fudge (0-2 from the floor), Hodge (0-4 from the floor)

PS By my count Hayes is perfect from the floor so far in preseason. 6 for 6 from the floor. I will take those percentages all season long please.
_________________
Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[waterman40]

Nice to see a preseason win.
_________________
LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[LakerSD]

Isn’t it amazing to finally have a competent shooting team!

We started to have it after deadline last season, but now we really got it all over roster.

[Alpha]

Thank you kind sir!

[LakerDYnasty72]

Haven't watched a game yet so I really appreciate the summaries. Thanks so much DB!

[deal]

Thanks DB, I saw the game but just read your recap.
_________________
Lakers need to build a freaking team !

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB!

I wasn't a fan of drafting JHS - I sincerely hope that I'm proved wrong.

Say what you want about Wood, but having a big who can score when AD sits is huge.
_________________
On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]