LAKERS -at- SPURS - 12-13-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Playing with Fire... Austin Reaves buried a heave from three quarters court distance at the fourth quarter buzzer to go up 21. Or so it seemed.

“I thought I might have got it off, but obviously not. That’s the second time this year,” Reaves said.

After the review, the shot was still in his hands, and the Lakers headed to the final quarter up 18.

They had dominated the break all game, turning defense into easy buckets. Come fourth quarter, the defense would leave them as AD rested and the lead got tighter.

Still, the lead was double digits into the final minutes. Wemby would cut it to 5 with a three. AD would miss, steal it back and dunk to go up 7. Huge play. Wemby countered with another three to cut it to 4.

D’Angelo Russell threw a pass away with 52 seconds left to cut it to 2. It was a freethrow contest down the stretch. AD made his and the Lakers held on for the 122-119 win.

They had no LeBron tonight and the intensity waned against the Spurs. Hopefully, he’s back and they make easier work of the Spurs next time.


Davis -- -- First play of the game, he twisted his ankle trying to finish under the hoop. Lakers took a timeout and he regrouped, pouring in 24 points on 10-15 shooting in the half. The perimeter shot looked excellent, hitting a couple of threes and some midrange shots. He also bullied Wemby for a throwdown on him. I thought he could have gone to bully ball more if he wanted to. Wemby gave a bunch back, getting his own throwdown over AD as well as burying those big threes for the Spurs. Good job from the FT line down the stretch, hitting a bunch of clutch ones. Hard to say how AD will feel for the next one since you can play on an ankle twist while it’s loose. He was moving fine, but that might have slowed a little aggression from him. The Stats: He scored 37 points on 13-23 shooting (2-3 from three, 9-12 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 1 assist, 4 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +5.

Russell -- -- He had a couple big buckets midway through the fourth as the Spurs were putting pressure on. He got his man in jail both times, one for a couple floaters, including an And-1. He did a good job setting up teammates, but some boneheaded turnovers at times. A couple were back to back, including a lazy travel. In the final minute, he threw a pass away for a big bucket. He nearly threw an inbounds away, as well. The focus hasn’t been great the last two games. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-13 shooting (0-4 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 10 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -6.

Hachimura -- -- Into the starting lineup, he came out firing, scoring the Lakers first 7-points of the game. Hitting a three, finishing on the break and another midrange. Then it was a pretty sub par game from three. In the second half, he was picked on iso for a layup. He threw a bounce pass away for another score. Then, he’d miss some jumpers. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-10 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +14.

Prince -- -- Among the many mistakes the Lakers made down the stretch of this one, Prince missed a box out and gave up a big tip in with 2 minutes left. You’ve got to finish plays to finish games. He’d made one of his two FTs with 0.8 left, giving the Spurs a minor change to tie it up. Prior to that, he sank a big corner three from Reaves midway through the fourth when the Lakers were struggling. He’d knock down four threes and score a couple of layups off set plays. One was a curl into the lane out of a timeout for an easy finish at the rim. The other was a horns sequence where we fake a screen and roll to the hoop for a pass. That’s been super successful lately for a variety of Lakers. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-12 shooting (4-10 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +3.

Reddish -- -- Disruptive again on defense, particularly with deflecting or stealing outlet passes. (That might have inspired AD to pounce on an inbunds late in the game in the backcourt for a steal and dunk.) Cam had a perimeter steal in the first half he took for a dunk. He stole a kickout and it took it for a layup. He buried a couple of threes for his other points. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +11.

Reaves -- -- A bit more playmaking in this one with Bron out. Good job by AR with 8 assists to just 1 turnover. He found AD on a shovel pass off the two-man action for a layup. He’d hit Hayes rolling for a finish at the rim. He found shooters, like Prince, who hit a big fourth quarter three. He threaded a perimeter pass down low to Wood for a layup. He buried three threes, including a couple of pull-ups coming off the high screens against drop coverage. He also had a nice drive to scoop in a layup, working off the high screen. Great job using his body to shield, but also the quick finish with his right on the left side of the basket. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-10 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 4 boards (2 offensive), 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -10.

Hayes -- -- He had some adventures with Wemby. His first bucket, Hayes hit like a floater layup over him from a couple feet away. Later in the game, he had no play against Wemby in the post and was eaten alive, getting his shot easily blocked. For his other score, he finished at the rim on a feed from Reaves. He was a +0 in the last one, a +2 in this one. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 7 minutes. He was a +2.

Vanderbilt -- -- Just having his activity back in the mix was helpful. He came in midway through the first. Defensively, he scored his only points off a steal jumping a passing lane for the pick six. He also had a nice block from behind on a layup. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a -2.

Wood -- -- He came in to run at PF across AD midway through the first quarter, giving Rui a rest. So a good chunk of his minutes in this one were alongside AD, not in place of him. Still had a -13. Wemby destroyed him on a putback jam as Wood didn’t box him out, hammered right over him with those long arms. Wood made a big three from the corner out of a timeout. After missing another three, he attacked aggressively from the corner for a layup. He then battled for a big defensive board on the other end. He’d also score a key layup off a Reaves feed late. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-7 shooting (1-3 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a-13.

Christie -- -- He’d make one shot in this game, a corner three off a Reaves kickout. He’d miss the rest of this threes and airball a pass over Hayes head in the corner, which is hard to do. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +8.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: AD making his freethrows in the final minute. The Lakers nearly threw an inbounds away just prior to that.

Key Substitution: It would have been nice to win the first few minutes of the fourth and be able to sit AD for the rest of the game. Lakers floundered, had the lead trimmed, AD returned and they barely held on.

Key Stats: The Lakers gave up 45 points in the fourth. Basketball gods sending them a warning not to coast.

[SweetP]

Thanks DB!
_________________
“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[waterman40]

Lucky to hang on this time.
_________________
LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[A Mad Chinaman]

Thanks DB for your work!!!

Game is a barometer test of where our bench is at.

Non-LBJ (and sometimes AD) players need to continually learn the mental aspects/toughness/discipline needed to win games without LBJ. Isolated mental mistakes are part of the game, when there are a number of unforced mental TOs that lead to baskets - the differences between champions and wannabees are highlighted because when the stakes are at the highest these little mistakes will directly affect the outcome of high-pressure championship games.

Wood, Prince, Wood, Christie, Hayes and Rui are having ample opportunities to show if they are of championship caliber at this time of their career.

Allowing the Spurs to comeback from 20 points down, where Shaq/Kobe would destroy team with their reserves maintaining/increasing the lead.

[TDRock]

Yay Winning!

I wasn't home to watch the game but this was the outcome I was expecting nothing like playing the Spurs to make you feel better about yourself lol

Thanks DB
_________________
#IStillBelieveTaurean

[Nobody]

I'll take the road win against a team on a big losing streak that is bound to snap it one of these days. But there is absolutley no excuse for the complaceny in the 4th and the game being this close.

[Laker7]

Thanks DB.

Lakers gave up 45 points in the fourth quarter. Without having the G League team on the court. Not acceptable in any way shape or form.

Starting to worry about AD's backups. Hayes is a lob threat only. No offensive moves other than putting a lob in. Wood has gone into a offensive funk lately both inside and outside. One of the two of them needs to start performing offensively or Rob needs to explore trade options because they are not cutting it.
_________________
Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[ThreePointBomber]

[Nobody]

[pio2u]

#ThxDB

[Dr. Laker]

Thx DB!

It's a win. On the road. Hallelujah!
_________________
On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[danzag]

Thanks, DB.

But WTF was Ham doing during the fourth quarter

[Treble Clef]