WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 4-9-24 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Lost Another One... The Lakers biggest advantage against the Warriors is their size. With no AD in the mix (among others), they lose that advantage.

Typically, they can sag off Green and AD can be disruptive helping elsewhere. They tried that strategy without AD tonight and Green managed a 5-5 from three in the first half.

A superb three shooting night from the Warriors as they went 25-41 (63.4%) -- the highest shooting percentage from three for any team taking over 40 attempts.

Their small ball killed the Lakers small ball as you would expect.

L.A. fell 134-120 at home in a key loss in the battle for playoff positioning as the Lakers lose the tiebreaker against the Warriors and drop their second-straight game.


LeBron -- -- Good start to the fourth quarter where he helped pushed the Lakers out to a 9-0 run. That trimmed the lead down to 8, which would have been great had the team not faded in the last couple minutes of the third quarter when Bron sat. He could bully his way to the rim quite a bit or shoot turnarounds over smaller players. I think the Warriors were okay with that while taking away others by using size elsewhere. Defensively, he and Hayes dared Green to shoot and unfortunately, that didn’t work in this one. Ham said he battled hard with what he had been going through sickness wise the past couple days. The Stats: He scored 33 points on 14-22 shooting (1-3 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 11 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and no fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -6.

Russell -- -- Very quiet night from Russell. He hit a couple threes early then missed his last several attempts, finishing with a poor 3-11 shooting. He did draw a couple fouls from three (including an awful Warriors foul on a half-court heave attempt by Russell). The Warriors will put some longer defenders on him. Also, we looked to attack CP3 some with our other guards at times. No AD, we needed more offensively from him as our defense disappears. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 3-11 shooting (2-7 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 7 assists and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -11.

Reaves -- -- Nice to see the three ball dropping in this one. His confidence is generally pretty high against the Warriors. He hit 4-6 from three in the first half. He got into the midrange for a couple hoops, including an And-1 runner. He also turned the corner well to get to the rim and score over the help D. (Green wasn’t happy with that one as Reaves popped him with an elbow). Defensively, Reaves spend a lot of time on Curry, but we were also to mix it up with other defenders. I like that as it gives Reaves a chance to rest instead of continually chasing Curry all game. We have a lot of guard options now, but missing AD, Wood, Vando and this team is very small against the Warriors and that plays to their strengths, not ours. Lakers were a -14 without Reaves on the floor. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-15 shooting (4-7 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 6 assists and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +0.

Hachimura -- -- I’m not sure how many times he got blocked in this game. I think I’ve got six times in my notes. I’d be surprised if I’ve seen that happen that many times to one player in a game. That made for an inefficient night for Rui with 20 points on 21 attempts. He did sink a couple of threes and get to the line a couple of times, but painful to watch around the rim tonight. Defensively, he was a little slow for some of the smaller players out there. He did have a couple moments protecting the rim, which was much needed. Also, good job on the glass again. Rui said it was tough to defend the three line and protect the rim without AD. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-21 shooting (2-7 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in 31 minutes. He was a -6.

Hayes -- -- Into the starting lineup again without AD on the floor. “They put a lot of pressure on your defense not having AD back there,” Ham said, mentioning AD’s communication and the ground he covers. Certainly hurts when Green hits five threes in the first half. Some good moments of D deflecting lob passes and going vertical to protect the rim, but we got killed on the perimeter. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-6 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -7.

Dinwiddie -- -- Good seing those threes drop as he made 3-5 from beyond the arc. He hit a deep wing three on a kickout, a couple more corner threes on a kickout. He also had an And-1 bank attacking CP3. We wanted to exploit that matchup, so a little more opportunity with the ball in his hands. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-7 shooting (3-5 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a -13.

Prince -- -- A mostly nothing game from Prince. He missed some good looks from three. His one score was after taking a pass in the middle of the lane and scoring at the rim. He was a -18 in just 19 minutes. So the 29 minutes he was off the floor, the Lakers were a +4. Again, size issues where we have to go small and play guys in positions we shouldn’t be. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -18.

Vincent -- -- He looked a lot more active in this game. Some nice pressure D on CP3. He forced him into an airball and a turnover playing aggressively on him. He didn’t score himself. There was a big miss on a corner three in transition in the fourth that could have cut the lead to 6 points. Instead, the Warriors got out in transition on the miss and Curry hit a three and now the Lakers are down 12. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting from three to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a -14.

Reddish -- -- Not much to report. He missed a drive and a three. Defensively, the Warriors could hide CP3 on him. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 1 assist and 1 foul in 10 minutes. He was a -3.

Christie -- -- He hit a baseline floater in garbage time. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting in 2 minutes. He was a +2.

Mays -- -- Nothing to report. The Stats: He had 1 assist in 2 minutes. He was a +2.

Castleton -- -- He dunked on the break for his points. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 1 offensive board and 1 steal in 2 minutes. He was a +2.

Lewis -- -- He was fouled on a step-back three in garbage time for FTs. He also hit Castleton on the break for a score. Good to see something positive. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 2-3 shooting from the line to go with 1 assist and 1 foul in 2 minutes. He was a +2.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Several times the Lakers made runs to get within striking distance. A Warrior run to close the third quarter killed them. They let them close the quarter strong and take a big lead into the fourth. The Lakers made a run to open the fourth, but instead of tying up the game or taking a lead, they were down by 6 or 7.

Key Substitution: Again, not having AD, Wood and Vando, particularly against the Warriors…that hurts. The Lakers seemed to always have a key player out against the Warriors during the regular season for whatever reason.

Key Stats: The Warriors made 14 more threes than the Lakers…and L.A. hit 12. That’s tough to deal with.

[mhan00]

Ham sure loves dipping into the three guard plus TP and a big lineups.

[mad55557777]

[slavavov]

Thanks DB.

The Lakers only have themselves to blame for being in this situation. They didn't show up against a bunch of inferior teams earlier in the season, and because they lost all of those games, they now have no margin of error.

You can blame coach Ham all you want for putting the wrong lineups out there earlier this season, but the players are more to blame for not showing up emotionally or spiritually against the Spurs, Nets, Grizzlies, Bulls, Rockets, Hawks and Bulls.

Otherwise, we'd be in fourth place right now, and a loss or two because a superstar is out wouldn't hurt that much.
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Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers

[Laker4lifer4real]

[slavavov]

[Laker4lifer4real]

[slavavov]

[Dominic1981]

Gabe Vincent 15 minutes, 0/3, 0 points

This guy was a killer last year in the playoffs and now he looks like an irrelevant G Leaguer

[ReaListik]

Absolutely awful loss for what this means for the play-in.
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"We are the goodest." - Shaq ESPN interview

[Laker's Fan]

Paying the price of poor coaching, poor health, and a general lack of accountability from the suits for the bulk of the season.
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Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[Nobody]

A discouraging loss. Don't really know what else to write.

[danzag]

[slavavov]

[pio2u]

THX CB!

NEXT GAME: #81


Los Angeles Lakers vs Memphis Grizzlies
FedEx Forum | Memphis, TN | Friday, Apr. 12, 2024 • 5:00 PM PT

[A Mad Chinaman]

LBJ is recovering from a serious cold
AD is still feeling nauseous and recovering from an eye injury
DLo missed the chance to shine
AR showed up
Hayes provided needed energy and effort while trying his best
Vincent is getting back into shape
Dinwiddie is getting more comfortable
Rui was practicing getting his shots block time and time and time again
Triple Threat Prince was consistent - No Offense, No Defense, No Rebounds, No Handles

[A Mad Chinaman]

[slavavov]