TWOLVES -at- LAKERS - 10-22-24 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Season Opener... History was made with the Bron/Bronny minutes on the court in the first half. No real moments between the two on the court other than that.

The Lakers won the first half possession battle. The 10-3 advantage in turnovers and the 10-5 advantage in offensive rebounds for the Lakers in the half made up for some of the 3-19 three shooting.

They continued to struggle with the three shooting in the fourth, hitting just 1-6 (4-25 overall).

“We are getting great shots,” Redick said to his team during a timeout. “They will go in. They will go in.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers were not controlling their own glass and the possession advantage switched jerseys. The Lakers took a timeout early in the fourth as the lead was cut to 4.

AD took over for a stretch midway through the fourth on both ends. Big points, blocks, boards, all helped the Lakers stretch the lead back to double digits. Finally, a big shot from three landed as Bron drilled a backbreaker with 1:34 left.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Lakers won 110-103. Give JJ a lot of credit in this one.

“It was our attention to detail,” Bron said. “We had a great game plan.”


LeBron -- -- Very controlled game offensively. The team as a whole methodically avoided the freelancing. He got downhill at times in the half court, got the team going in transition and then hit a big three to ice it with 1:34 left. A couple of blocks, as well, on D including one in the final minute to shut the door for good. But these are all things he’s done over and over. The rare moment of this one, of course, was checking in with Bronny to play some NBA hoop together. “One of the greatest gifts I’ve ever gotten from the man above,” Bron said afterward. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-16 (1-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -6.

Davis -- -- Monster game from AD. He didn’t get the ball early in this one and then when he finally did, it stuck in his hands a bit as he iso’d. Once we got more into flow and through that stretch, the Laker offense found more flow. He dominated Gobert on both ends. Key to that is the Lakers switching on D as it takes away the Conley/Gobert action and neither are effective outside of that. Then you deal with AD taking on Edwards and others on the perimeter. In that fourth quarter, AD imposed his will on both ends. He was making tough shots and drawing fouls (made 13 FTs). Defensively, some big plays, including a big help D block that turned into a Laker breakaway score. “That’s defensive player of the year type stuff,” he said, before a sly look into the camera. Message sent. The Stats: He scored 36 points on 11-23 shooting (1-3 from three, 13-15 from the line) to go with 16 boards (3 offensive), 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 37 minutes. He was a +1.

Russell -- -- He struggled a bit with the three shooting, going 1-6 in the first half. He’d only take one more three in the second half. Early in the fourth, he had a couple big plays, getting a man in jail for a floater and then finding Hayes for a big lob that forced a timeout. He’d also lob to Bron on the break for a layup. We need that shot to get on track. Our starting guards combined for 1-12 from three. Give me 3 or 4 more and it’s a blowout. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-12 shooting (1-7 from three) to go with 1 board, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +15.

Reaves -- -- Some differences from last year. First, he was very active on the offensive glass (4 of his 9 boards on that end). Secondly, we run stretches where he’s the lead guard even with Russell out there. He found some space in the midrange to scratch some buckets. In the preseason, he was getting a lot of calls. He wasn’t getting as frequent a whistle in this one with just 1 attempt from the line. Three shooting was not great, but Bron gave him a couple late-clock grenades to deal with. Defensively, it was a team effort on Edwards who had 27 points on 25 shots. They didn’t target him and preferred to go after bigs with frequency. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-14 shooting (0-5 from three) to go with 9 boards (4 offensive), 1 steal, 1 block and 4 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +12.

Hachimura -- -- He led the team with a +22 in his 17 first half minutes. Very active early, he had 2 of the Lakers 10 first half offensive boards. Then added in a steal and a block. Those little things around the star players are huge. Then, of course, he can give you some scoring punch. He hit a three and hammered a dunk on Rudy on the first couple of plays to start the game. He’d have 11 points on 5-8 shooting in the first half. Second half, another reverse dunk off a baseline cut. He also hit a big jumper flashing to the FT line to catch it. He competed all night. Do it again and again. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-14 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +19.

Christie -- -- Got into foul trouble in this one. He took a foul or two, but also got a weak whistle on a couple others. He struggled with the perimeter shot, as well. The Lakers needed some three shooting badly. So no three and some foul-prone D tonight. Got to have three and D from him. When he did get into foul trouble, Knecht was the sub late in that third. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-3 from three (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards and 5 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -5.

Hayes -- -- A few dunks, one off a high-low feed from Russell against the zone where Russell drew a man and Hayes was alone in the dunker spot. He hammered another dunk rolling off Dalton’s gravity and hammering. In the fourth, he got up high for a Russell lob and hammered it to force a timeout as the Lakers went on a little run. He also finished a lob layup in transition. Defensively, it seemed like there was some miscommunication at times on the switching. Early season, we’ll give them a pass. In that fourth, he did have a great corner close to block a three as he covered a lot of ground. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards (3 offensive), 1 block and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -1.

Vincent -- -- Very quiet night. He didn’t take a three. His one bucket was taking a pass off a nice cut and finishing at the rim. He had a late-game turnover, throwing the ball where Bron was just as Bron cut. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 2 boards, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a -2.

Knecht -- -- Welcome to the league. Excellent first half minutes. He worked the offense and hit Hayes rolling on a sequence for a dunk. He drilled a three on his first attempt, coming up high off a down screen straight away and knocking it down. His confidence really showed on a save by AD in the backcourt. Dalton pushed it up court, stepped on the gas as he attacked a couple defenders and scored a layup. He was a +12 in his 11 first half minutes. SVG said he’d have a big role for the Lakers as their best scorer off the bench. Just 5 minutes in the second half as Christie got into some foul trouble and Dalton came in. As the game got tighter, JJ leaned into more veteran lineups. Nothing stood out negatively on D. His size on switching is useful and there was some good communication during some scrambles. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a +7.

Bronny -- -- We saw the historic Bron/Bronny minutes with 4 minutes left in the half. Pop and son both checking in at the same time. They played some audio of Bron on the bench earlier checking in with his son and making sure he had the proper mindset. Two rookies in that lineup with Bronny as he checked in and the Wolves went on a 7-0 run. The switching caused a Randle/Bronny match up right away that was scored on. Bronny missed a tip in and a three attempt off a Bron kickout. He did have a good challenge on Edwards on iso D during that stretch, but the Wolves made up some ground (-5 in 3 minutes for Bronny in the half). I imagine we see it again to see if they can find a highlight play or two. The G-League minutes will be good for him. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 offensive board and no fouls in 3 minutes. He was a -5.

Redick -- -- Some things are apparent. The Lakers are running plays at a high rate. They are organized. It may not be executed at a super high level, but it’s decent enough and will get better. Some good ATO actions… JJ wanted this team to crash the glass more this season. That offensive rebounding focus was evident early with a 10-5 advantage in the first half… A ton of switching on defense. Occasionally, we’d scram a guy away from a big in rotations behind the initial switch. That slowed the TWolves down in the first half… He was frustrated in the third when the team was struggling to grab some defensive boards and giving up second-chances… After the game, he was annoyed they weren’t playing with a broken-in ball. Just 5-30 shooting from three (16.7%) for L.A… First official W for JJ…

Substitution Pattern: Q1 Rotations: Bron sits for Christie midway through first. Russell out for Vincent a minute later. Reaves out we go to Hayes, AD, Bron, Christie, Vincent lineup. Final minute when AD sat, we brought back Russell. Lakers struggled to close out that quarter… Q2 Rotations: Hayes, Bron, Rui, Knecht, Russell big lineup with shooting around Hayes. They went on 12-4 run… When they snuck in the Bronny/Bron minutes, it wasn’t a great stretch for 3 minutes… I think those are the players we’re going to see. That’s likely the rotation for now. I don’t think that Bronny is really part of the rotation, but we may see it a little… In the second half, Dalton’s time was trimmed. Christie, as well, with the foul trouble. Worth noting the initial go to with Max’s foul trouble was Dalton…

[pointfour]

First!

welcome back DB. excited for a new season of recaps!

[Dominic1981]

Great games for AD, Rui, and JJ. JJ maximized our talent tonight. Had the guys doing all the little things, smart few turnovers, and going to AD nonstop in the 4th

[Robblake]

You sure you aren’t, Phil? Amazing spot on analysis. I love this team

[Startrout]

I felt like Dalton should have played a lot more. He was in the game when we went on the big run in the 2nd quarter and looked really good on both ends. It wasn’t Christy’s night and Gabe was giving us nothing, so I kept thinking JJ was going to go back to Knecht, but unfortunately he didn’t.

LeBron was very passive for much of the game. I hope that’s a one off and not him showing his age. He really put Reeves in a bad position a couple of times with last second passes.

Rui looked very good, I loved his aggression.

Reeves also looked good overall. Great job on the boards. His defense is much better than he’s given credit for. I love watching high BBQ players and we have a few now.

[waterman40]

Nice , first win against what should be a good team.
_________________
LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[michaelg]

Thanks DB! Here’s to another season of first class write ups. Love getting the W on opening night, it’s been awhile.

Good on JJ and the guys for pulling us out of the death spiral in the early fourth. In those moments, Russell and Hayes had a couple nice plays. Credit to Russell for hanging in there and getting the job done, he’s clearly in one of his funks.

AD was on another level the whole game. MVP caliber.

Love seeing only 7 turnovers, 15 offensive boards. They executed the game plan.

[Dr. Laker]

Thanks, DB!

[Pidge]

[sonic the laker]

Thanks, DB! Nice, if ugly, start to the new season. Glad that it ended in a win, and ready for more!

Congrats to Reddick for his first pro win, as a first time coach. Congrats to LeBron, and Bronny, for being the first father/son duo to share an NBA court, as teammates. Congrats to Knecht for scoring his first NBA points, as a rookie.

And, congrats to the Lakers, for the first win of the 2024-25 NBA season! Breaking a streak of season opener losses!
_________________
ZOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nobody]

Thanks, DB!

Impressed with the team's mindset and play. Defensive hustle, crashing the boards, not having those long offensive lulls. Yeah, the three ball wasn't falling, but I'll take such hustle every day. It was sorely missed last year. JJ calling timely timeouts was also a welcome sight.

Dalton was fearless, you could see that he has NBA swagger. More minutes to come I'm sure. Also loved Rui's aggresiveness.

Go Lakers!

[danzag]

Thanks, DB!

What a great game. We played hard, we defended well, we crashed the boards

Nothing more you could ask for

[Theseus]

Great writeup! Watched this on what must have been the smallest TV in the world, but this filled in the gaps nicely. Lakers look exciting and much more organized, which is what I was hoping from our new coach.

[deal]

Glad for the W & that Dalton got some run in this first game.
_________________
Lakers need to build a freaking team !

[ChefLinda]

Thanks, DB!

[ribeye]

Another season. Another great write up from DB. Another bunch of lucky fans to have such a contributor at LG.
_________________
"A metronome keeps time by using a Ringo"

[Laker7]

Thanks DB. You are in midseason form already!

Was surprised by some of the stats.

Russell +15
Reaves +12
Knecht +7

Didn't see a lot of scoring or shooting efficiency from them but they made an impact on the game while they were in there.

Lebron did not have his usual stat line considering he played 35 minutes. We will have to see if he keeps racking up the minutes. Not sure it is best to have them that high this early in the season.
_________________
Fire Rob Pelinka!

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB.

So far, so good. Last night's starters were 23-10 when coach {redacted} got around to finally playing them together last year. JJ not only played them together out the gate, his offensive concepts impressed T'Pup's head coach. AD was raving about JJ as well. Good to see Bron and AD in a modern offense.

Question: who had Rui outplaying Julius Randle and the notorious Laker killa: Naz Reid on their bingo card? Rui posterized Rudy Gobert and Julius. He shot the 3ball with confidence. He played physical. Sure, AD dominated, but the player that caught my eye was Rui. I hope he can keep this up all year.

[governator]

Bron was out there for 35 mins? Felt like he sat for a long time
_________________
“The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.“

[unleasHell]

That was a great game, and it was great to get a first win, to set the tone for the season.

Lot's of contributions too, as AD & LeBron can't carry this team alone...
_________________
NOT A THING COMES TO MIND...!

[PenG_]

Really fun game and surprising win. AD continues to be a beast.

[Halflife]

Thanks. Exactly what I said would happen happened- should/need to win next two before road trip. Like wolves kings are integrating a huge new piece and suns have new parts. We are lucky for finally having continuity. That favors teams early .

Connect should play every minute with AD
_________________
Iman Shumpert, believes LBJ's decision to constantly team up with other All-Stars eschewed the idea of superstars continually adding layers to their repertoire.

[Hammett]

Monster game from AD. If he stays healthy he will be MVP.

Loved the monster block on Gobert.
_________________
Lakers. Built different.

[Richcbt]

If we can notch a win against a good team, while shooting terribly from 3 (5-30!), I dare to imagine how well we could do once the guys start hitting shots.

Overall, good game from most of our starters. I loved AR's rebounding and defense, Rui was outstanding, and not too bad for D-Lo, although not great.

Give us another one on Friday, Lakers!

[A Mad Chinaman]