LAKERS -at- ROCKETS – 1-5-25 - DIY Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

DancingBarry

DIY night again. That defensive glass killed them. And the end of game stuff was comically bad.

miggz23 · Star Player Joined: 29 Nov 2018 Posts: 8556

Got killed in the offensive rebounds. 18-10… Lakers were not ready for the Rox size and speed tonight.

AR - ZERO rebounds
Rui /Knecht - 1 rebound each
DFS - 2 rebounds

A Mad Chinaman · Star Player Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Posts: 6394

anth2000 · Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 8:56 pm Post subject:

We need a center like Kessler. I feel that’s all we need.

Brawn13 · Star Player Joined: 30 Jan 2019 Posts: 4706

Remember in 2020 when AD at center was considered small ball?

Lebron/Rui/DFS at center is microball

TooMuchMajicBuss · Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 10:34 pm Post subject:

I hated how the Lakers got out rebounded.

Rui Hachimura: Power Forward size, starting squad salary, 1 rebound, terrible defense, his strong point is scoring and he scored 13 points. He just does not strike me as a starter on a title contending team.

DFS: he played solid defense. Didn't rebound well, better than Rui but that's not saying much. Scored more than I expected. But thanks to very solid defense he helped us claw back from the hole Rui/Jaxon/Knecht dug us into at the start of Q4.

Lebron had a good game, but I didn't like LeBron ball at the end of this one.

Jaxon Hayes - why did the ball repeatedly end up in Jaxon's hands for the shot at the start of Q4? He's a 3rd string center out there, and he was getting torched on both ends. Terrible outing, but where was the organization on offense? Why exactly did the ball continuously find it's way to Jaxon for the miss? Terrible rebounding, terrible scoring, but again, he's being paid 3rd string money and he's a backup, not a starter, but he somehow got shoved into the feature scorer role during that pivotal stretch. Teamwork Fail.

Knecht - terrible mistakes on defense. He needs more experience and some serious player development on every aspect of team defense, defensive technique, communication on defense, how to handle screens... why bother even trying to list this. He's an inexperienced rookie. I'm hopeful we see a much more complete player next year.

Max - great game in spite of the snafu on the entry pass at crunch time. This is right in the middle of the bulls eye center of Max's biggest weakness, due to inexperience. Why again was he in-bounding? Did he know he had a time out to burn? Could maybe someone on the sideline helped remind him? Max was a big reason why we clawed back in Q4. This loss isn't on Max. Not even close.

AD - great game. Wasted, but great game.

slavavov · Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 10:40 pm Post subject:

Give the Lakers credit for fighting back and giving themselves a real shot at wining this game.

But defensive rebounding continues to be a problem for them. Our wings and guards need to box out and rebound better.

We had only two fast-break points and walked the ball upcourt for just about the entire game. You cannot beat quality teams in the NBA doing that.

This puts pressure on us to win the Dallas game on Tuesday. Otherwise the momentum we've been building lately will be pretty much gone.
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Nobody · Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 11:56 pm Post subject:

The trio of Rui, AR and Knecth is just horrible defensively. I don't understand why JJ plays them together for longer stretches. Brutal to watch, it's not even the trying (I think AR tries as much as he can given his physical limitations), but the complete lack of awareness on where they're supposed to be and who they're supposed to be guarding is disturbing to say the least.

The offensive boards and the early 22-point hole really killed any chance of a Lakers win. It's almost incredible the game was this close.

Nobody · Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 11:58 pm Post subject:

ribeye · Franchise Player Joined: 10 Nov 2001 Posts: 13600

Didn't see the game, but looking at the box score, it appears LdBron had a good game, until you see that -13 under +/-,which is quite the pattern and suggests, as many have ranted, that there still is not enough energy on the defensive end.
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Halflife · Franchise Player Joined: 15 Aug 2015 Posts: 19525

ribeye · Franchise Player Joined: 10 Nov 2001 Posts: 13600

defense · Retired Number Joined: 12 Jan 2010 Posts: 41075

Halflife · Franchise Player Joined: 15 Aug 2015 Posts: 19525

danzag · Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 1:39 pm Post subject:

First half was tough, we couldn't buy a bucket

dont_be_a_wuss · Franchise Player Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 22333

Lakers had the advantage in FG%, 3PT%, FT%, and FTA. Should’ve found a way to win.

miggz23 · Star Player Joined: 29 Nov 2018 Posts: 8556

ribeye · Franchise Player Joined: 10 Nov 2001 Posts: 13600

pio2u · Retired Number Joined: 26 Dec 2012 Posts: 55520

A Mad Chinaman · Star Player Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Posts: 6394

Austin Reaves, in particular, had a really rough game for the Lakers as he finished with 15 points, two rebounds, one assist and three steals on 5-of-14 shooting. He was a game-worst -25 and the main reason for that was the Mavericks were targeting him on defense nearly every possession.

Reaves’ inability to defend led to numerous Dallas runs, including one when the Lakers were in a zone in order to protect the guard from getting hunted.

After the game, Reaves admitted he didn’t play well and discussed what he can do when teams are targeting him like that, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet:

“Just play better defense. First half was god awful. Second half I thought was better. But just can’t allow that. I was really bad on both sides of the ball tonight.”

Reaves also admitted that the Lakers may have been a bit too relaxed going into the game knowing they were going against a shorthanded group:

https://lakersnation.com/lakers-news-austin-reaves-doesnt-sugarcoat-his-poor-play-in-loss-to-mavericks/