The Lakers lost anyhow. Spoiling what one assumed would a triumphant return the Lakers instead chose Sunday as a Defense-DNP (IDFKW…) game. As a result the game was never really competitive and the Bulls pretty much scored at will, dominated most of the hustle stats, and won the game easily.
- AD taking a back seat approach. AD should have dominated this game, especially after Vucevic was ejected for losing his cool. Instead Drummond and a bevy of small forwards outplayed him on both ends. This was what I was afraid of when LeBron came back. That AD would exhale and take his foot off his internal gas pedal. PatBev used the “too small” trash talk for LeBron, he should have used it on AD who played a lot smaller than he can.
- 34 points off of 18 turnovers tells me our transition defense sucked and that we didn’t value the ball. LeBron and Austin had five turnovers each to pace the team but every Lakers that played, except LW4 and Wenyan, had at least one.
- 54% shooting, mainly from role-players getting what they wanted, when they wanted and no answer for Zach LaVine. Considering that Coby White went 5-17 and the Bulls still shot such a high percentage the outcome could have been a lot worse.
- The fallacy of the volume three point shooter. Malik Beasley had a solid game, 6-14 from three (all of his shots were from beyond the arc) and still was -11 in +/- for the game. There wasn’t a great amount of space generated by his presence, he was unable (and has been unable) to alter the outcome of most of the games he’s played, and the Bulls happily let a one-trick-pony dance and frolic while they went out and won. Malik would do well to add to his one-dimensional shot selection and drive to the hole from time to time, especially if he gets his man in the air off a pump fake which happens a ton. Yes, the three point shot is a valuable weapon. Yes, it can help to have a marksman that theoretically generates space (but not a team like the Lakers who are designed to punish you in the paint…which we went away from this whole game). Yes, he along with the rest of the Laker bench (LeBron included) were awful on defense and got worked over by Chicago’s bench. Don’t know why we keep playing this guy when Rui is a better defender, rebounder and more efficient scorer. Play the better player.
- 2 games together. That’s how much the Lakers currently have to evaluate the pairing of LeBron and D-Lo. There aren’t many games left to base opinions on. The fir may be solid…it may not, 2 games is basically nothing. We desperately need another ball-handler that has a better handle than Reaves does. That’s not a dig against Austin, he’s filled in admirably, but the Bulls knew where he was trying to go and stymied him to a large degree forcing him to be more of a scorer and not the multi-threat player we tend to rely on most games. The Lakers have a multi-million dollar decision before them and their two best players have barely played together, that could make for some unwanted and, frankly, un-needed drama this summer.
Revenge could come as soon as Wednesday and here’s hoping it does as the Lakers go on a 5 game road trip (last one at home against the Clippers with the Lakers as the “road” team) that will basically make or break the season at this point. Can’t finish the road trip with a losing record, have to at least go 3-2 and we need to beat all the western conference teams no matter what.
Your post is right on point. But what really got me puzzled was Rui not playing. I consider him a stabilizing force because of what he brings to the game. His stats might not be eye-popping but he does do a lot of good things to stabilize the team. I am sure Ham is still trying to experiment, but we are dangerously running out of time.
We are!
Great post about an absolute stinker of a game. I won’t be surprised if something similar happens in Chi-town on Wednesday. Maybe AD will be motivated playing in his hometown but I’ve given up trying to figure out what kinda planetary alignment is necessary for this dude to give it his all on a consistent basis. Gotta be frustrating as a coach or a teammate. I think we’ll still get to the play-in just by looking at where we stand right now and everybody’s schedule down the stretch. But we can’t keep losing games that we’re favored to win (like yesterday).
Thanks dude.
Nice post Jamie. You said AD may have exhaled. I think just about the entire team did. Although I have to give props to Troy. 18 points 4-9 from 3, 2 blocks and 2 steals. He actually came to play. I think DLO could make a big difference. He plays under control, gets in the paint and shoots the 3 plus he doesn’t turn it over much. But there is a residual effect. With LeBron back and when DLO comes back, Troy and Dennis move to the bench, giving us a really solid 2nd unit. With the losses to the Rockets, Mav’s and Bulls, making the 6th seed is just about out of reach. We just can’t lose if we want to get to even 7th or 8th. We can’t afford anymore let downs.
I can see a world where TB takes the starting 2 spot, as well, but likely it’s Reaves for the last few games. Troy has been balling to end the season and is one of our better defenders.