As we look ahead to the other bookend of our final game against the Thunder from Oklahoma I also want to look back at a game filled to the brim with lessons the team can take away from another near disaster of a loss. It was another game where young legs almost did the slow-tempo Lakers in. Another game where we gave up a ton of paint points. Another overtime game. Another triple-double for The King.
- How long can LeBron keep this up? His one man wrecking crew act has long been a staple of LeBron’s bonafide HOF career. His latest triple-double came at the expense of the plucky Thunder who didn’t really have an answer for James on defense, a problem most teams suffer from in the NBA. His 50% shooting from the field was largely done on drives to the paint as he joined his teammates in shooting atrociously from three (2-10 for LeBron). When he shoots that many threes I take it as a sign of exhaustion. The man might be bionic but I am experiencing concern for the amount of energy he’s expending this early in the regular season.
- Welcome back Wes Matthews! With AD and AC sitting with injuries the door opened wide for Wes and he stepped right on through with his best overall game of the season. Passing Steve Nash on the all time three pointers made list was a bonus and his defense was top notch. It’s the last category, along with making an occasional open three pointer, that will bring him back into the rotation.
- Good thing we brought Trezz home from the road trip. Montrezl Harrell was an unstoppable force in the paint. Dunks, jayups, put-backs off of rebounds and running hooks were all deployed to great effectiveness. He missed his “I’ll shoot one a game” baseline jumper but his effort, energy and rebounding were crucial in our pulling out the win. While his overall defensive impact isn’t what we’ll need in the playoffs his regular season mojo is solid.
- Whatever happened to Markieff Morris? If anyone though a starting shot would jump start Kieff’s season you were left disappointed, again. The younger Morris twin has shown lackluster effort in just about every game he has played in. At this rate I won’t be too surprised if we waive ‘Kieff. Same thing happened last season, for what it’s worth. Morris slept walk through the entire regular season, got waived, we picked him up and he earned a spot on this season’s team with a solid playoff showing. If he’s still with us come the playoffs I sure hope he can find it within himself to replicate that effort because I have yet to see anything close to that, yet.
- Three point shooting has landed…back on Earth. For all the razzle dazzle we showed from three earlier in the season the last month or so has seen the Lakers revert to type from distance. Our 9-38 mark was due mostly to Wes Matthews every other Laker made only 1 while also shooting multiple threes to get there. We don’t need to lead the league but we do need to get better at making the wide open looks LeBron, Schroder and our other playmakers create off the drive. If those dry up like they have of late we’ll be in trouble come the playoffs.
Once again this wasn’t so much of a “what’s wrong with the Lakers?!” as it was us playing down to our lesser opponent again. We’ve showed we have a switch we can try and turn on. In some ways that’s as bad as it is good, maybe even more bad. For my part I’d like to see more THT with Schroder and Wes Matthews and about 10 fewer minutes per game for LeBron than he’s averaged over the last few. If we can keep James in the 28-32 minute range that feels like a sweet spot for keeping him fresh. That needs to be as big a goal as winning games.
Thanks for the Fiver, Jamie. Agree with some and disagree with some, as normal for the two of us.
1. LeBron is the bionic man and the leading candidate for MVP. While I share some concern with you over the minutes he is playing, he doesn’t seem to be losing a step as he mercilessly attacked the rim with downhill drives that seem impossible for a 36-year old veteran with so many games and minutes played.
2. I agree it was great to see Wes have a great game. I’m of the opinion that benching Wes is part of why our 3-point shooting has cratered. Wes is a career 38.1% shooter. He’s clearly a more trusted and proven long range shooter than KCP or AC. Frank needs to consider a rotating 9-man rotation by resting 2 players every 3rd or 4th game to keep everybody fresh and ready.
3. I’m also loving how Trezz is playing at both ends of the court. Jovan made a great point in his article today. Trezz is a small cener, not a power forward. His offense is the best we have had since Pau and his defense is better than Gasol, KCP, Wes, AD, and Dennis. We’re probably going to lose him to free agency but he’s going to be a force in the playoffs and it’s a joke thinking he can’t close games. Most improved free throw shooter on team.
4, Your suggestion the Lakers might waive Keef is ridiculous. Keef will be a critical piece of the AD at center lineups that will become dominant in the playoffs this season like last season. Like Wes, he’s a proven good 3-point shooter who has not shot up to the level he did last year for the Lakers. He still has a 102.1 defensive rating, which is 4th on the Lakers just behind AC, THT, and LeBron. Again, Frank needs to play a rotating 9-man rotation.
5. I agree the 3-point shooting is a problem although I don’t buy your take that we can’t be a better 3-point shooting team than last year. Shooting is all about confidence, playing with rhythm, and getting wide open shots. When the offense stalls and we stand around and end up taking contested shots late in the clock, that’s a recipe for misses. We need to run and gun and take shots early in the clock in transition. We’ll get better.
Part of Keef’s problem to me is the Lakers have played very few sets with AD at the five. Instead of 40% we played AD at the 5 last season, he’s only played at the 5 for 8% this season.
One thing I might like to see is Trez start and Marc sit out and AD play the 5 40% like last season. It’s possible part of AD’s problem is playing too much 4 and not enough 5. With Morris at the 4 and sometimes defending the other 5, AD might find his mojo again. Something to think about.
Last game, Lakers started this lineup:
PG Schroder
SG KCP
SF LeBron
PF Morris
CE Gasol
How about this lineup:
PG Schroder
SG Matthews
SF LeBron
PF Kuzma
CE Harrell
Bench
AC, THT, Morris, KCP