Aloha,
Basketball is a team game, and I generally don’t like to lay the blame for a loss on one guy, but tonight I will make an exception. We lost this game because of Russ. If he makes half the layups he missed we win. The missed dunk at the end was the killer. Down 3, he missed the jam, they score, ball game. And it wasn’t just his 4 for 20 night on offense, his defense was equally bad. He constantly lost track of Mills. Why he left Paddy on that dagger 3 to double for no reason. And it wasn’t just Mills, Harden stole his lunch money as well.
We had two bad quarters and and two good ones. Russ was generally off the court when we made our runs. And the stats show it. LeBron played 40 minutes and was a plus 9. Russ played 37 minutes and was a minus 23.
I thought we had enough from other guys to win. Malik was very impassive on both sides of the ball. After not picking up a basketball for over 10 days, he scored 20 with 42% from 3 and hustled on D. THT had a decent game but man I was impressed with Stanley Johnson. Harden played Ellington off the court. But whenever Stanley drew Harden he really made him work. You can’t shut Harden down but I thought Stanley slowed him down. Forced him into several turnovers and missed shots. If he keeps this up I hope we keep him. He has a little more size and at 25 has young legs, which we desperately need. They can sign him for a 2nd 10 day after this one. If this continues, I think we will need to cut someone because we need a guy the can guard both wings and small forwards.
I thought Melo played pretty well. He wasn’t hitting his 3’s but he found other ways to score. Plus he quietly has been playing some decent defense. He has quick hands and is looking like a pretty good team defender.
I do understand the modern game and the importance of 3 point shooting but our offense doesn’t prioritize 3 point shooting. I think we should play our best defenders. I would much rather having a guy like Stanley playing tough defense then a shooter like Ellington who only got off three 3’s and was ripped apart on defense.
This is true of all aging stars as they lose that extra gear that made them special in the first place. It’s no longer about the things they can do out there – it’s about everything they’re now incapable of.
Very good post, Michael. And I totally agree with you. We lost this game because of missed wide-open layups or dunks. From THT to LeBron, to Russ I can’t recall how many misses there were, but Russ’s misses were the real culprit. I keep screaming at the screen every time he misses those wide-open layups. And it is becoming very common on his part.
I was very impressed with how Stanley Johnson played. It is only one game but if he keeps playing like that we should keep him. You are absolutely right if we can’t game plan around our shooters, then we might as well field defensive-minded players. Monk and Melo played well. THT keeps reminding me of a Ben Simmons. He looks afraid to shoot and doesn’t seem to have that hunger to attack the paint which was his staple.
Also, don’t know about anybody else but I would like to see a coach with the guts to play Jay Huff more. At this point, we are still auditioning the players we have and we could use his length, even if it was to disrupt the other team’s penchant for attacking the paint.
Russ had the old record and broke that last night with 11 misses. Very disappointing game from Russ. I said on the podcast last night that this game may have been the turning point for me. I love Russ and his motor and, like LeBron said, he did so many great things last night that helped us come back but we wouldn’t have been down by 20 going into the fourth if he had played better and been more careful with the ball and his shots.
Last night may have been the final straw for me. While I think there is a path to the championship that includes Russ, I don’t think it’s the Lakers’ best opportunity to win this season and I expect Rob Pelinka to make a big move that includes Russ. I juste don’t think the chaos and craziness that his game brings to a team is what the Lakers need to win a championship this year.
So count me in those who do believe trading for Russ was a mistake and the Lakers should do whatever they have to take advantage of opportunities to trade Russ along with THT and Nunn to transform the Lakers back into the big bully ball team that can dominate opponents playing big or small. Right now, we’re a team that can’t win either way.