Aloha,
It’s funny, I never feel like we are doomed when LeBron has to miss a game. Over the last 2 years we have won more than we have lost. It’s when AD had to miss a game that I panic.
While AD was AD, it really was DLO and Rui driving the win. This was reflected in plus minus AD was +4 but DLO was +29 and Rui was +31.
Yesterday was the first game this year that DLO has dominated. It happened a lot more last year. It was good to see and I hope this wakes him up.
As for Rui, this an example of what he can do when the team involves him in the offense. From an efficiency standpoint point it was one of his worst recently he was only 9 for 13. He missed 4 shots! And only 3 for 5 from 3! I’ll give him a break on one of the 3’s the ball was dumped off on him and he had to throw it towards rim to beat the shot clock.
I kid of course. I have been calling for Rui to get more touches because he is our most efficient scorer. And JJ said something in post that was surprising. He said that this was the first game since pre season that he drew up an ATO for Rui. And it was not just offense. Rui had 4 steals, a block and Grant didn’t score a point against him.
While I would like to see Rui more involved, we have enough weapons to get multiple players more involved. Sometimes I believe we force feed AD and LeBron too much. I would love to see a more balanced attack. We have a lot of days off coming up, maybe JJ can work on that.
Take note. We played the worst team in the league at home. As Shania sings, “That don’t impress me much!”
I think you are missing the point on Rui DJ. He’s shooting 50% from the field, 46% from 3 against everyone good or bad. Getting him more involved in the offense actually helps LeBron. As for LeBron on the wing, he might as well retire. What makes him great is his ability to make plays for himself and others. Turn him into a catch and shoot guy and he will no longer be effective.
Great analysis, as usual. You are right about D’Lo and Rui. When they play like this, I feel like we have a good team. But when they defer to LeBron, that is when things can get backward. As for Rui, I thought the presence of fellow countryman and superstar Shohei Ohtani might have motivated him. Anyway, this is the most comfortable game I have seen the Lakers play this season, even though it might come against the Blazers.
Play DLO at point and LBJ on a wing.
That’s exactly my thoughts, DJ.
Love this, like we discussed over the weekend: both DLO and Rui’s overall FG attempts are down from the previous season by a significant margin. The offense can strike a better balance but nothing will get all that much better until we cleanup the silly turnovers.
There are only 2 players on the roster with a positive plus mini for the year. DLO is +69 and Rui is +5. LeBron is a -129. He’s 485th in the league. You would think an analytics driven coach might look at that and what he can do to take advantage of it.