Forum Blue And Gold

A Lakers Blog. Thoughts, reflections, and the odd rant on the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA (even the Clippers).

Lakers Lose In Summer League Quarterfinal Against Warriors

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The Lakers played one hell of a Summer League game against the Warriors that got the crowd poppin’. Still, the Lakers fell short, 83-77, after the Warriors’ Kent Bazemore went off for 26 points.

The Lakers played really well in the second quarter, possibly their best in Summer League. But they fell apart in the third quarter when the bench came in for them. They lost their momentum then and the Warriors, who haven’t lost a Summer League game in forever, took advantage. L.A. had a spirited comeback but ultimately couldn’t complete it.

A few tidbits.

*I sure hope Elias Harris gets an invite somewhere. He ran the floor, shot the three well, and was just an energetic guy throughout the game (well, throughout LVSL, really). I think he belongs somewhere in the NBA. Harris finished with 17 points.

*Marcus Landry continued his excellent play. Though he got off to a slow start, he kept popping in those three-pointers off pick-and-rolls and kickoffs. I would be shocked if he doesn’t get a training camp invite. He had 14 points in the game.

*Chris Douglas-Roberts came alive in the second quarter and continued to do the little things like initiating the offense and helping out on defense. CDR didn’t shoot well but he finished with 12 points.

*Robert Sacre continued to clean up on the boards and, throughout this Summer League, was getting better on the post and positioning himself to get the rebounds. Sacre only had six points but had 10 boards.

*Lester Hudson played well again with 18 points. But, again, there’s simply no room for him in L.A.

*Lazar Hayward was frustrating but he’s the best at cherrypicking.

*Josh Selby, what happened?

The Lakers’ Summer League is over but there were some good signs and while this SL team won’t be indicative of what the current Laker team will be, we did see some young guys that we hope that we’ll see on the Laker team this season. Maybe there will be room for CDR. Maybe there will be something for Marcus Landry. But it was good to see the Laker system used well in Summer League by the younguns’.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. John says

    Finally someone noticed Harris. He’s been like glue for this team. He does all the intangibles. The Lakers need to sign him.

  2. arliepro says

    Harris, Landry, and CDR could well get camp invites. Is there anyone else Mitch saw in Summer League that the Lakers might invite?

  3. pio2u2 says

    Landry, CDR & Harris made strong statements towards earning an invite to the Laker’s camp. Landry, Harris & Hudson were consistent throughout SL. Hudson, Snaer & Hayward could possibly get looks elsewhere. All-in-all each guy improved their chances by playing well in the SL.

  5. gene says

    Hopefully none of these players are on the Lakers…These are not “top” NBA players that we are talking about.If any of these players are playing key minutes on your team you know that your team is bad….They might get a job overseas..or ….

  6. T. Rogers says

    Gene,

    I don’t think they are looking for “top” players in Summer league play. However, they may be able to find a couple of gems who can provide quality spot minutes here and there. When the core is a old as ours having young guys to spell Kobe, Pau, and both Steves makes a big difference.

  7. rr says

    The Lakers basically need a 4 and a 3 and/or a guy who can play both, to fill out the 12-man.

    1-Nash/Blake/Farmar
    2-Bryant/Young/Meeks/Farmar
    3-Johnson/Young/Bryant
    4-Kelly?
    5-Gasol/Kaman/Sacre

    Based on roster need, Marcus Landry would seem to have the best shot to make the 12-man among SL guys. Someone mentioned Ivan Johnson last week; he would be worth one year at the min.

  8. Hale says

    If Kelly makes the roster, they are already at 12. Maybe one dude makes it from Summer League and they hold 13. But they’ll have to move someone like Blake or Hill to keep their tax down, iirc.

  10. rr says

    So, my guess is that it will be a nine or ten-man rotation, even given MDA’s love for short rotations:

    Nash/Bryant/Johnson/Hill/Gasol will presumably start.

    I could see Blake getting traded and of course it is possible that Pau and Nash could get moved as well. If Kobe can actually play, getting minutes for all the Gs could be tough.

  11. arliepro says

    Some combination of Nash/Hill/Gasol/Blake will have to be moved (at the trade deadline?) in order to get the payroll under the tax line. The FO doesn’t want to pay the repeater tax.

  12. Craig W. says

    The repeater tax doesn’t take effect until next year. Then it is 1 in last 4 – following year it is 2 in last 5. Therefore, the Lakers can be over the cap this year and under the next two years, or under the next two years.

    They don’t have to trade Gasol or Nash this year.

  13. rr says

    The KBros have said that their contacts tell them the market for Pau is soft right now, in that teams are not sure how much he has in the tank, how healthy he is, etc.

    So, I think there is a pretty good chance that he will be moved near the deadline if he is doing pretty well, but the team is under .500.

  14. Jacob says

    Depending on how the season goes, they may end up having to hold a fire sale for at least Blake and hill (maybe more) to get under the tax this year so they can reset their level. The Lakers plan is to spend for stars. Its reasonable because they Lakers aren’t winning the lottery to get top tier talent. Once they get their hands on that talent, they’ll spend whatever they can to round out the edges. They, along with Lakers fans, must be patient with that approach. If they don’t get out from being repeater tax status this year, they will be paying heavy taxes throughout the next dynasty. Again depending on health, don’t be surprised if they end up burning this season for the next.

  18. Craig W. says

    Again–
    The Lakers DO NOT have to get under the tax line this year to avoid the repeater tax. They have to get under the tax line next year and they have to stay under the tax line for two years. If they do get under the line this year, then they only have to do it again next year and they can go over the line in 15/16.

    For this reason I don’t see them trading Pau or Blake this year, unless they are clearly not going to make the playoffs. Blake, by himself, does not get us under the tax line this year. Therefore if we are going to move someone it will be either Pau or Blake & Hill. I don’t see Hill going because it is quite probable the Lakers would want to keep him for 14/15, especially if they lose Pau.

    Old story: Forum Blue and Gold was dictated by Jack Kent Cooke when he owned the Lakers and built the Forum. That is how Chick had to announce it, and purple and gold became Forum Blue and Gold.

  20. Jacob says

    Batman- you’re missing the point. Everybody who knows basketball wnd loves the lakers wants it done that way, but the team itself won’t put out an unwatchable product. They’re the freaking lakers.

    Craig w. – yes we all know they DO NOT need to get under the tax line THIS year. If they don’t get under this year, when will they be able to get under for two years consecutively? 2014 and 2015? Yes next year they will be under due to all the contracts coming off. 2015 is a much different story however. When they want to add say a Kevin love and another high salaried player (assuming they only get one next year), they’re going to be back over the tax line that year for sure. Sure the lakers can spend all they want, but to spend 4 times for filling out the roster at a time when they should be spending all they can that summer is something even the lakers would flinch at.

  21. R says

    To revive a cliché, if Cousins is the answer, it’s a pretty dumb question.

    Lakers faithful, let’s not panic!

    Not yet, anyway.

  22. rr says

    For this reason I don’t see them trading Pau or Blake this year, unless they are clearly not going to make the playoffs.

    —

    I think that is pretty likely, but we will see. Also, with the age rules, Wiggins et al will be very visible all year, particularly Wiggins, who will be playing at Kansas. If he looks as good as advertised, that will accelerate various teams’ tanking operations.

  23. Renato Afonso says

    I think that Blake will get traded down the road to save some cap while CDR and Landry will probably make the roster. At least I hope they can make the roster. We currently have 11 players (including Kelly) and I believe we will have 13 by the start of the season.

    Let’s assum that Kobe is healthy and our starting 5 is Nash, Kobe, Johnson/Meeks (depending on opponent?), Hill, Gasol. However, those typical MDA short rotations may not be that short since:

    a) Our starting five is old. Their bodies simply need more rest.
    b) With a training camp in place and everyone buying into the system, we may not need to play our hearts out just to get to .500.
    c) For once we have some depth.

    Farmar will have plenty of minutes behind Nash. Unless they plan on keeping Blake whose contract is expriing by the way.
    Kobe can’t play those insane amount of minutes anymore and Meeks can shoot the ball.
    Johnson and Young will get MWP’s minutes split among them.
    Hill, Gasol and Kaman will rotate inside with the occasional Kelly sighting.

    Now, one thing we’ve learned over the years is that injuries happen, suspensions happen, chicken pox and parking lot spikes happen. Landry and CDR can cover those situations perfectly and provide great practices for the team throughout the season…

  24. Aaron says

    I already connected those dots it was in one of my posts. It was one of the many things that made me contact my Lakers insiders. The day after Dwight left Kobe flies Melo out to his home in the OC and Shaq was contacting Cousins, while Farmar, young, and Johnson are signing for the min. That all made me reach out to my Lakers guy.

    rr,
    Really? You’re going to make me comment on this season? Really? Okay fine. Farmar as the third PG? He is literally the best PG we have on the roster by far. Check his PER his last season with the Nets and compare that to Blake/Nash last year. Throw in the fact Farmar is in his prime and Nash/Blake are past theirs… This isn’t close.

  25. Aaron says

    rr,
    And you needed the KBros to tell you the market is soft for Pau? Haha. The Lakers have been trying to trade him for the last two seasons. Statistically he was an average player last year (16 PER) getting paid the Max and can’t defend at all at this point. Yea. The trade market is soft.

  27. Shaun says

    Unless the heat renounce the rights to their players – like us – they wont have that space … but I agree the prospect of them all re-upping and possibly even adding to their team would be super annoying – Hate the heat – cant wait for them to finally lose in the post-season hopefully indiana with a much better bench will be able to knock them out next year

  28. Robert says

    Shaun: There is a hideous parallel thing going on here. When Chicago dominated, the Lakers had just fallen from the top of the food chain. The Bulls (Jordan – best in the league and his hated sidekick Pippen) were led by Phil Jackson and we had just lost Pat Riley as our coach. Now Miami (LBJ – best in the league and his hated sidekick D Wade) dominates. They are led by Riley, and we have just fallen from the top of the food chain and recently lost our coach in Jackson. Then it was the Announcement. Now it was the “Philabuster” (I just made that up) and the Dwecision. The results so far are the same.