The Lakers won their most recent game, a demolition of the Bucks that saw nearly every player do well. This has been a rare enough occurrence that this in and of itself is worth still feeling good about. Yes, even two days later. Beyond the final margin and the individual players doing well, the team did some good things on offense that inspire thoughts that maybe they are starting to get it. They are far from fully formed, but some hints of progress are there.
This leads us into Thursday’s game against the Rockets. These teams played less than a week ago, the Lakers losing on the final night of their 8-game road trip which was also the second night of a back to back. That game did have some positives…err, a positive. Kobe played well, scoring efficiently (25 points, 9-16 shooting) while also stuffing the stat sheet in other ways (7 rebounds, 6 assists).
That was not enough, though. And it won’t be tonight, either. Not if James Harden has another big night, Dwight Howard and Clint Capela control the paint on both ends, and one (or more) of the non-Harden perimeter guys knock down shots. That was the formula the Rockets used to win the last game and if they are able to lay down the same blueprint, I expect the same result.
The counter to these things is pretty straight forward, though it will be difficult to execute. First is slowing Harden, but the Lakers don’t actually have good options there. Jordan Clarkson likely draws the assignment, but he’s not exactly known as a stopper. However, if Clarkson can mark him early and force him towards help off the dribble, it’s a good place to start. If Harden also misses some jumpers, things will go even better.
As for the bigs, Hibbert can do a decent job of staying with Dwight on post ups and brute force attacks, but anything on the move will be difficult. Hibbert will need to do his work early and then battle hard on the glass to make up for where he cannot match up athletically. Larry Nance Jr. will also need to be active in the paint, especially on the backboards. Nance can have a habit of chasing the ball rather than bodying up his man, but that won’t work against guys like Howard and Capela. Those guys are too long and athletic to get away with that.
I am also looking at Julius Randle to see if he can have a bounce back game. The Rockets offer size and length throughout their big man rotation and these are the types of players who can give Randle trouble. However, matchups against Terrence Jones and Donatas Montiejunas are ones Randle can be effective. He will need to use his combination of quickness and power to get them off-balance, but he’s more than capable of doing so. Finishing over the length will be a challenge, but it’s one he should get used to.
Lastly, the battle of the benches will be important in this one. Last game, Marcus Thornton got hot and helped the Rockets establish the lead they would not surrender. I already mentioned Randle, but if Russell and Nick Young can also play well they might be able to turn the tide of the game.
Where you can watch: 7:30pm start time on TNT. Also listen at ESPN Radio Los Angeles 710AM.
tankyou says
The rockets are my LEAST favorite team to watch. I despise Harden’s game and his pathetic efforts on defense. I also don’t like watching him Euro-step into people endlessly to draw fouls, which gets pretty bloody boring. Not a fan of the drama king D.Howard either. Rockets clearly look like a team that is imploding from the top (Morey) down. It’s amazing to see how worthless Ty Lawson looks on the rockets. Harden dominates the ball so much that its pointless for them to have a PG that does anything with the ball on offense. It’s truly the Harden show most games and that’s not nearly enough to win much, especially in the West.
So of course the Rockets on paper should beat us, but who knows, we could definitely win this one, the Rockets are just all over the place now adays. They don’t even look like a #8 seed anymore. I hope Howard whines and get’s T-‘d up and kicked out of the game and that Harden lets our young guys score 30 points on him. Harden is so over rated, he’s utterly reliant on getting foul calls to be an offensive stud, whereas Kobe used to avoid contact and make amazing shots, so did Jordan. Harden is not the heir apparent to the best SG title in my book, I think IF you are supposedly the best player at your position, then other no name guys shouldn’t light you up every game as you stand 10 feet away resting–waiting to Eurostep into someone again the next trip down.
matt says
This team bullied us around in Houston, randle was shut down, they just seemed more physical, also we could not keep up with harden, he does have a cold spell tendency, i was unaware before then how good beverly was, i think i remember them shooting alot of 3s,
I just wanna see russell swish some, kobe with the nice passes, randle needs to step up vs the big boys, I’d like to see nance dunk on Dwight, then again coward might not play, one things for sure he will get booooed,
we gotta beat this dysfunctional team, forget the tank we gonna start winning, yeah right.
matt says
Also someone earlier called hibbert a dork, you who i think is a dork greg monroe making it rain
matt says
Sorry 1 more
Watch harden throw elbows on the drive, dirty
tankyou says
Do you ever re-read one of your own comments, then realize you basically wrote just a few Epic run-on sentences. It’s as if as soon as I leave work grammer and punctuation just goes out the window. 🙂
I’m calling it a win tonight, guys have been playing well, our guards have been playing good enough offense to make up for the D. Harden can’t D up anyone, and I don’t think Beverly is the defensive stud he was made out to be either and he’s small, and our guards are 6’5″. IF the Rockets bigs don’t play well we should get this one. D-Mo is a talented offensive player though, and Howard still has his occasional dominant game–but emphasis on occasional. It will be real interesting to see how much Howard gets paid, I think he can opt out after this season?
Fern says
I hipe we can mantain some momentum from last game, funny Dwight rumblings are coming out of Houston already, there’s even trade talk, like Kobe has said countless times, he is soft and wants everything handed to him, if he stayed we would be a team stuck in a playoff berth, no youth movement and no picks and stuck for 2 more years with this declining clown. I hope Nance posterize him lol. GO LAKERS…
Fern says
All that momentum from last game just out of the window right away*sigh*
Mid-Wilshire says
This would have been a good game in which to play Tarik Black since he played for Houston last year and they put him on waivers. Extra motivation and all that.
This may not have occurred to Byron.
bluehill says
Man, Reggie Miller says some dumb stuff. Please explain how having the rookies watch Kobe put up bad shots is a better education than playing.
Mid-Wilshire says
Kobe played 19:56 in the first half. This is very concerning to me.
KO says
Roy the Hobbet is worthless. Both ends. Minus 20. Sacre even a plus 8. How bad is that?
Another fool move by Mitch.
matt says
Reggie miller is a classic lakers hater
Alan says
All that momentum from last game just out of the window right away*sigh*
—
That’s what you get when you have young kids and average vets. Truthfully, what vet on this team is a must have? That’s why it’s not a bad idea to implode this thing one more year.
It would be nice to get Simmons but any top three pick moves this forward faster. We have to show progress by the summer of 2017. That free agent pool represents our chance to pick up a veteran elite and some real depth.
Finishing 15 in the West this year and 13th next year won’t cut it.
Fern says
Im not surprised about Reggie saying that he loooved to shoot back in the day, the Lakers kind of hanging around, i just wary of the third quarter…
Tim says
Kobe throws it down, still some life in those legs.
Fern says
@Alan we have what we didn’t had the last 3 years, a young core, and a couple of aditional pieces we don’t need to “implode” the entire thing, plus more cap that anybody else, even this team should been better than 4-21…
matt says
Sacre and russell chemistry
Alan says
We don’t know what we have yet with the young core. I say we are not better than our record and we need more talent. How are we going to get it? Free agency this summer? Not likely. Trades? Can’t trade the kids and what will the vets bring back?
For the good of the franchise you need one more trip back to the lottery.
Fern says
I guess Kobe’s claim that he didnt had his legs under him at the start if the season was true, it’s 6 games now that he is been playing better…
Fern says
I think we have a better idea what we have, we have 3 young players that can be very good and still have a lot to learn and grow but there are no busts there if thats what you impliying, Russell play lately this game notwhistanding has shown that he is up there with Towns, Pozingis and Okafor and definetly light years ahead of Miudiay the favorite of a lot of people here, a trip to the lottery is not a guarantee but the 66 mill in capspace are,we have a core and it’s becoming clear what we have…
matt says
Reggie miller didn’t see that no look pass by russell
Alan says
Didn’t say busts. I said we don’t know what they are yet and we’re sitting at 4-21 likely 4-22. That tells me we don’t have enough talent.
matt says
Howard getting shutdown by sacre
Fern says
Even if everything went right for this club this season we would not be in the playoffs regardless everybody knows that, we should have 4 or 5 more wins thats about it, but this season has turn into the Kobe farewell tour and the development of the kids, we have a foundation that we didn’t have, and the Lakers next summer after this era is over have the potential to improve the team quite a bit…
Alan says
I don’t see anything happening this summer. I think the opportunity is the summer of 2017.
Shaun says
hibbert is worthless and im sure that bass gets moved at the deadline … how he doesnt make the rotation at all after signing here must be pissing him off
lou has been great and i think kobe just needed some time to recuperate and he has shown a lot of game over the last little bit
sacre is a very capable backup big a la zaza pachulia – for 60th overall i think that was a great pick at the time
dxmanners says
DAR played like he should out dominating some high school game. Out of his league, fumbles, turnovers. He’s got a long way to go. Harden’s rookie year wasn’t so great, I guess there is hope…
Some of Mitch’s signings don’t make much sense at this stage-Bass? Hibbert?
Pleased with Kobe’s shot selection lately, don’t want him to go out shooting 6 for 23 every night.
This may be some creative tanking. It’s going to take some luck, and then some, to get Ben Simmons.
KO says
How do you play 28 minutes.
Score 4
Get 4 rebounds
Have a minus 25
Be 420 out of 428 in NBA with a minus 193
AND GET PAID $17 MILLION.
KWAME BROWN I MISS YOU.
Sacre plus 10 in 22 minutes.
mud says
KO, your anger is misdirected. it’s youth that is the most to blame, so your anger isn’t really even relevant. you might as well beat up your toothbrush. it’s just as easy to do and it’s just as ineffective in bringing about a solution.
(not at KO, or anyone in particular)
the Lakers had a terrible first quarter and then played a much better team to a standstill for the next 2 quarters. that pretty good right now.
it baffles me that anyone could get indignant about a team with 3 rooks and a sophomore playing significant minutes. of course i had and have high hopes for them, but the reality is that they have a lot to learn. that’s what this season is really about. it’s not how many minutes or what minutes players play, it’s about whether they learn and improve. so far this season, there has been improvement. it’s not enough to be a winning team yet, but it could lead to that.
people can coulda, shoulda all they want. the team is what it is. get with it, or you’re agin it. if you’re agin it, then you’re an enemy. sports is simple, it doesn’t require advanced analytics to enjoy.
J C says
Tankyou
Thank you
For saying exactly what I think of Harden
Run-on sentences and all.
He actually has talent
But he disrespects the game the way he plays to get fouled, baiting the refs.
KO
Yes, Hibbert is showing his value
Don’t worry, he’s a one-year rental.
If he returns it will be at a much lower salary.
Mitch was just doing his best to field a roster.
Nice to see Howard tossing up brick after brick at the line. I can kind of picture him wandering around the Rocket locker room pointing at the stat sheet like he did here. Imagine Harden’s response – just staring back at him.
The Rockets are a great example of a team without chemistry. Too bad though, because I like Jason Terry. Also kinda sad to see Mchale fired. He seemed like a decent guy. All except for clotheslining Rambis a hundred years ago.
KO says
McHale our next coach?
Renato Afonso says
And giving Garnett to Boston. I hate McHale and Ainge and I hope they go to leprechaun hell…
Still, that team never beat our starting lineup in a 7-game series. Isn’t that what an overrated coach used to say?
Fulofunk says
The Kobe dunk….the BIG highlight…ok…and the kid hug at the very end of the game. The best 2 Lakers tonight ( the only 2 ?), after Kobe…Sacre & Nance Jr…… It wasn’t a blowout…until the last of the 4th….best moment of the game, after dunk & hug…The Revenant trailer.
Fern says
Whinning about a contract that the whole reason for adquiring it was the humongous cap space is going to free up next summer.I always thought Hibbert was an overpaid bum even in his “heyday” with the Pacers and i have family in Indy and ragged on them mercilessly about that only to have the FO go out and trade for him lol, but since i can see beyond two fingers in my face, i think that was the best move the Lakers made in the summer because it was a move made with the future in mind. Hibbert is going to be a back up center the rest of his career and he wont make anything near that money again wherever he ends up after this season, he is been ok in the court at best, never thought much of him before and nothing has changed that…
Fern says
@Renato is there any coach that receive more praise with not a lot of achievements than Rivers? One would think he is PJ or Red the way he is revered in some media including the world wide leader in sports, he had a stacked team and could only win one championship, have another stacked team now and they haven’ achieve nothing…
Jim C. says
I’m going to do the Lakers front office and Byron Scott a solid and construct a lineup that makes sense for them. There are 240 total minutes of playing time that need to be distributed. Here’s how it should work.
Here’s how the rotations on this team should look.
Starters:
PG: D’Angelo Russell – 35 minutes – PG of the future getting all the time he needs to develop with the guys he needs to develop with for the most part
SG: Jordan Clarkson – 35 minutes – Already an efficient and good player. Can play some time at PG while Russell sits as well since he does better with the ball in his hands.
SF: Kobe – 28 minutes – Is most effective when his minutes are limited and his legs aren’t dead.
PF: Julius Randle – 34 minutes – One of our most productive per minute players by far
C: Roy Hibbert – 24 minutes – You can see why the Pacers let him go. Doesn’t seem to fit well in the pace and space era.
Bench: Lou Williams – 26 minutes as part of a fixed three guard rotation with D’Angelo and Jordan. There’s 96 total minutes to distribute between those two slots. Scott could still play Lou plenty of minutes while not screwing the youngsters. Sixth man of the year should be an actual Sixth Man
Bench: Nick Young 20 minutes – Same thing. Play Kobe and Nick exclusively at SF and they neither one screw up the guard rotation by soaking up to many minutes or get underplayed. Done.Spreads the floor for everybody with his great 3 point shooting. Adequate defender.
Bench: Larry Nance Jr – 14 minutes as the backup PF behind Randle. Enough to get him some reps and some burn, but not steal minutes away from a future all-star. Also allows him to make the best use of his greatest strength: constant energy. Can go all out with this number of minutes with no need to pace himself.
Bench: Tarik Black – 24 minutes as backup center – Gives a pick and roll partner for Russell. An offense threat at the center spot for Randle so the lane isn’t quite so clogged when he drives and he has an outlet pass if he gets into trouble
Hey look! I fixed Byron Scott’s rotations! And it didn’t take me more than a quarter of the season to do it.
david h says
Darius: last nite’s game vs rockets was possibly laker’s last opportunity for a two game winning streak this season other than a possible eeking out a win vs charlotte January 31st and then versus Minnesota February 2nd; both home games for lakers. Otherwise, a series of one game winning streaks remain in tact until season’s finale, Wednesday, april 13th 2016 vs jazz at home. Sadly, looking forward to at least 8 more one game winning streak(s) this 2015-2016 nba laker season…….
With exception to last nite’s performance, was about to anoint Russell, O’Angelo; leaving the remainder of the season for him to develop his “D”. think both Russell and Jordan should take private tutorship from ron artest on how to body up on defense. Not sure if they have the hands to accomplish this, but should work wonders toward developing their respective footwork and defensive skillsets. Other than that, don’t see much activity lately for defensive artist, artest.
Probably too busy last minute xmas shopping (as usual) to watch game vs okc tomorrow pm. A win vs thunder more than not likely. Appreciating and just would like seeing glimpses of vintage kobe and appreciating the effort of the young core. Goal for them this season: stay positive thru to the end of season.
Go lakers
matt says
Hibbert is the cornerstone, really though why cry about it, he’s a one year, contract expiring fill in
matt says
Jim c … if you want it your way just play 2k16
LordMo says
Ummm we have players on our roster that belong in the D League.
Sacre and Kelly for example. Fixing rotations is something you do when you know what you have. Way too early to tell at this point. BScott is doing a good job actually with what he has been given. He is committed to the development of these young Lakers so lets stand behind him and give him a couple seasons before we pass judgement. I think it’s going to be alright in a few years now that the FO is going towards the future. I’m even going to give Jimbo credit for trying to do something before Kobe’s window of opportunity was gone albeit how bad it turned out.
The way I see the top pick should straight out go to the Lakers. The league owes us that for stealing Chris Paul away and trying to prop up 2 traditionally moribund franchises at the expense of your flagship franchise.
Relax I believe it’s all going to work out! If we get Simmons or Brown it’s on!
KevTheBold says
Great comeback game for Randle, good to see him using his head, as much as his brawn ! Kobe took him under his wing last night and helped him take a large step forward.
Speaking of Kobe, I do believe I can relax and fully enjoy his final season, as he has found the perfect balance between his capabilities and helping to develop the next generation !
Much love to you Kobe !
Russell was out of sync last night in all aspects but assists, yet it was expected. Rookies will rise and fall more steeply than experienced players, and the better they are, the steeper the peaks and valleys.
Keep your chin up D’Angelo, adversity is the best teacher.
Off subject, has anyone been keeping up with Upshaw?
Alan says
Hibbert is the cornerstone…
—
Cornerstone of what? The Lakers have the 27th ranked defense in the league.
Jim C. says
matt:
If you disagree with those lineup suggestions, just let me know where.
LordMo:
What evidence is there that Scott is committed to the development of the youngsters?
He’s jerked their playing time around. Taken them in and out of the starting lineups at a whim. Refused to play them down the stretch of both close games and blowouts. Openly states he values winning extra games over player development. Played veterans over youngsters time and time again such as playing Bass as the backup center instead of Tarik Black. Spoken derogatorily about their manhood. Let Kobe hijack the offense at a whim. And failed to put competent lineups together that maximize their skill set such as trying to run the Princeton offense instead of a pick-and-roll based offense with Russell.
As a tank commander, Byron is an excellent coach. As an actual NBA coach or player developer, this is absolutely going to be his last coaching job in the league. Lock it in right now. After the Lakers fire him he won’t get another NBA head coaching job.
Dwight says
I always thought Hibbert was an overpaid bum even in his “heyday” with the Pacers and i have family in Indy and ragged on them mercilessly about that only to have the FO go out and trade for him lol, but since i can see beyond two fingers in my face, i think that was the best move the Lakers made in the summer because it was a move made with the future in mind.
___
C: Roy Hibbert – 24 minutes – You can see why the Pacers let him go. Doesn’t seem to fit well in the pace and space era.
__
You say ‘to-may-to’, I say ‘to-mah-to’
stats says
Good news from last night:
1. Randle hits a 3! Another nice double-double for him. Enjoy the hustle. Hope he can learn the midrange game.
2. Sacre: hate to admit it, but he’s become a serviceable backup. Good on him!
3. Kobe!! Dunkomatic.
4. Nance coming along.
5. Not unhappy with Lou.
6. DH is not a Laker. Yeah!
Bad news from last night:
1. backstep for DAR, but that’ll happen
2. JC can’t yet handle a physical guard like Harden (agree with @tankyou.. hate watching harden play, especially when his commercial plays 47 times in one game); bad game overall
3. rotations (I don’t understand them)
4. Where is Black? Does anyone know?
5. Hibbert – I feel bad for him, because the defense ahead of him, while better, is bad. But he has zero offensive skills.
LordMo says
I think you keep Hibbert but at a reduced rate of course. He will be a serviceable backup once we do get a legit big.
Again playing Hibbert major minutes and Sacre any minutes is something you don’t want to do but have too if that’s all you got.
I’m sure coach BScott would really like some legit frontline players simply ain’t got it people no use going off because this is what we are stuck with.
I am more concerned with playing ourselves out of this top pick then winning games right now. So, play Hibbert and Sacre and Kelly all at once. Hell start them and give the green light because right now the draft is paramount and letting those bums play gets us to the promiseland!
BigCitySid says
Given this personnel hodgepodge by our overwhemled front office which states it wants to develope the younger players while celebrating Kobe’s last season and still have a shot at retaining it’s top 3 protected draft choice, I offer this solution:
– let Kobe play up to 30 mins, all in the 1st 3 quarters.
– let the younger guys finish the games.
Now everyone’s happy, Case closed
Jim C. says
Agree on thought of keeping Hibbert as a backup big if the price is right.
I know everybody’s pretty fixated on Ben Simmons. But that Skal Labissiere kid might not be a bad consolation prize if we keep our pick and draft #2. Floor spacing big man ala Porzingas who could open things up for Randle underneath.
PG: Russell
SG: DeMar Derozan
SF: Durant
PF: Randle
C: Skal Labissiere
Bench PG/SG: Clarkson – Playing 30 minutes a night backing up both guard spots.
Bench PF: Nance and/or Bass
Bench C: Hibbert
Bench SF: Nick Young
Bench PG/SG in case of injury: Lou Williams
I’m just saying that lineup looks pretty enticing if you can swing it. And approaching Derozan and Durant as a package deal as perfect fits in a lineup absolutely infested with young talent at every other position around them might be a good sell.
Dwight says
I have a hard time seeing KD leave OKC this summer – especially for the Lakers. Sure Simmons or Labissiere would give the Lakers the brightest group of youngsters in the league but they would still be a few years away from being great (Skal is very raw).
Durant will be 28 by the start of the next season. Nine years in the league, over 25,000 minutes and already having a lower extremity injuries. He’s got, what 3 or 4 years left at an elite level. Does KD really want to roll the dice that the Lakers Kids are that good? And even if they are that good will they be ready to compete against the Warriors, Spurs and Cavs?
I think KD resigns in OKC.
Jim C. says
@Dwight
Agree that the youngsters will need another year or two to really reach their peak, but that’s where getting that second guy like Derozan matters. That’s an all-star in his prime a year younger than Durant is.
With Durant/Derozan as the nucleus to build around, it’s immediately a competitive team. At that point the pitch doesn’t become “wait three years for the youngsters to develop and then contend again” it’s more “win 50-55 games next year and be a mid-tier contender, and improve each year after that as the youngsters get better and better”.
Doesn’t necessarily have to be Derozan. Could be one of the other marquee free agents out there in the upcoming class. For example Durant plus Hassan Whiteside. They key is to convince two guys to team up together with the young core with a very bright future here in LA.
matt says
Jim i don’t disagree with your lineup minutes, im with you but none of us is gonna influence the coach,, and hibbert is the cornerstone is all sarcasm
matt says
Last reminded me of 3 years when the lakers made a billboard for Dwight howard, as fans we can look back and laugh, also at the game i noticed fans in the crowd shouting at Dwight trying to get a response and I’m imaging whats being said, stuff is helirious