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Preview & Chat: Lakers vs. Jazz

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For the 2nd time in 6 days the Lakers face the Jazz, this time in Utah. The last matchup was a low scoring affair plagued by some horrid Lakers’ shooting (29-89 from the field) and played at the Jazz’s pace. Further, that game saw both Kobe and D’Angelo Russell sit out, so the Lakers were also shorthanded with Anthony Brown and Marcelo Huertas filling in as best they could, but without a lot of results to show for it (save for some solid defense from Brown).

Tonight, the Lakers will be more healthy than they were last week, but will now be without Brandon Bass who is still nursing a sore foot. Tarik Black will hopefully step in for Bass as the backup C and will look to build on his solid performance against the Warriors on Thursday. Considering I’d like to see more of Black, I’m interested in seeing how he performs, though I’d prefer it weren’t because of Bass being injured.

That said, Black — and the rest of the frontcourt — will be going up against a Jazz frontline that is also dealing with injuries. Derrick Favors (back) and Trevor Booker (concussion) are both unlikely to play, which leaves rookie Trey Lyles starting at PF and only Jeff Withey and Tibor Pleiss as the legitimate bigs behind Gobert. Odds are the Jazz will need to play small with Joe Ingles and/or Chris Johnson logging minutes at PF when Lyles is out of the game.

The Lakers, then, should look to be aggressive on the backboards and in attacking the paint to make the Jazz Centers help in order to open up other slashing lanes and putback chances. The hope will be Nance, Randle, and Black can then take advantage by getting some easier baskets at the rim.

On the wing, Russell’s return should help provide some balance to the 2nd unit which was lacking the last time these teams played. I’d like to see him attack Trey Burke in the P&R and even get into the post a little bit to try and take advantage of his height advantage. If Russell can get some shots from in-close, it may get the rest of his offense going and lead to more success with his outside shot.

Lastly, I’ll be interested in seeing how Anthony Brown does defensively. While his boxscore stats have not impressed, Brown has fared well in traditional plus/minus and a key reason is that when he’s in the game the Lakers defend better than when he’s on the bench. The Jazz have both Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood on the wing and Brown will likely see time on both. How he manages — especially against Hayward — will be one of the games within the games worth paying attention to.

Where you can watch: 6:00pm start time on TWC Sportsnet. Also listen on ESPN Radio 710AM Los Angeles.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chris J says

    Totally agree on Brown’s defense. For a rookie he’s surprisingly adept on the ball and he has good size and footwork. I’d like to see more of him.

  6. rr says

    Why is young being left out of rotations

    —

    Because he’s 30, the team is 9-32, and his skills overlap with guys they already have. And he is signed through 2018.

  7. rr says

    The Lakers are obviously bad on O, but Utah is a tough defensive team when Gobert is there, so that is part of it as well.

    • KevTheBold says

      Thanks rr, takes a bit of the sting out of the loss.

      I expected a defeat of course, yet not a blow out.

  10. rr says

    LKK,

    Yes. Smith is actually an NBA player, unlike some of the guys they were using at the 1 before that. Rumors are that adding Smith was MDA’s idea.

  11. LKK says

    A really disheartening game. The Laker youngsters have apparently decided to take the night off. Anthony a Brown does appear to be gaining some confidence, though, which is nice to see.

  14. Anonymous says

    Okafor is a legit NBA player. The Lakers would not have done poorly selecting him.
    FO must have felt that selection would conflict directly with the opportunity they wanted to give Randle.

    As many pointed out pre-draft, it seems Russell’s full value may take about two years to blossom.
    His flashes of brilliance already point to that.

    It is an interesting distinction – that a PF’s talents like Okafor’s may lend themselves more readily to the transition to the pro game.

    I’m not sure why that would be. Maybe handling the ball, penetrating, and conducting an offense and passing the rock takes more skill than posting up and scoring? Not sure. Okafor is a definite talent and would be an asset to any roster.

    I hope Russell turns out to be the superstar the Lakers projected. I know he’s already my (second) favorite Laker to watch.

    • KevTheBold says

      Solid assertions all the way through, and I share your hope & enjoyment.

      I would also like to point out, that centers should, and usually do have the highest field goal percentages due to their close proximity to the basket in height & distance.

      Okafor is solid on the court, yet the Lakers dodged a bullet, as his off court issues demonstrate the kid is a powder keg waiting to explode, and his babysitter (body guard) won’t be able to prevent it.

  15. KO says

    Lucky I missed the game.

    Another 1 basket 3 rebound game from Slow Roy.

    He should not play 25
    He should not play 15
    He should not play

    Might be worst starting player in the NBA.

    Another in a long line of accusations aquired by the dumb and dumber duet the past 3 years.

    How many draft choices were lost under the. Jimmy years. 4? 5? 6? I lost count.

    And the team has lost games and cred.

  16. BigCitySid says

    – Those of you keeping an eye on the 76ers w-l record also need to watch the Nets. Lakers picked up TWO games on the Nets in the last 10 and are now only 2.5 games worst.

    – Making the situation worst is the Celtics own the Nets 1st round pick this season. Hate the idea of the Celtics even having a shot at Simmons.

    – As far as having confidence in the FO, not sure how any Laker fan can. I do have hope, even a broken clock is right twice a day…but confidence, none, zero, zilch, nada.

  17. PurpleBlood says

    even a broken clock is right twice a day
    ___
    nice metaphor BCS –
    ___
    Personally, when regarding our Purple & Gold, I´ve been in a funk – I know I´m not the only one – since that ugly sweep by the Mavs way back in 2011…with all the (apparent) highs and (disheartening) lows in between. At this point, like most around here, maybe even KO at times ;), it´s KB´s nostalgic parting season & the young fellas with so much potential that keeps me afloat; a W now and again makes for a few hours of a lighter spring in my step, which is always, always welcome.

  18. Mid-Wilshire says

    I can certainly understand that the occasional blowout loss –like last night’s result against Utah — is disheartening. Believe me. I feel it, too.

    But, please. Let’s remember that this season is nothing more than an extended preseason to next year and the year after. Notwithstanding Kobe’s farewell tour, this year really is all about developing the kids. There will be blow-out losses. But there’ll be better games, too.

    With that in mind, I did see two silver linings to a very cloudy sky last night: 1) the play of Anthony Brown (9 pts., 7 rebounds in 26:56) and 2) the play of Tarik Black (6 pts., 6 rebounds — identical stats to the previous game — and only one foul in 21:32).

    These two players, Anthony Brown and Tarik Black, are something of a developing story. They’re playing well of late, admittedly in a very small sample size. But if they continue to contribute, then the Lakers’ core of the future will have expanded from 4 players (Russell, Clarkson, Randle, and Nance, Jr.) to six.

    This is meaningful. After all, the Lakers are building a team. And certain FAs may be attracted to a team that’s establishing a solid base for the future.

    Finally, as a reminder, their ages are as follows: Russell — 19, Randle — 21, Clarkson — 23, Nance, Jr. — 23, Brown — 23, Black — 24. Average age = 22.2. That’s VERY young. But I see real promise. A lot of highs and lows. But real promise.

    The Lakers, without question, are all about the future. I’m eager to see Anthony Brown and Tarik Black — and the others — in this second half of the year…and beyond.

  19. LKK says

    Mid-W…
    I, too, like the positive signs that we see from the youngsters. One if my concerns, however, is the confusion and chaos from most of them on the defensive end of the floor. I really don’t know how much of that confusion to assign to poor coaching and how much to assign to poor effort from the players. There is, I’m sure, blame on both ends. Some of the youth you mentioned needs to start manifesting itself in a consistent effort on defense.

  20. rr says

    This is meaningful. After all, the Lakers are building a team. And certain FAs may be attracted to a team that’s establishing a solid base for the future.
    —

    Perhaps, but big-time FAs generally want to go to teams that can win immediately, since most guys hit FA in their late 20s and are changing teams to improve their shot at contention; additionally, big stars tend to value veterans around them. Greg Monroe (leaving aside how good or not good one thinks he is) was to some extent an exception, since he he took the QO and became a UFA at 25. Also, Nance and Brown are about as close to help-now draft picks as you can get. I am not seeing the six young guys that the Lakers have as being a draw for FAs–except as a part of a larger scenario in which the Lakers can get 2-3 FAs at once to go with them in which case the draw would to a great extent be the other FAs. The six guys could certainly be part of the infrastructure that the KBros have talked about.

    So, IMO it still comes back to Russell, and to a lesser extent, Randle, and I remain a Randle skeptic.

    That said, I am glad to see Scott playing all six of them. I had several posts saying that all six of them should be playing, (as did others) along with Kobe and Hibbert (although I think at this point most fans would rather see BB out there than Hibbert at this point and see the Lakers playing smallball all the time).

  21. Anonymous says

    Thanks ‘Mid’ for reminding us exactly what this season is all about.

    If our core develops, but we lose our draft pick this year, it will still have been a successful year for the Lakers. That would mean our youngsters are developing faster then we all should have expected. Our 2nd half is filled with home games, but the competition is tougher – here’s to our record, whatever it may be.