Since starting the season with a feel good win over Houston, the Lakers are now 1-3. The road has not been kind to the team, with each L offering a certain hopeful quality only to still end up being an L. As I wrote before the Pacers’ game, there is some solace to be taken from moral victories, but I also think frustration starts to set in when a team fights so hard to keep games close only to lose out in the end the way this team has been.
Tuesday’s loss was particularly rough when you consider the irony in the Lakers losing in the exact way they had beaten so many teams over the years. As commenter mindcrime so succinctly put it, “Sometimes the other team’s best player is better than anything you have. George just made his shots, period. I’m sure fans of other teams similarly lamented times when Kobe did the same thing to them.”
With George cooking down the stretch, maybe the Lakers could have made some defensive substitutions, but considering the Pacers basically just started running 1-3 P&Rs to get George isolated against D’Angelo Russell, I’m not sure if bringing in Deng or Ingram for more size would have really helped. Luke Walton chose to go with three guards and their offensive abilities instead. It didn’t work out, but I’m not sure if second guessing really gets us anywhere — at least not yet. There will be a time to do a deep dive into lineup examination, but after 4 games I think we’re a bit early for that. It is coming, though.
Moving onto tonight, the Lakers close out their 4 game roadie against the remade Hawks. Much like the Pacers, the Hawks have changed up their roster in an attempt to freshen up their look and, hopefully, compete deeper into the post-season. This team is only a couple of years removed from making a run at the league’s best record and having 4 all-stars named to the mid-season exhibition, but those teams never got over the hump.
So, the team signed Dwight Howard in the off-season, traded Jeff Teague to the Pacers, and lost Al Horford to the Celtics. Some of this was by design (Teague, Dwight) and some of it was not (losing Horford for nothing is not a great look). Still the team may have started to get stale and they decided change was necessary.
So far, you cannot argue with the results. The Hawks are 3-0 and have a point differential of over 19 points a game, though against a soft early schedule. That said, you can only play the teams in front of you and if the schedule makers toss you the Sixers, Kings, and Wizards you go out and stomp them as a team who hopes to compete for a deep playoff run is supposed to.
Expect the Lakers to struggle tonight, then. One, as mentioned, the Hawks look like they are again a good team. Two, it is the last game of a four game road trip and the 2nd night of a back to back. And, three, the Lakers are going to be without Timofey Mozgov after he ended up getting raked in the face and looking like a Sith Lord after the Pacers game.
Losing Mozgov against a team with Dwight Howard and a penetrating guard like Dennis Schröder will be problematic. Howard may not be the post threat he was pre-back injury, but he can still be a terror on the offensive glass and a strong finisher in the P&R. As for Schröder, his ability to get into the lane and finish at the rim would have been a problem regardless, but that only increases without Mozgov’s verticality deterring those shots.
As it stands, then, Tarik Black will have to carry a bigger load. As to will either Julius Randle and/or Larry Nance who will likely get more minutes at Center. We might also see Thomas Robinson or Ivica Zubac get some burn, though that might be a stretch. Still, though, those last two might be worth call on, especially if they can help rebound the ball better than the Lakers have to this point in the year.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, dealing with Dwight and Dennis aren’t their only obstacles. That’s because Paul Millsap exists. The do-it-all PF has long been a thorn in the Lakers’ side since his days with the Jazz. Now that he’s in Atlanta, expanded his shooting range to beyond the arc, and been unleashed as a passer in their motion system, he is even more of a problem. Julius Randle will have his hands full trying to defend Millsap and may find his sledding even tougher on the other end when trying to score on him. Millsap is that good.
If the Lakers are to find a way to win, then, it will likely come on the backs of their guards and wings. Against Indy, D’Angelo Russell started the game aggressively but got in early foul trouble and had his rhythm disrupted. Against Schröder, he will again have a size advantage and would do well to try to exploit that in the post. Schröder is a good defensive player and will chase Russell all over the floor, but Russell needs to find a way to be effective and I think he needs to be aggressive in looking to score in order to (hopefully) make that happen.
Outside of DAR, this can also be a game where Clarkson, Lou, Young, Deng, and Ingram can make an offensive impact. Thabo Sefalosha and Kent Bazemore are good defenders, but they cannot play the entire game and cannot guard every wing threat on every possession. When Kyle Korver and Tim Hardaway Jr. are in the game, they can and should be attacked to make them defend in space and against the team’s motion actions. Make them chase off screens, defend in the P&R, and make key rotations against ball movement. Neither are strong on that end of the floor and can be exploited if targeted effectively.
While I do not expect, it would be nice for the Lakers to get a win tonight. They have been working and playing hard, but have not been able to get over the hump in any of these recent games. It seems a defensive miscue or a few missed shots seem to do them in right when the game is in the balance. The Hawks have more experience and the better players, but the Lakers have some talent too and it would be great to have that shine through — especially in a game like tonight’s.
Where you can watch: 4:30pm start time on Spectrum Sportsnet.
david__h says
darius: one guy that should be pretty fresh is zubak. I expect a blowout but give lakers credit not allowing that thus far on this road trip.
Go lakers
_ Robert _ says
We are only 4
games into the season so it is a small sample size – that said – there are a
few very concerning stats:
On Defense (an
area that we all agree – needs to be emphasized):We are ranked 30th in giving up
Points in the Paint, 29th in opponents second chance points, and 30th
in giving up points off turnovers.
Of course some of
our defensive woes are caused by our offensive passing/turnover issues:We are 30th in the ratio of
assists to turnovers (we are the only team with a ratio of under 1.0 – so
perhaps for us – this stat is turnovers per assist), and we rank 30th
in turnovers per 100 possessions.
Kobe retired so
you would think that isolation ball would be less the norm and we would be
deploying the “move the ball” philosophy.Not so.We are 28th in
the percent of our made field goals that are assisted.We are 30th in the percent of our
3 point field goal which are assisted(we are a full 5% points behind the 29th ranked team – think about this the next time our opponent makes a “spot up 3” and we
counter with a guy dribbling between his legs, staring his man down and then
launching a 3).
On a positive note
and to quote Rasheed Wallace:“Both
Teams Played Hard”
I also think
things will improve, but this start is not helping my long shot prediction of
COTY finalist for Luke.
Vasheed says
I’m of the opinion if Luke wants to go small, he should play Black at Center. He has the strength to at least match up with traditional bigs. I thought the idea of Nance and Randle was terrible when it was thrown around last year. I haven’t liked the experiment of it with Nance getting minutes at Center this year. I think it actually stunted the excellent play we saw out of him in Summer league. Still I’d like to see Zubac get some minutes. If Mozgov is the starter and Black is the small ball Center, then Zubac could be the answer to get Mozgov rest and still play big.
Shaunis007 says
I would really like to see Zubac play – i find we have fell behind in every game because once mozgov goes out we really cannot defend the interior – with mozgov out, especially against dwight – black is simply going to be too small
not sure if anyone is really out there to go after but i feel like we need another true center or at least zubac getting some time in the games
A Horse With No Name says
david__h The end of a four game road trip is a recipe for a blowout loss. I’d be very impressed if they can hang in there. Brutal scheduling. Love the effort the team has shown.
fern16 says
This November schedule is going to be Gladiator’s Roman Coliseum brutal. And we stll have the Warriors three freaking times, the Spurs, Atl twice Bulls, Mavs and the kitchen sink before this month is over. Who made this schedule? Mark Cuban or Larry Bird? Both? Jeeeesuuusss. Well, no rest for the wicked. The way i see it this murderous month should prepare this team for the schedule’s soft belly. I seen improvements on the team on the defensive end and overall. I see a team that is still meshing with it’s coach. After 4 games and three losses that could had been wins because let’s remember, they fought back. This young team still doesn’t know how to get over the hump. I expect quite a bit of improvement as the season rolls along.
david__h says
A Horse With No Name
great minds think alike.
Darius Soriano says
Drorvodka You’re welcome!
LordMo says
I knew this was going to be a tough road trip but I am encouraged by the fact that the team is competing. This back to back is even tougher but should bring some opp for the younger guys to get additional minutes.
The Lakers are very much a work in progress and just need time to develop. We all want it to happen sooner than later but realistically we are a few years away. However, just think we will have a very talented roster with some still pretty young players but they will be seasoned professionals by then so watch out league!
MT87 says
Zuuuuuu!
30twhite40 says
Zubac getting his first look tonight. He might be the Lakers future center in 2-3 years and maybe next year.
MT87 says
Lets see if we can close the third quarter better than the first two
30twhite40 says
Lou Williams with a huge three, Nance JR with a slam dunk and Lakers have some breathing room.
30twhite40 says
Randle with the huge block and Nick Young drains the dagger three.
bluehill says
Lakers! Great win at the end of roadie, back to back against an undefeated team and they beat Dwight!
LKK says
That block by Randle went a long way towards sealing the deal. Exactly what Darius was talking about a couple of threads back. A beautiful defensive job. Lakers survive an outburst by Hardaway, Jr. and a very fine all around performance by Lakers fans’ favorite Dwight Howard. Looo!! Williams played his arse off. He made some great feeds in addition to being the engine of the team’s offense. The young core all had good moments. A fine, albeit imperfect victory. I love it!
Joel_ says
If Harden can’t beat Randle off the dribble I don’t know what Schroder was thinking… 😀
A Horse With No Name says
Hoping against a blowout loss and the team delivers an awesome road win. There will be peaks and valleys all season. Nice to reach a summit tonight!