Luke Walton was not happy after Thursday’s game against the Kings. That might seem odd considering the way his team rallied in the 2nd half, holding the Kings to 36 points over the final two periods to win the game 101-91. He was not protesting the way his team closed, of course, but rather the way they played to dig themselves the hole — at one point they trailed by as many as 19 — to need that type of 2nd half performance in the first place.
This is what Walton is trying to teach and just as lessons can be learned from losses, they also can from wins. Walton did not demean his players or question their manhood, but he did let them know coming out with lackluster energy or attention to detail is not who they want to be as a team. He drilled that lesson after a W and I’m sure he was happy to be able to do so. But, and I’ve harped on this all season, Walton is clearly coaching for something bigger than wins this season (even if wins clearly matter to him — more on that later). He’s coaching to instill his team with the right mindset, the right habits, to have them truly turn the corner and become competitive over the long haul.
Was Thursday a step in that direction? Time will tell. But I am happy to be able to lean on another win while contemplating and waiting to see how it all turns out.
The details of this game were pretty straight forward so I won’t spend much time on them. The Lakers did not come out “ready to play” (Walton’s words) while the Kings did. They had that home energy bounce, but, even more, they simply had the contest’s best player. DeMarcus Cousins controlled the contest, hitting threes when the defense laid off him and bullying his way to the rim when they crowded him. Cousins’ demeanor and attitude can too often obscure how much impact he can have, but early Thursday none of those thoughts existed. He dominated and the Lakers looked like they were wilting.
Even through all this, though, I did not think the game was over.
Lakers getting steamrolled now and still think they'll find their way back into this game eventually.
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) November 11, 2016
As this team is want to do, they did not give up or fold. They battled back, closing the first half on just enough of a run to trim the Kings’ big lead to “only” 10 points. That push was inspired by Julius Randle, who again showed that he is as much leader as high level performer for this team. He rebounded the ball, pushed the tempo, and got baskets. The bench joined him and opened the way for another push in the 3rd period which saw the Kings lead evaporate to only a single basket by the time the quarter closed.
Then, in the 4th quarter, the Lakers simply seized the game. Various bench combinations continued the 3rd quarter push. They defended and turned those stops into buckets. Kings coach Dave Joerger tried to regain control by bringing Cousins back earlier than I’m sure he would have liked, but the Lakers neutralized the big man through physical, aggressive defense and double teams. When Cousins passed, his teammates were unable to lift him up. The result was a frustrated player who took an L he sure did not see coming only a couple hours prior.
And now, a few notes:
- D’Angelo Russell left the 3rd quarter after playing a successful 7 minutes that saw him score 8 points and dish out a single assist to help turn the game. When he sat down for his normal rest, I am guessing he did not think he would not see the floor again, but that is exactly what happened. This brings me to Walton who, as noted, is clearly trying to win games, but is also trying (seemingly) to get Russell to find his game and show he’s ready to play and lead the way the team will need him to long term. Early on, Russell was too casual with the ball, committing 5 turnovers in the 1st half. Those miscues fueled the Kings’ run and put his team behind the 8 ball. Though his 3rd quarter was strong, Lou Williams’ strong stretch to close the 3rd and open the 4th kept Russell on the bench.
- I can understand frustration with this approach. Russell needs minutes and as it stands he’s playing fewer of them than last season. Russell, for his part, is cheering on his mates when he’s on the bench and the team is winning games. In the short term, I have few concerns about how he’s being handled. His coach praises him publicly in all aspects and, when he does critique he does not demean or insult. He’s coaching him well and, in some ways hard, which is appropriate. From Russell’s end, I would like to see more attacking and using his assertiveness for scoring as a buoy for how he should play. Russell is a natural shot maker, I think he needs to find a way to play to that strength more. The playmaking will come when he threatens the defense. There is more to say on this, but I will stop there.
- Larry Nance, Jr. returned from his one game absence due to suffering a concussion and boy did he show why the Lakers missed him in the loss against the Mavs. I’m like a broken record when it comes to Nance, but here I go again: he does so many little things well that simply help you win. I love his game.
- I don’t know how long Lou Williams can play the way he is, but I’m going to enjoy it while he is. 21 more points (on 6-12 shooting) off the bench against Sac, including a key and-1 when the Kings looked like they might make a push in the final 5 minutes.
- Another +13 in the boxscore for Brandon Ingram (tying for team best with Williams). Would I like to see Ingram shoot better? Of course. Do I wish I could fast forward some of his physical development so he could bump defenders off him to create more space right now? Yes, yes I do. Still, I try not to let those desires overshadow how he is simply a net positive when he’s out there — as reflected in his plus/minus numbers nearly every night.
- I mentioned Randle already, but I just want to say again that he’s bringing productivity, but also a winning attitude and, for lack of a better word, swagger to this team. His 15/8/5 line came with a heaping dose of I-will-not-back-down attitude which, I think, is the spirit this team has adopted in always competing to stay in/get back into games. I don’t want to blow my own horn too much here, but this is the Randle I’ve thought was possible and the guy I defended to fans who said they “just don’t see it”. I’m hoping more are starting to now. This guy is good.
- Shout out to Mozgov. I read a stat yesterday — and forgive me because I cannot remember where — that Moz had not played in 6 of the 4th quarters this season. Against the Kings, when Cousins came back in early in the period, Walton turned to his starting C and he delivered. A fantastic lob dunk finish was the highlight, but he battled hard in the post, ran the floor well (even if he did not get the ball), and just continued to go hard even though you could tell he was winded.
KevTheBold says
Fantastic article Darius !
Your insights are thought provoking and right on point.
Walton, and this Laker team are a joy to watch and our future is finally looking bright !
Redemocracy2 says
You are a superb writer. Thank you!
A Horse With No Name says
Good job, Darius. I will toot your horn for you. You were one of the minority who saw Randle’s potential. I think how Walton is handling D’Angelo (and the team as a whole) is perfect. He needs lots of positive reinforcement and at the same time, needs to understand the value of each possession. Limiting his minutes last night sent him a message, and frankly, helped get a win.
A couple things: Mozgov was great. Really good. The guy played so hard and made Cousins work for everything. He also ran the floor relentlessly, and was out in front of the defense on numerous breaks. Unfortunately, at least twice, Clarkson totally missed/ignored him on the break which would have resulted in a couple of easy scores. You can’t have your bigs running like that and not reward them for it. Hope Jordan looks at film today and sees it. He needs to remember that being an attacking player also means recognizing opportunities for others when they present themselves.
As for Lou, I don’t see him doing anything he can’t sustain. As long as he’s healthy and not playing too many minutes, he can continue to be the very effective player he’s been.
Is it safe to say that Nick is finally playing to his talent level and will continue to be a key player this season? I’m not sure, but my feeling is that he’s found himself and will keep it up. Credit again, to Luke who understood what Nick could bring and empowered him to be successful.
BigCitySid10552 says
-New expectations are starting to pop up. Will be interesting to see how things play out.
– Last season it took the Lakers 28 games before they won the 5th, this season, only 9.
– If Lou Williams continues at his current pace, he’ll be a serious contender for 6th man of the year
– Truly enjoyed the way the Lakers came back last night
Vasheed says
I’m so far impressed with Randle’s progression this year. It is surprising how he has improved though. Is his jumper consistent? No. Has he gone away from being extremely left hand dominated? No. What he is doing is finishing at the rim at a high success rate. He has also been a scrappy defender. He hounded Harden to close against the Rockets and he really bothered Cousin to close last night. I did not see that coming.
david__h says
Darius: seems whatever adjustments being made at halftime ring true during second half of all laker games so far this season. Recognition and communication are what I’m seeing and allowing the talent to blossom before our very eyes couldn’t have been scripted at a better time than present.
Russell will get more burn when he decides to put his mind to paying more attention to his defense and like you are saying, not wait for the game to come to him.
Go lakers
new rr says
Vasheed
Randle from 0-3 feet:
last year: .563
this year: .838
For comparison, since a couple of people have compared
him to Blake Griffin, Griffin is at .735 for his career in this category.
Randle from 10-16 feet (small number
of attempts).
last year: .227
this year: .600
His AST and
TOV rates have spiked, and that, like most stuff going on with the team is a
combination of Kobe’s being gone and the change from Scott to Walton. The
Lakers are 29th in TOV%, but that is part of the open, up-tempo
style. They are 3rd in Pace Factor.
As to
Williams, as I noted before, he is a career 34% shooter from 3, and this year
is at 40%.
Those facts
noted, nine games in, Luke Walton looks like he may be a very special coach. This
team is 12th in ORTG and DRTG. Really impressive.
Vasheed says
new rr Vasheed
Great coaches emphasize what their players do well and minimize their weaknesses. Luke has found a really great recipe utilizing his roster.
Watching Ranlde shoot so far this year, in one game he hit a beautiful fade away jumper over his defender. At other times he looks like he learned at Shaq camp how to chuck laser beam shots off the rim. He has definitely been getting it done at the rim.
BigCitySid10552 says
– This made me smile: According to ESPN’s NBA ranking of 2016 Top 200 players, Only 2 teams don’t have a top 60 player, the 5-4 Lakers & the 3-5 Magic.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/nbarank1_2016/nbarank-1-cleveland-cavaliers-forward-lebron-james
Jokr says
new rr Vasheed Luke is going to win coach of the year. This team is not supposed to be this good. I had the Lakers winning 25 games this season. Looks like they are better than that.
basquiatball says
A lot of us have spent the last year worrying about Randle’s flaws and thinking that his value will mainly be determined by his ability to fix those. What I’ve loved about his emergence this season is that he’s succeeding because of his strengths. He and the team have figured out how to make what he is valuable instead of worrying about what he isn’t and we’re seeing the benefits.
5D2 says
These kids are so fun to watch. They are even more fun to watch, comparing to the early 90s Van Excel and Eddie Jones Team. That team actually was stronger and more talented at the front line. But this team is scrappy and seem to enjoy playing for each other. Luke has done an amazing job on getting these guys to play with so much intent. Whatever the number of wins they can pull off would exceed any pre-season prediction. But it should be noted that the wins will be harder to come by from now on, because other teams will be prepared to handle their scrappy style. These kids will not be able to sneak up on other teams as easily as now. Other teams will find ways to take advantage of how they fumble the ball, and expose their weakness. Still, it is just fun to watch them grow in front of our eyes.
PS – For some reason, it’s very difficult to leave comments and the page crashes. I use a chromebook. Does everyone else experience the same type of problems? I actually have to type on other programs, then copy and paste to this site.
LKK says
I think Luke’s message to Dlo is very clear. He wants his starting point guard to take better care of the ball. Russ has a tendency to make low percentage forays such as trying to split double teams and throwing bounce passes in heavy traffic. His turnovers often result in fast break opportunities for the opposition. I’d like to see him play off the ball a little more, but what do I know? The good part is that he is very talented and his errors are fixable.
Randle turned the game around late in the second quarter. His all around game perked his mates up and brought them into striking distance. More and more he is emerging as the heart and toughness of the team.
Speaking of toughness, Mozzy went toe to toe with the man many consider to be the best center in the game in the 4th quarter and didn’t bank down an inch. Heck, Nick Young even took his life in his hands trying to take a charge on the Boogie man! That’s the biggest difference in this year’s team IMO…their defensive effort. That speaks directly to coaching.
Something good and positive is happening in Lakeland. It’s really fun to watch the team come together on both ends of the floor
John Citizen says
Really nice article Darius. I am happy to admit i was wrong on Randle. Despite being a huge Russell fan, i kinda was happy he was benched last game. He was careless with his passes, 2-3 turnovers one after the other, this is the NBA, wake up.
ZoranJovanovic says
Not to rain on parade but we have to have in mind that lakers are pretty young and remember last year Wolves. They vere 8-8 before going 19-47.
Though I think we are better than last year Wolves.
LonShapiro says
Two comments on Russell last night.
First, he was a turnover machine in the first half. He had no energy or focus, unlike the rest of his games this season, where he really began to make me think he has the potential to be a solid NBA starting point guard (maybe not an All-Star in a conference with Curry, Lilliard, Westbrooke and Paul, but a really good player).
Second, I was happy that he and the coaches finally adjusted and had him post up Ty Lawson in the third quarter. If you look at the play by play, he made 3 of 4 shots that were all 16 feet or closer, and two free throws off a foul on Lawson, plus one assist on a Swaggy 3.
During this stretch, Lawson contributed seven points, while Russell was responsible for eleven points. So he completely changed the dynamic of a match up that was a disaster in the first half.
Clarkson came in for him to guard Collison, and had two assists and made a three to help the Lakers cut the lead to three at the end of the quarter, while Collison missed two layups and had to passes stolen by Larry Nance Jr. (my favorite Laker!)
Williams played great in the fourth quarter, and when Clarkson had a couple of turnovers, Luke brought back Nick Young, who made three great plays (rebound-one man fast break bucket, double team and strip of Cousins, leading to his 3-pointer that put the Lakers up by 10).
I love Luke’s coaching, and hope that Russell will continue to be an enthusiastic contributor to this 10 man team. Russell is averaging two minute less this season, but his scoring and assists are up.
mindcrime says
basquiatball
Yes, some idiot said he was the one young player who looked somewhat lost during the preseason and was worried that if he hadn’t regressed, he at least hadn’t progressed either. (Small sample size but so far I blew that one, didn’t I?)
mindcrime says
new rr Vasheed
RR, thanks for the deeper “dive” on the “at the rim” stats. I remember JR missing what seemed like an endless parade of “bunnies” last year.
MT87 says
ZoranJovanovic Nah, I think you are right to be cautious given that nine games is still a really small sample size. If they keep up this pace this team is in the playoffs and even with the growth we have seen so far that seems premature. Barring an injury wave I think they are going to be better than the Wolves last year and this year too.
Busboys4me says
This really concerns me about him. I hate the “Joe Cool” attitude and being lose with the ball. He needs to clean up his act big time. He is one of the biggest contributors to our slow starts. Randle gives that same nonchalant vibe, but I now understand that’s his way of staying calm and playing under control.
fern16 says
I still don’t think this team will make the playoffs but we should see a significant improvement in wins. I still think next year…
Fulofunk says
Darius, any word on why Zubac is not on the bench right now?
LordMo says
LordMo has to give to the 2016/2017 Lakers so far so good…I like the fact they are competing.
Going to be ups and downs but they might be a handful in a couple of years.
As I have said before they have to learn to get to the line….especially Russell he is too good of a free throw shooter not to get to the charity stripe. That is a lost art in today’s game with the barrage of three pointers being launched. But clearly the Lakers are counting on his play making and more importantly his decision making to run the show. He will have to learn to call his own number on a timely basis and find mis-matches in the defenses they are facing to get his team going. Film-Study young fella…. lots of film study!!! Clearly Russell has matured but still is not mature enough but we are talking about a twenty year old kid here. Once he starts getting it watch out because this kid can shoot and score and if Ingram really develops then it will be really tough because most teams do not have two perimeter lock down defenders which is what makes the Warriors so tough because they had two great shooters before now three (Durant more of a scorer but elite no doubt!).
So, again my logic says lay up for the lotto pick but damn I like the fight in this team!
Lakers Baby!
fern16 says
Screw the damn lotto and “laying up” are you serious? This team has been blessed by a treasure trove of 3 top ten picks and lower drafted players that are looking more and more like the future of this team other teams would kill for assets like that. How many more you want?We been lucky to keep the pick for 3!! straight seasons. “Yeah let’s tank the season stunt the young core growth and hope we get to keep the pick again” Yeah, that’s the ticket. We got a lot out of that pick already. The team is showing improvement and is ahead of the learning curve. The Sixers can shove the stupid pick. How long they been stashing picks? How’s that working out for them. The time to hope for picks is hopefully over. It’s time to move foward…
ThomasFisher says
fern16 Nothing would make me happier than to give the Sixers the 16th pick this season.
ThomasFisher says
fern16 If I didn’t already have preconceptions about this team I’d call them a possible playoff team just based on the product on the floor.
Injuries could change that, but the bottom two or three playoff spots in the West are more up for grabs than they have been.
Especially considering how both D’Angelo and Ingram are both players who are likely to be playing a lot better as the season wears on, which should help cushion us when Lou and Swaggy start to revert to the mean.
MT87 says
Fulofunk Sore back I believe
MT87 says
LordMo I might feel more open to the thought of tanking for a pick if there was an obvious franchise-altering player in the draft. However I don’t see anybody that is worth throwing away a season of really solid growth for. I just don’t see a KAT in that class.
fern16 says
Even if the next Lebron James was in the Draft throwing a season away for #1 hoping we keep the pick, #2 hoping to get the first pick must be the stupidest decision a FO would make. Everybody should be fired for even considering a scenario so full of “hopefully” are people so dense?