So it was really cool to see Tim Duncan and David Robinson duel it out with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant… wait a minute. Let me start over.
The Lakers fell short against the Spurs, 116-107. But it’s not like the Lakers laid down against the very strong San Antonio Spurs. Even when the Spurs shot lights out, the Lakers once again showed their fighting spirit. And every team that has gone against them has to be frustrated that this young team just won’t go away.
The team didn’t exactly get off to a sparkling start; they fell behind, 9-0, and wouldn’t score their first basket until about four minutes into the game. They seemed out of sorts with D’Angelo Russell not playing (a late scratch with a sore knee). Jose Calderon started to not upset Luke Walton’s regular rotations and he played 13 minutes and scored five points. San Antonio led by as many as 13 points in the first half before Lou Williams, Luol Deng, and Nick Young provided the offense the Lakers needed. While the Spurs were making nearly everything, the young Lakers forced some turnovers (Spurs had 9 of their 12 turnovers in the first half) to make up for it. They would eventually tie the game at 52 after two quarters.
But the Spurs couldn’t stop missing. San Antonio made 11 straight field goals and went on a 12-0 surge. They would lead the Lakers by 17 early in the fourth. L.A. wouldn’t die, though, as they cut the lead down to 5 with seven minutes left.
LaMarcus Aldridge (23 points) would land haymakers on the Lakers as he made three straight buckets. A Kawhi Leonard (23-12-7) three would boost the lead to 11. But back-to-back threes by Nick Young and Jordan Clarkson quickly cut the deficit to five (a Julius Randle foul shot would cut it to four). San Antonio would have the last laugh, though, as Tony Parker (who went old-school with 16 points and 7 assists) made a clutch jumper to boost the lead from four to six. That’s some TP for your bunghole.
It’s encouraging for the Lakers to play like this, even in a loss. The Spurs shot 56 percent (Lakers were under 45 percent) from the field and dissected the Lakers defense with their trademark passing; they had 30 dimes in the game. But the Lakers fought back every single time (until time ran out), seemingly getting every loose ball and making a counterpunch when they were in the corner. The Lakers outboarded the Spurs, 45-34, and pummeled them on the offensive boards, 15-3. Lakers also won the battle in paint scoring, 36-28, since the Spurs don’t have great interior defense anymore. But the Spurs just overwhelmed them with their smarts and experience.
I can’t say enough on how good Lou Williams and Nick Young have been this season. Williams wasn’t all that great defensively but his quick and efficient scoring (24 points) made up for it. Young made some big shots and had 22 points. Clarkson had a big second half and had 20 points overall. Luol Deng played his best ball as a Laker in the first half (10 points then but nothing after). Julius Randle put in a quiet 13-9-7 line.
It’s the same ol’ slow start for the Lakers but also the same ol’ strong finish. A lot had to go right for the Lakers to beat the Spurs and they nearly did it. Can’t say enough about their fighting spirit.
Let’s see if that fight carries over for the 7-6 Lakers in their next game against the hot Chicago Bulls on Sunday at Staples.
lil pau says
Incredibly fun game and…
WAIT– was that a Beavis reference? Awesome!
Wishwash says
I usually stay away from Laker News after a loss, (hurts to much), but damn!!! even in a loss they got me all hyped. Tons of Grit and fight, It still pinched to lose, but its hard not to love that they refuse to die.
Alexander_ says
From ESPN: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich summing up Friday night’s win over the Lakers: “I thought we played well for the first 10 minutes, and then we went to sleep like they were going to give us the game. Luke’s done a great job of making them believe and playing aggressively, and you can really see it. They came back and stuck it to us. So in the second half, we had a good third quarter like we wanted to win the game. We got after it, and executed. But I am just so impressed of what [Luke Walton] has done with this group.”
I don’t much believe in moral victories, but this is a good one. Our guys believe they can beat anyone, so they can. We have a truly gifted coach, and emerging talent.
new rr says
Thoughts on the game:
Shooting: The Spurs did out-shoot the Lakers overall, but
the Lakers stayed in by hitting 48% from the arc (12/25)
Personnel: As has been the case in other losses, the Lakers
lost in large part because the other team has star players (Leonard and
Aldridge) and they don’t.
Coaching: But, as the Popovich quote suggests, the Lakers do
seem to have found a star: Luke Walton. On O, the Lakers get into their sets
quickly and almost always have a lot of motion off the ball, and always have
guys spotted up at the arc. The other thing I notice is that everybody plays
with confidence and no one seems to be afraid to make mistakes, which I think
reflects the tone being set by Walton. That said, the Lakers are still going to
need true star players to get back into contention, and I am not at all sure
that they have them on the current team, as I have said many times. But they
are moving into position to get one to come here, I think.
Randle: Walton is doing a smart thing by having him initiate
the O a lot, which gets him the ball in space and allows him to use his speed
and strength. I said to Robert in an
email that I think in some ways Randle’s game would be better suited to the 90s
than now; he reminds me sometimes of Larry Johnson or Anthony Mason, the latter
of which was sometimes used as Point Power Forward by Riley on the bully-boy
90s Knicks teams. Randle is also tough and combative; he was ISO’d against
Aldridge along the baseline in the 4th right after Aldridge had
scored a couple of times, and Randle reached around and slapped the ball out of
Aldridge’s hands and out of bounds. The play didn’t affect the game, and the announcers
didn’t even really notice it. But it said something about Randle’s approach and
we also saw that against Cousins in the Sac game.
That said, Randle still does not help you space the floor,
and although his combination of strength and quickness allows him to guard different
types of players, he is not going to help you to protect the rim. He still
doesn’t have a right hand, so a lot of his value will depend on to what extent
his increased dramatically increased shooting percentage, especially at the
rim, is sustainable, and on whether he can develop a decent mid-range jumper.
Ingram: Even going 1-9, he was not a huge negative out
there. He has the potential to be a multi-faceted player and doesn’t look
scared or hesitant, even at 19.
new rr says
One other note: Pau will always be a personal favorite for me, but I have to say: he looked very much at home in a Spurs uniform.
fern16 says
Impressive!! Even witouth DLo the Lakers were game against the Spurs. That was a fun game to watch. I think the Lakers were good on D, but the Spurs just couldn’t miss!!!! Why we lost? Experience that was the deciding factor. The Spurs executed better than us down the stretch. Is as simple as that. Which is understandable being one of the youngest teams in the league. The time will come when they will learn how to pull these games off. New rr talks about the need for a superstar, i don’t think is the time for that yet. And i absolutely don’t discard the “homegrown superstar” scenario. It’s just too early. For example, Ingram is going to be a beast. It’s so obvious at least to my eyes. I do think that as of right now this team would be a hell of a suporting cast for a superstar but the time isn’t right in my opinion. Also i do think that the Lakers are becoming a lot and i mean a lot more desirable place for future FAs, not because of Hollywood or the weather but because of Luke and how the team is becoming a team on the rise like i mentioned on another post, the Lakers has some serious talent brewing in the team. FAs would love to play for him. They play against the Lakers and see him and what he is doing and his demeanor and how his players respond to him and will be VERY intrigued I just see it coming.Again i just don’t think this is the right time for that. And i think your assessment of Randle to be a little harsh. There are deficiencies on Randle’s game sure. But he has improved all across the board. His use of his right hand has increased and he is shooting and hitting his jumpers at a better rate than last year. Of course there is room for improvement but he is not as hapless in those areas as you believe. But we are closer to agree on some basic level on the FA issue than the Randle assessment…
new rr says
fern16
Responses:
1.I have said multiple times that now is not the
time for the Lakers to be adding a star through trade, so I (like most people)
did not want the team to try to trade for Westbrook when there were rumors
about that. The Lakers got so far down that it is going to take awhile to get
back up. Walton may make that time shorter, but it will likely be 2-3 years
before the time is right for the next big add either through trade or FA—and that
is one main reason why I questioned spending 34M a year for four years on Deng and
Mozgov.
2.As to Randle, he is shooting 50% this year from
10-16 feet, but he is actually attempting fewer shots from that range than he
did last year—6.8% vs. 7.9%. He is at 45.5% from 16 to the arc, but his att. Rate
from there is down to 9.3% from 15.6%. So, even he if he sustains those percentages,
and he probably won’t, that is not as of
yet a big part of his game, and he doesn’t shoot many 3s either, which is one
big difference between Randle and Draymond Green:
% of FGAs from 3:
Green: .38.6
Randle: 7.6
3. The big
changes for Randle on O are his AST rate and his % at the rim. From 0-3 feet, he
was at .568 last year and this year is at .800. As a comp, Hassan Whiteside,
one of the game’s best finishers, is at .727 now and was at .773 last year. About 20% of Whiteside’s FGAs are dunks,
whereas dunks are less than 8% of Randle’s. So, Randle has improved and he is being used
much better, like pretty much everybody else on the team, and his bulldog attitude
is a plus. But he will need to sustain his high percentage at the rim and/or
add elements to his O going forward.
4.Ingram may be a star; we will see. But I don’t
think that either Ingram or Russell has the overpowering athleticism or unique special
skill/size to be a franchise cornerstone. That doesn’t mean I don’t like them as
players or I don’t like them as draft picks. Franchise cornerstones aren’t in
every draft.
new rr says
One more note: When Blake Griffin was 22, he shot .765 at the rim and 20.9% of his FGAs were dunks. Griffin doesn’t dunk that much nay more, but he is still over .700 in close.
_DPeterson_ says
It is so much fun watching our young guys play as a team and share the ball, even in a loss. These close losses against great teams will turn into victories soon. If these Lakers stay healthy and within striking distance of a playoff spot, the second half of the season is going to be nuts.
Mid Wilshire says
I was probably as impressed with the Lakers’ performance last night against San Antonio, despite their 116-107 loss, as I have been in any game this year. A few notes for context:
– San Antonio is the best team in the NBA on the road, going 7-0 so far; they are the ultimate road warriors;
– San Antonio is VERY good; they are now 10-3 overall, have won 5 in a row, have several genuine All Stars on the team, the 2nd-best bench in the league, and one of the finest defenses in the league; they are a challenge for any team;
– San Antonio did not coast through this game; they had to play all-out in order to win it; Aldridge played 36:07 and Leonard 39:12; they were tested and they know it;
– the Lakers played without D’Angelo Russell, their starting point guard, leading scorer (16.8 ppg), and leading assist-man (4.7 assists per game); and
-the Lakers were down by double digits several times (against a red-hot team shooting 56.4% from the field and 41.7% from 3) and came back every time.
All-in-all, then, they Lakers showed as much grit, fearlessness, and competitive fire as I’ve seen from them –literally — in years. Even without D’Angelo Russell, the Lakers still had 3 players score at least 20 points: Lou Williams with 24, Nick Young with 22, and Jordan Clarkson with 20.
Some other notes: the Lakers won the rebound battle impressively, 45-34; they had 24 assists vs 13 TOs (not bad considering that they were playing against one of the league’s most disruptive defenses), they had 5 players score in double figures, and 5 players with at least 3 assists (Randle with 7, Deng with 3, Calderon with 3, Williams with 3, and Clarkson with 3).
Furthermore, the Lakers’ bench out-scored SA’s bench 57-28. Clearly, the Lakers’ bench (which is often their best unit) is Luke Walton’s “secret weapon.” They not only play well against the other teams 2nd unit. They often play well against the opponent’s 1st unit.
Above all, this team has confidence and they are utterly fearless. (This was not the case last year.)
These are all good signs. I can hardly wait for the next game.
DieTryin says
Love the No Quit aspect to this year’s team under Walton. These guys can hang. Just need to learn to close out quarters and prevail at the end. Lack of Russell tonight def hurt.
KevTheBold says
Once they learn to keep the defensive intensity they flashed in the 2nd qtr, they will be a scary team.
Then when their offense becomes second nature, they will rise to the top of the west.
Our Lakers are on the path to redemption!
Mid Wilshire says
In 13 games so far this season, the Lakers’ bench has been out-scored only once: October 30 vs OKC (according to the LA Times). As such they are 12-1, in effect, against opposing benches.
They may be in the process of establishing themselves as the best 2nd unit in the league.
FredP says
The Lakers have an interesting mix of ball handlers on the team. Russell and Randle are the primary distributors on the starting unit and Clarkson and Williams are on the second unit. All four are best when they look for their shot first and pass if they draw too much attention. Calderon and Huertas are more traditional pass first guards and have trouble getting playing time. In spite of all this, the Lakers promote a motion offense that still manages to keep the other players involved.
There are two major differences between the first and second units. One is that they run different offenses and the other is that Ingram is on the second unit. It is just a matter of time before he is switched to the first unit and then they really take off and the second unit comes back to earth. Ingram is a X factor who does a lot of little things very well and does a good job of covering for other’s mistakes.
LKK says
Any further news on Russell’s knee?
KevTheBold says
LKK
He’s not practicing today, and they will reevaluate him prior to the game tomorrow.
LKK says
Thanks Kev… I did also see at LakersNation that he is listed as questionable for tomorrow. Hope it’s just soreness and nothing structural.
KevTheBold says
LKK
No problem, I too hope it’s nothing serious.