In the tradition of Kurt Helin, founding of FB&G, it’s always good to get some good insights and thoughts from the comments. In an age where many people who frequent sites like these follow the mantra of “never read the comments”, I’ve always been (mostly) proud (you know who you are!) of the people who take the time to participate and bring grounded perspective to the comments.
So, with that, I turn to commenter Clay Bertrand who has some thoughts on tonight’s Lakers’ game vs. the Nuggets:
OT but these games against Denver have the under the radar sort of rivalry with Russell and Mudiay usually playing a little game within the game against each other. Last game, was Mudiay getting Russell benched as I recall and shooting the lights out. Denver was shooting outta their minds that game at least in the first half.
Tough to have a return from injury and have a huge performance but lets see if Russell musters some extra heart and drive tonight vs. Mudiay. Even before his injury his confidence seemed to be waning and his non chalant efforts were somewhat worrisome IMO.
Might be a good night to start Deng (YEP, our Superstar FA signing!!!) at the 4 with Randle out instead of Black and start Ingram at the 3. He can shut down Gallinari and keep him from getting going outside. Of course, starting Black opens up some real nice back up minutes for Zubac so maybe that’s the direction Luke will go in order to get Black and Zubac both decent minutes in Randle’s absence.
ALSO, Zubac vs. Jokic WOULD HAVE been a goodie to watch with Zubac likely getting increased minutes. But Jokic is OUT tonight so the SERB ON SERB match up will have to wait til the March 13 game.
First, to slightly correct Clay, Mudiay may not play tonight due to a sore lower back. He’s missed the last several games, but is listed as a game time decision. If he does suit up, I’m wondering if he actually starts or if Michael Malone keeps Jameer Nelson in the starting group instead.
Having said that, Randle and Jokic being out certainly does change the tenor of this game. Randle, of course, has been slumping lately, but with several days off and under normal circumstances, I would have expected him to have a strong game tonight. Instead, pneumonia has him out at least tonight and maybe even Thursday as well. As for Jokic, he’s a rising star in this league whose offensive feel and creative passing are just aesthetically great. He makes watching the game fun.
And, yes, I agree this would be an interesting night to slide Deng up to PF and start Ingram. First, it allows Ingram to get more minutes with Russell — something I want to see more of. Second, the Nuggets are likely to start Kenneth Faried at PF which offers a nice contrasting matchup for the Lakers to look to exploit. Faried may do damage on the offensive glass against Deng, but Deng’s ability to space the floor and make Faried defend on the wing could open up driving lanes and cause confusion with Denver’s perimeter rotations defensively.
Lastly, I know I keep this site about basketball and try to stay away from off-court stuff — either regarding the players or, simply, what’s happening in the real world. That’s getting harder and harder lately since I do have strong opinions about current events and the direction this country is moving due to the change in administration at the national level. In saying that, though, I will try to keep FB&G about the Lakers and their on-court happenings. I can’t guarantee the same for my twitter account, though.
With that, enjoy the game folks.
Where you can watch: 7:30pm start time on Spectrum Sportsnet.
lalaker14 says
Glad D-Lo is back. Hopefully he can be a difference-maker. Go LA!
Clay Bertrand says
Word Darius!!
Political Parties have long ago taken the place of independent thought among the masses. Too much telling people what to think these days. Realistically, nearly everyone has SOME “conservative” views and SOME “liberal” views. A person can be pro gun, pro gay marriage, pro military, pro abortion, and pro Legal Reefer all at the same time!!!! But its the PARTIES that draw these lines of division and create adversarial situations where its either Black OR White, Fries OR Onion Rings. Us OR THEM.
Derek Carr can be the Leader of the Dark Side AND a devout Christian!!!! Why can’t a person be a Shade of Gray & have a Fries AND Onion Rings Combo???? Riding the Fences is what REAL Desperados do!!!
The Beauty of The Blend in our people is what its all about!!!!
Unless you’re a CELTIC Fan…………in which case, you’re a FUNYUN Eating Commie with a Shirtless PUTIN Calendar!!!!!!!! ; )
I’ll bet BOTH of our childish main stream political parties can agree that the Luol Deng signing was terrible……..that’s what we call COMMON GROUND!!!
America will be just fine…..We just need to MAKE THE LAKERS GREAT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!
GO LAKERS!!!!! “I LOVE BASKETBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
PS: Sorry for the exorbitant use of exclamation points and this not totally Laker related post—–Just sorta expressing a sentiment of weariness over all the political hyperbole and petty infighting lately. Game ON!!!!!
LKK says
A good third quarter is wiped out by the first few minutes of the fourth. Denver’s rebounding is really hurting the Lakers.
LKK says
I love Zubac’s ability to quick shoot the ball. Kid knows he is not a high flyer and uses that quick shot to compensate. Very heady player.
LKK says
Bing is having trouble with the refs. He is fouled a lot with no calls on his drives. NBA refs have a bad habit of reffing according to the narrative on a player. Yes, Brandon is a rookie that needs to get stronger, but when he is fouled make the darn call.
LKK says
Zubac is very good in the pick and roll. He has been a nice spark down the stretch. Kid sets great screens. That’s a lost art.
LKK says
Nice game for the Lakers. They withstood a 3 pt. barrage by Denver in the 4th, held together and found a way. Russ looked good in his return with a career high game in assists and Zu continues to do lots of stuff to get us fans excited. I know the ping pong ball watch is on, but a win is always good for the young guys’ confidence.
KevTheBold says
Finally, a Win !
I can sleep well tonight,..
CHearn says
Nice insight Clay Bertrand!
JuanJ says
Clay Bertrand
Unless you’re a CELTIC Fan…………in which case, you’re a FUNYUN Eating Commie with a Shirtless PUTIN Calendar!!!!!!!! ; )
___
LOL!!
Mid Wilshire says
The Lakers have now equalled their win total from last season — 17. Last year the Lakers won their 17th game of the year on the last day of the season, April 13th. This year, they just won their 17th game on January 31, two-and-a-half months earlier.
The Lakers’ record is now 17-34. Last season, through 51 games, their record was 10-41. Their win percentage this year is, so far, .333. Last season the Lakers’ final win percentage was .207. At this rate, the Lakers are on schedule to win 27 games which would represent an improvement of 10 games over last year.
_ Robert _ says
Nice win
I also am glad that this board is basically a political free zone.
With refard to the rest of the season – my opinion is that you can be in favor of the tank or not – but the coach and the team should always try to win. So if the roster is set up to tank – that is a strategic thing – but Luke is measured on Ws and if that means playing vets and such – That is what he needs to do. I may not like it if we lose the pick – but i will never question Luke for that
new rr says
I said a couple of days ago that I would be less excited about wins based on Young and Williams going off, and that I would like to see Walton play Young and Williams a little less, but that is tough to do, for a variety of obvious reasons. Last night, LW and NY were a combined 16/26 from the floor, including 9/13 from the arc. Clarkson played 22 minutes; Russell 34, which is about where I think Russell should be. Young played 29 minutes, and Williams 24.
Personally, I would prefer to see Russell and Clarkson both at 32-34 MPG and sharing the floor more, but as Robert notes, I can see why Walton does what he does. When Young and Williams are hitting, they are valuable and can turn games.
Russell and Zubac played very well on O, which is a plus.
KevTheBold says
D’Angelo, if you or anyone close to you are reading this, You have proven that you have the talent.
Now just keep that fire going. Use any means you require to keep it fueled, whether it be a woman, or a vision of championships and fame, or even anger or fear of failure. But use it, and keep it in your mind and heart at all times.
A wise man once said: “Dreams only come true if during awaking hours, you ponder your goal every hour of the day. Turning it over like a physical object, examining it from every angle, and during sleep you see yourself already there.”
The NBA is littered with current and past players who never reached their potential, know this, and learn from their mistakes.
If you learned anything from Kobe, you should know this fact:
No one is entitled, and nothing is given, or even earned,…You must take what you want, because every scrap you get is taken from someone else, and these dogs will snap and fight for every point and possession.
Keep that in mind and you will be ahead of the pack.
Clay Bertrand says
new rr
DR has had sexier looking games and has clearly shot much much better than he did last night. But his game was really key in the Laker win IMO. Ideally, I would have liked to see Ingram on the floor in the final 4 minutes even though his shooting has been atrocious. Then I would say development has taken over as the priority and I would feel OK with the win even though beating the Nugs at HOME barely when they are missing 3 impactful players isn’t much of an accomplishment. Especially when the win comes on the shoulders of the Vets to a great degree.
But at least, NY helped DR get some nice dimes in a career (what took you so long???) assist night. He also did a solid VETERAN job giving DR heavy credit for “sharing the ball”. This kind of positive reinforcement may be what DR needs to start to understand the PG position. He’s not a prototype floor leader PG. But the sharing the ball is what Luke is preaching anyway and if court vision and passing ability are DR’s strong suits, he needs to start to grow those skills.
Zubac is great!!! He looks like he’s lost alot more than 8 lbs this season to me. He may have a throwback Post game, but if he’s gonna be anywhere close to that effective, he needs to see consistent touches and they need to really feature him in the half court game. He is a willing passer from the post as well and he will need to polish that part of his post game to deal with potential double teams as opposing players learn about his post prowess. Plus he’s 19 yrs old and ALREADY BITCHING to the Refs on calls when he’s only played like 6 games!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel so proud…… : )
Bring on the Grammy Trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clay Bertrand says
LKK
He HUNTS guys to screen…………. he WANTS that hard contact. He says he wants to set hard screens and roll hard. Its a joy to see!!
I LOVE seeing him NEVER slip the screen………..Honestly, I’d pick and roll with him EVERY PLAY until they stop em on D. Who cares if they know what’s comin. If they know its comin and STILL can’t defend it………That’s when we know we got somethin!!