Since the Lakers have returned from the All-Star break, they are 0-2 with both losses double-digit defeats. The team has played poorly on defense while having only fleeting success offensively on the whole. Individual players have had their moments (Russell, Ingram, and Clarkson have all had some very positive stretches), but overall the team’s lack of competitiveness on defense has dug them holes too deep to climb out of.
This really shouldn’t be a surprise. The team’s defense has been bad pretty much all season and just because the team traded Lou Williams, that’s not going to change. The Lakers still have too many defenders who either haven’t shown enough ability, commitment, experience (or all of the above) on that end to form the foundation of a good defense. The hope is that this comes with time, but I think we’d be lying to ourselves if we just assume it will eventually. It may not — but that’s another topic for another day.
Getting back to today, the Lakers face the Hornets and their 15th ranked offense. Their attack is driven by Kemba Walker, an All-Star for the 1st time this season. The former UCONN product has taken another major step forward this year, posting career numbers as a scorer while shooting his highest percentages as a pro from both inside and behind the arc. He boasts one of the best step-back jumpers and an elite cross-over dribble which give him just enough space to get off his shot even when closely guarded.
What aids Walker is the recent shift of Frank Kaminsky to the starting lineup. When Kaminsky is on the floor, Walker shoots 44% from deep and his overall shooting percentage is 4.6% higher than when the big man sits. Kaminsky’s ability to viably space the floor and serve as an outlet in pick and pop situations creates longer rotations which either forces the defense to cheat when hedging/recovering or opens them up to the type of quick hitting ball movement which generates easier looks.
In saying all that, the Lakers are going to be in a tricky spot this game. I have already noted their defensive issues, but when you combine a speedy, jitterbug type of guard with enough floor spacing around him to give him clear attack lanes and outlets around the arc as release valves, the Lakers are especially vulnerable. Their rotations will need to be extra sharp and I would not be surprised if we saw more minutes where either Nance/Randle were at PF/C or lineups where Nance is the C with Ingram/Deng manning the forward positions. These alignments would give the team better defensive mobility and better perimeter defense after closeouts or switches.
Offensively the Lakers are facing the Hornets’ 7th ranked defense and a team which simply doesn’t make many mistakes. Charlotte doesn’t force a lot of turnovers, instead favoring strong position defense where they force opponents to hit contested shots all over the floor. They rotate well, help the helper, and then recover to where they are supposed to be.
The Lakers, then, need to be disciplined avoid careless mistakes. Again, the Hornets don’t force turnovers, but they’re more than happy to simply take the ball if you’re going to hand it to them. So, I’d advise against forcing the issue with threaded-needle pass attempts or the types of over passing on the interior which get swallowed up by good rotating teams. Instead, I’d like to the see the Lakers continue to work on setting good screens, making timely cuts, and moving the ball quickly onto the open man to see if they can get the Hornets into scramble mode.
If the Lakers can do those things while hitting their three point shots, they’ll be in this game. If they don’t, we may just see another double digit blowout. After Luke got into them for their lack of effort and poor play against the Spurs, we’ll see how they respond.
Where you can watch: 7:30pm start time on Spectrum Sportsnet and NBA TV.
FredP says
I am excited for the “new look” Lakers who no longer feature a ball dominant player and more of a commitment to defense.
lil pau says
I am unable to go tonight and am selling my tickets 2×1 ($97 for the pair). Anyone interested should contact me at kb9kb9kb9@aol.com and I can email the tix. Sec 205, row 2.
/lil pau
bluehill says
Like buttons are back. Nice!
Some interesting comments from Lakers All Access event at ESPN. Magic has definitively taken the reins. Interesting comments about talking to Larry Bird before the trade deadline. Sounds like they are going to resume PG trade talks in the summer. Probably one reason Magic is looking so hard at our guys on and off the court. He’s probably going to have to give some of them up.
“Johnson on what it was like being involved with trade talks with his old rival, Pacers GM Bird: “We only talked for about two or three minutes about the possibility of a trade, but it was more geared toward later on, not at that moment. It was just saying “Hi, I’m here and we’re looking forward to talking to you later on this summer.”
Clay Bertrand says
“Magic is looking so hard at our guys on and off the court. He’s probably going to have to give some of them up.”
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Exactly what I’ve been thinking. Don’t get too attached to these guys.
I hope we don’t gut the team just to have Paul George, Mozgov, Deng, Nance, Thomas Robinson and 10 Nwabas. Bird is gonna want at least 3 for 1 for PG. Honestly, without PG basically willing himself to L.A., or the Lakers trading a lot for him, he’s a long shot IMO. Boston can outbid them easliy and they have a better WIN NOW roster in an arguably easier conference. George would have to throw a real tantrum and publicly REFUSE TO SIGN ELSEWHERE to force the Pacers to take less than Fair Market Value for him from us just so he can make LESS money from the Lakers. Bird isn’t as stupid as he looks.
IF–IFFFFF they had that $34 MILLION (annual) MOZGOV-DENG Cap Space free, then it COULD make sense because perhaps the Lakers could have FA dominoes fall their way after acquiring PG and they could sign 2 more max guys i.e. the Jim Buss/Mitchy Fantasy. Even if we HAD huge space, the problem is that there aren’t many quality guys who are going to hit the open market THIS off season.
The reality though is Mozzy and Deng aren’t going anywhere so the Lakers have limited cap room relative to last year. As such, if they trade 1-3 cost controlled rookies with upside for PG and they have room for ONLY one more almost max or max guy, and that’s it. That will be the team with TRobs, Nwabas, and maybe a useless Metta filling in the rest. That would be the Lakers roster—against the Rockets, the Spurs and THE WARRIORS.
That won’t cut it. Not even close. Let’s see what Magic and Rob can do………
KevTheBold says
So far, I’m liking what I see from the core,.. good energy and execution, including from Randle.
Pbz06 says
Yes. There’s just more energy/effort now that Lou isn’t ball hogging for 25 minutes and entire fourth quarters. Yes, he’s been good for the Lakers this season, but it has an effect that trickles down. Gets guys out of sync etc.
Also happy that Deng didn’t play last night along with Mozgov. Both literally bring nothing to the table on the court. Ingram, for all his struggles, is already better than Deng. Similarly, Zubac is already better than Mozgov.
DAR, as expected, is filling the stat lines now that he’s playing closer to 32-35 minutes per game. If he was unleashed from the beginning, there would be more buzz and national recognition of how promising he is. Also, we forget Randle is only 22 and really young too.
I’ve been harsh on Clarkson but he also looks different without Lou. It’s almost as if he had no choice but to ballhog and look for his, because Lou sabotaged the offense and ball movement.
Mid-Wilshire says
In the first half, Ingram has played 20:12, Russell 18:32, Clarkson 16:39 and Randle 16:24. We all wanted the young guys to get more playing time. Well…they’re getting it.
FredP says
Randle is beasting on offense in stark contrast to Nance. When Nance is on the floor the Lakers are playing 4 on 5 on the offensive end. He refuses to look for his shot. Clarkson needs to start instead of Young. At this point, Young is playing out his last games as a Laker and is not part of the future. In addition, Clarkson is the more active defender of the two and offers a better all around offensive game.
KevTheBold says
Looking good ! I just hope they don’t win,.. Isn’t that a strange way feel about your team?
bluehill says
Yes. Hope Luke can figure out how to get this version of Randle to show up more often!
Fern says
The kids are getting a ton of minutes. DAR is averaging over 23ppg and his assist numbers has shot up. Julius was a beast tonight, Ingram cooled off tonight but he is showing improvement. Hard to take the losses but the kids are starting to show something…
drrayeye says
Almost a perfect night. The team played with heart, very close to a win–but finally lost!
Unfortunately, the Suns kept pace.
Clay Bertrand says
What a kick in the Nutz for poor Jose Calderon……………….. Just when the ring is sorta in sight………..