Forum Blue And Gold

A Lakers Blog. Thoughts, reflections, and the odd rant on the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA (even the Clippers).

Watch: D’Angelo Russell Cook, Lead the Lakers to Win over Suns

by


To say I was conflicted heading into the Lakers matchup with the Suns would be an understatement. From my game preview:

I’d love to talk to you about the matchups between the young players on both teams. How I always look forward to seeing how D’Angelo Russell plays against good friend Devin Booker. How I’m interested in seeing how Julius Randle deals with the athleticism and length of Marquese Chriss. How I want to see how Brandon Ingram matches up with TJ Warren. On any other night under most other circumstances, those things would matter much more to me.

Tonight, though, these lottery implications really do take center stage. This isn’t to say I am rooting for the Lakers to lose. I’m not really capable of doing that. It’s just not in my heart to do it. But, my head does understand how these things work. The logic side of my brain fully grasps how much the standings game matters here and how it can impact things in May when the lottery order is determined.

This is the battle I think all Lakers fans are facing each night now, me included. I want the young players to do well. I want competitive games where the team plays hard. I’d even like them to win a few more games simply to feel the reward of hard work and see the correlation between effort and positive results. How those goals bump up against the realities of the draft picks the team still owes are a difficult situation to navigate from a rooting interests standpoint.

After the game, those conflicted feelings remain but I can say it still feels good to see the young guys play well and the good feeling of seeing the team win a game still remains. Especially when it’s buoyed by a fantastic performance from D’Angelo Russell who continued his trend upwards and strong play since the trade deadline.

When I talk about being a guy who can score at all three levels, those Russell highlights are exactly what I mean.

Russell got into the paint, hit his mid-range jumper, and bombed three pointers from all over the court. He set the tone for the Lakers and in a season where the prevailing thought is there’s nothing for this team to play for but a better chance at retaining their lottery pick, that clip is a reminder that these young guys still have something else to play for: their standing in this league and prospect of improving.

Russell did that tonight. As did Randle, Zubac, Ingram, Nance, and Clarkson. They weren’t all as efficient as Russell and they may not have carried the night the same way as the 2nd year point guard, but they were all major contributors in their own way and flashed some of the skill (with some highlights of their own) which still have a lot of people believing in their ability to be high level contributors one day.

So, yeah, the Lakers won a game which may hurt their lottery chances in two months. But several of their key young players also offered a night which reinforces why they too were once the types of players fans hoped the team lost enough games to have a chance at obtaining. And, in the end, I’ll take that too.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Fern says

    I just dont want the Lakers to lose 60 games again. All i ask is 3-14 the rest of the way.God help me…

    • Joseph Blake (Joe Laker) says

      We are all LAKERS. We bleed Purple and Gold! We don’t go out to tank just to get another young rook. What we need to learn over the offseason is how to play consistent, strong, aggressive defense, defense, Defense. We have the shooters already and Magic will help us to get some quality veterans. We must always play to win. We are all Lakers and that’s the only way to be…….Winners! Nothing else matters or is acceptable.

      Joe Laker of Syracuse, N.Y.

  3. Anonymous says

    We are all LAKERS! We bleed Purple and Gold. We just don’t tank to get another good rook. What we need is to learn to play consistent, strong, aggressive defense, defense, defense. Magic will get us the quality players. GO LAKERS

    Joe Laker of Syracuse, N.Y.

  4. Renato Afonso says

    Sorry for not mentioning the game but the DAR topic needs more discussion…

    Zach Lowe wrote this (and I usually hate his opinions):

    D’Angelo Russell hasn’t been much better, and the Lakers have to conclude that the Russell-Clarkson duo is unplayable in real games. The Lakers have allowed an unthinkable, flammable, unholy 118.1 points per 100 possessions in the 369 minutes those two have shared the floor — the eight-worst mark among 1,200-plus duos that have logged at least 250 minutes together, per NBA.com. (Four of the seven pairings below them also come from the Lakers. Drive that tank, baby!)

    Sure, it was about Jordan Clarkson but regardless of their growth as offensive players, the Lakers have a very serious backcourt defensive problem. I would have no problem trading DAR or Clarkson for older players as long as they improved the roster. I’ve always doubted the two could co-exist on a winning team and said so already. I blamed DAR more than Clarkson but maybe they’re both the problem…

      • Renato Afonso says

        I admit. I’m too old school. I can’t root for players who don’t play defense…

          • Ddub says

            Yeah he obviously didn’t see magic on defense, they would hide him on the weakest offensive player.. He didn’t guard MJ,or Dumars..etc

        • Pbz06 says

          Please give your list of 20 year old players that are lock down defenders and as promising as DAR on offense.

          What’s your assessment of Curry, Harden, Lillard, McCollum, Lou, Kyrie etc?

          Btw that article was saying how bad Clarkson is. Let’s not forget that he’s going on 25 and has poor fundamentals and the bigger concern of the two defensively. DAR is learning and can be league average but let’s not also gloss over that in the West none of the PGs shut each other down. They all burn each other. The difference is that they have fully realized offensive games since they are veterans, and their plus minus will inherently be higher.

          DAR is already at 16 PER and is on his way of being a great orchestrator.

          Stop grading him like a finished product. Use some context and bigger picture and perhaps some nuance in your argument, rather than confirmation bias.

        • forthy says

          Damn, Russell is much better defender than JC already and he is 4y younger.
          He made huge progress if you cant see this, blame yourself.

          And its funny timing, cause he played excellent D versus Bledsoe last night.

        • fern says

          So you wont root for half the league.You must love MVP candidate won’t guard anybody James Harden. Clarkson is weak on defense and somehow is bc of DAR.

  5. david h says

    Darius: to me, laker’s newfound 2nd unit brings the energy that reminds the first unit to pay more attention to maintaining intensity and less attention to pacing themselves as they normally do during the first quarter of most games. You speak of Russell and his trending upward and that’s cool and comforting at the same time. to me, zubak brought the energy and results last night that enabled the rest of the team to see what self confidence looks like. with limited exposure and opportunity; I’m totally content to see zubak play more and more minutes. he takes a lot of pressure off the other laker players both offensively and defensively when he’s out there moving with the ball and playing sound defense with his arms straight up and his feet flat on the floor. so far, he’s getting away with that and that works for me.
    last night, we saw a glimpse of laker potential with a win over the suns. truth be told, I missed a lot of the game due to college game distraction elsewhere, so excuse me if I missed on some of the highlights.
    without lonzo ball, ucla looks like last year’s ucla.
    Go lakers

  6. Vasheed says

    There is a consistent push for Russell to find a balance between scoring and playmaking. I see him as more of a SG who happens to have great playmaking skills. Much like Kobe could play PG but, it wasn’t the best use of his skills.

    I noticed Zubac coming out to meet the guy with the ball leading to his man getting an open look at the rim since no one helped. I think addressing the Lakers defensive issues need to be addressed by having someone at PG who can stop that perimeter penetration. As sour as people are on Mozgov I think he has played well and he often is left out to dry while making the right play.

    That said with Nwaba’s 10 day contract coming ot an end I wouldn’t be shocked if he get a 2nd 10 day contract. Still I would prefer if the Lakers brough up Josh Magette. An undersized PG but excellent floor general who plays defense. I’d like to see him get a shot playing against NBA caliber players.

    I’d also like to see Ennis get a little more burn to at least see what he can do. I wasn’t enjoying Clarkson do his Williams impression while getting the backup minutes at PG.

    • A Horse With No Name says

      I know you’ve read it, heard it and seen many times but I’ll repeat it anyway: No one stops perimeter penetration at the point guard position anymore–the rule changes have made that all but impossible. What works is defensive schemes that rely on switching and helping. Ironically, this what DAR can do well defensively with his length and smarts. Don’t get me wrong though; he could be better at moving his feet– a lot better–and I think he is showing better effort there. The other thing is that the traditional high usage, ball pounding point guard is quickly disappearing. Chris Paul, for all his considerable skill and know how, is a dodo. Teams with multi-player ball movers are simply harder to stop. That’s Russell: he’s a handler, a ball mover and scorer. With the right pieces around him (e.g. a stretch four), he’s going to be deadly.

      • Vasheed says

        You sound like what I envisioned when the Lakers drafted Russell. A back court of big guards Clarkson and Russell who could flawlessly switch to defend. I’ve come to terms it isn’t going to happen.

        We’ve tried all manner of plugging the problems by employing various Centers. I’m at this point convinced our defensive woes stem a lot form our back court.

        • A Horse With No Name says

          More than fair points. And I agree with your comments above about Mozgov–he’s been left out to dry by guys not helping. It’s going to take time for the young guys to get it defensively–it always does. Watch the T-wolves and see how erratic their defense is–even with Thibodeau barking at them mercilessly. I think there’s going to be growth for both Clarkson and DAR here, not to mention Ingram, who is going to be key for their defense.

          • RR says

            Not always. During the brief period when the 76ers had both Noel and Embiid functional, they actually made it up to the Top 10 in D. With Noel traded and Embiid out again, they have cratered back to 19th. As to Minnesota, they have made it up to 23rd, and one reason, other than regression to the mean (their PYTH is 32-32) is that they have, unlike the Lakers, actually gotten better on defense. Part of that is youth, part of that is probably the difference between Thibodeau and Walton, and part of it is simply the talent on the floor.
            As to Russell, no, traditional PGs are not disappearing. Wall, Irving, Westbrook, Harden, Thomas, and Lillard all have high USG rates and the ball in their hands all the time. What has changed about offense in the NBA is the emphasis on the 3 and the zone/handcheck rules changing defenses. But as in any era, smart coaches respond to their talent, not the other way around. OKC has no one on the roster other than Westbrook who can create O, so he is sitting at a 42 USG and pounds the ball to death. Chicago won six titles without a traditional PG 25 years ago, since they had Jordan and Pippen and Phil loved him that Triangle. So, the question is not whether Russell gives the Lakers some imagined tactical edge–the question is how good he is going to be.
            And the answer is probably still very good but not great. As I said earlier this week, Russell has become a flashpoint because of when he was picked, the Lakers history, and his style of play. But overall he is doing well for a 21-year-old second -year PG on a bad team.

  7. Craig W. says

    Learning to win while losing isn’t possible. Look at the schedule left; looks at the game last night; now explain to me how you expect the Lakers to win enough games to really matter. We need to win the games we can because we need to develop a culture going forward. That is priority one.

    The lottery picks at stake (this year and in 2019) may weight on all of us – and they should – but the team absolutely needs to learn how to work together to win games or we will just be the 76ers next year. Luke needs this, the players need this, the organization needs this.

    Our discussions should be about the players on the court, not the upcoming draft. Lots of decisions this summer and we need to get them right – regardless of our draft status.

  8. Mid-Wilshire says

    I am constitutionally incapable of cheering for the Lakers to lose. They won last night, avenging their embarrassing 137-101 blowout loss to Phoenix on February 15…and I’m glad.

    I fully agree with those who say that it’s time for the Lakers to learn how to win…regardless of the lottery pick implications. (Even so, I fully expect them to be in the running for a lottery pick once again.) Eventually, the young guys will no longer be able to use their youth as an excuse. The day will come — and it might as well be now — for them to figure out what they have to do to win games.

    Many moons ago, in my youth, when I was on the tennis team in college, my coach pulled me aside one day and said to me: “The difference between you and X (the # 1 player on the team; I was #5) is that he knows how to win when he’s not playing his best and you don’t. When you’re not at your best, your entire game collapses and you end up moping rather than fighting.” His words stung but he spoke the truth.

    Learning how to win is like cracking a secret code. There’s a way to go about doing it but first you have to decipher the hieroglyphics. You have to solve the puzzle. The Lakers are a long ways from doing that. But solving that issue is the difference between being a 25-win team and a 45-win team.

    Yes. I know. A lot of it comes with maturity. And I agree that the Lakers still need an infusion of mature talent. I understand all of that. But a big part of athletic growth is learning how to win. It’s that simple.

    As far as I’m concerned, there’s no time like the present to figure all of that out.

    Lakers 122, Phoenix 110. Go Lakers.

  9. Travis Y. says

    We all know the players don’t want to tank because then a rookie will come up and take their minutes aka $$$. If they really care, they are going to showcase that they belong in the league and justify a sizable contract. Russell has simply been balling right now and I agree with Vasheed that Russell is a SG with great vision and the ability to pass. Russell is weak on defense as Zach Lowe states because he is TOO big and slow compared to opposing point guards. That is the problem. We need a PG who can stop guard penetration and give Russell an easier defensive assignment.

    Love seeing Randle taking and making 3s with confidence. The parts of his game that are lacking:
    -quick, anticipation-based rotations, that help the helper
    -solid screens
    -taking mid range jumpers with confidence
    -right hand
    -ball stopper

    Love Zubac wanting to play against starters. He’s developed very well this year. He’s hungry, sets solid screens, and has an offensive game that is very polished.

    On things he needs to work on, he has a tendency to fade away on his post ups instead of getting contact and driving his body towards the rim. Proper footwork and confidence will help there. He also needs to work on rotating quicker on defense, which will bring down his fouls.

    Last night we all want to celebrate because they got a win. But to give up 110 points to the Suns is what they need to address today. It all comes back to giving a (*&) on defense.

    Love that Clarkson is providing a spark off the bench. Wish he would hit the open man more often and not be a ball stopper as much. Part of it is the unit he plays with, which requires him to be a playmaker, but part of it is not trusting the easy pass to an open player.

    Nance has regressed since his injury. Providing spot minutes, setting solid screens, making good rotations, crashing the boards with put back dunks.

    Needs to develop a solid pick and roll or pick and pop game as Zubac has been demonstrating lately. Hard to develop consistency with the lack of minutes and changing point guard regime.

    Love Nwaba’s effort and energy on defense. All the Lakers should play with this intensity on defense, but especially the second and third unit’s PG should be playing defense full court.

    Bottom line, like Coach Walton said, we need to trust each other while passing the ball, give as much intensity on defensive as offense, and getting rid of AAU defensive habits (see not caring on defense).

  10. KevTheBold says

    It’s always good to win,..at least it feels good, and I’m relieved to see D’Angelo show that he’s better than many -want- to believe.
    I too however, would be jazzed to snag Ball,..as paired with Russell in the back court, we would have a formidable duo; so considering,…the win last night was has a negative affect which could come back to haunt us, imo,.. as I now believe that Russell needs another one or two as good or better than he,.. in order for us to have a chance to grow into a championship team.

    • SamSinister says

      Is Ball the guy? I don’t see any defense out of him either…

      I’m wide open to being educated – I’ve seen him play only once (though it was live with great seats, early this year). He struck me as a tall passing wizard who can’t much shoot – like say Jason Kidd. Except that Jason Kidd could play defense and Ball had seemingly little D (“Jason Ki’ ” heh).

      We need a defender or two in our backcourt. In above comments, Renato said he roots for defenders, and Darius above joked/sassed, well then who have you rooted for? Michael Cooper was my favorite ‘Showtime’ player. Love Eddie Jones, Kobe when he played D.

      We’ve got some decent potential defenders in Ingram, Zubac, a few others maybe.
      Can’t wait til we get a few ‘nasty’ defenders on our team.

  11. drrayeye says

    I’m not hoping for a winning streak, but this win felt good. A loss might have almost assured that lottery pick, but we can’t think that way . . .

    We must be patient–but it’s not easy.

    • Joshua says

      Unfortunately no amount of losses can assure the pick. The difference in odds between the 2nd and 3rd worst record is only about 9%. That doesn’t change much if you have only one event. Either way, it’s essentially a coin toss. Mathematically, luck will have a much greater effect on the outcome than the exact odds.

      (Having a slightly higher percentage is of course better, but it’s not like we can achieve that without paying a price for it. And again, it’s not like that would change our basic position.)

      Depending on luck more than anything else is not particularly satisfying, but unfortunately it is what it is.

      • Craig W. says

        It is not that the odds are so much better with the 2nd pick, it is that if one of the lower teams jumps into the top 3, then the #3 pick moves to #4.

      • drrayeye says

        A second vs. a third is no big deal, but any thing higher means no pick at all–and that is a big deal. Even so, worst case, we have one late first round pick and our second–not that bad. Best case, two 2017 firsts (but we lose our second)–and keep our first in 2019. In the best case, we lose our second in 2018, but we’ve got Denver’s 2nd, so in 2018, we’d have both a first and second.

        Looks like the table is set for Pelinka to do his magic–and he’s got the real Magic at his side.

      • Joshua says

        Ironically, the team with the 4th worst record is currently Philadelphia (23 wins, same total number of games). But I don’t see the Lakers getting (significantly) more than 25 wins (if they do get more, we have other reasons to be happy). There are currently 6 teams in the NBA at or below 25 wins.

        Even if every single one of them fails to get above 25 wins, we’d still have the 6th worst record and a 21.5% chance to keep the pick. It’s not impossible to be lucky with those odds. Cleveland had the 9th worst record and a 1.7% chance to get the 1st pick in 2014.

        On the other hand, it’s also a realistic possibility to lose the pick even with the 2nd worst record. As I said, we are dependent on luck more than anything else.

  13. Rick in Seattle says

    Darius,
    If the Lakers want to take a look at additional D-league players during the remaining 5 weeks or so of the season, who are the most likely 3 or 4 players that they might want to look at? Guards, swing players, bigs?
    I would think defense would still be a high priority!

  14. LKK says

    I am very encouraged by Russell’s recent play. He is much more assertive and is driving the ball with gusto. He is taking advantage of the mismatches that his size presents him with. I haven’t been his biggest fan, but the kid is making a believer out of me. I like Clarkson too. His ability to get to the basket is nothing to disregard or take lightly. He takes people to the basket on a regular basis and finishes well. I don’t think he’s near his ceiling. I get pretty annoyed at folks who think a player is washed up at 25 these days. Part of the biggest problem in the league is there are too many players earning pro checks who should still be in college. Clarkson will improve on D when the team does. Surround him with a few better players and he’ll bloom.

  15. LT Mitchell says

    Harden may not be a good defensive player but he guards SGs, the shallowest position in the NBA, while Beverly guards the PGs. Houston is also smart enough to surround Harden with two other plus defenders in Ariza and Capela. Curry is in a similar situation where he is surrounded by plus defenders while Klay is often tasked to guard the opposing PGs. If Harden was surrounded by bad defensive players, while being forced to guard opposing PGs, that would be a recipe for disaster…..and that is exactly the recipe the Lakers are using with Russell.

    Sure, there are starting PGs out there who are bad on defense, but none are worse than Russell….none. Amongst our young core of DAR, Julius, Ingram and Clarkson….Ingram is the only potential plus defensive player. Even if all of these guys fullfill their potential, the cumulative defensive liability created by this group will be too much to overcome if the goal is to compete for championships. For that reason, this core needs to be split up. Any asset gained or traded going forward has to be an upgrade on the defensive end.

    So assuming the Lakers keep their pick and draft a PG…let’s say Ball…what do the Lakers do? Ball has the athleticism and the instincts to be a plus defender but he is too tall to chase around smaller PGs every game. Ball and DAR could potentially be lethal on offense, but on defense, the Lakers would have the same problem they have now…..there is nobody who can slow down opposing PGs. For that reason, I would be fine with trading DAR, Julius and/or Clarkson for defensive upgrades. Ingram and Ball are keepers.

    • FredP says

      Go to Lakers Film Room and get an education about all the different aspects of playing defense. Russell is much better than you give him credit for. He is closer to average overall as a defender.