Lakers at Nuggets, vs Grizzlies, vs Pistons, vs Warriors (11/24/13)

Hello Laker fans! I have to apologize again for missing some games. Things are pretty busy right now so it's hard for me to make time for the blog. I might be switching it up to a weekly format instead of game by game...let me know what you think.  Anyways, here are the results of the Lakers last four games:

LAL 99 - DEN 111
LAL 86 - MEM 89
LAL 114 - DET 99
LAL 102 - GSW 95

In their last game against the Warriors, the Lakers brought the energy from the opening tip. The tone was set early by Pau Gasol who had vowed to donate a $1K for every point he scored to the relief fund for the hurricane victims in the Philippines. He had 10 points in the 1st quarter alone. From there LA natives Jordan Farmar and Nick Young took over. Golden State had no answer for either player and the Lakers essentially controlled the game from late in the 3rd on.

Nightly Notables:

The Good:
-That looked like the Pau that's a 2x Champion. He unleashed a bevy of post moves and scored from the perimeter. It might have been the 4 days rest, or the extra motivation of charity, either way he scored a season high 24 points.
- Farmar and Young combined for 35 points off the bench. That will get it done.
-Jordan Hill battled and got the Lakers numerous second chance points.

The Bad:
-The Lakers struggled to contest shots at the rim
- Nash's return and potential effectiveness are huge question marks

A lot of the buzz surrounding the team right now is concerning Kobe's return. He looks to be within a month of coming back. Hopefully he can return to form and this team can start being more consistent.  I think even this early in the season the Lakers have proven they gave an elite bench. If the starters can join them in that category we may have something here. Kobe should go a long way toward improving that.

The Lakers play again tonight at 6:30 against the Queens.

Lakers at Pelicans, vs Timberwolves, vs Pelicans (11/12/13)

Sorry for the late updates, been very busy. In the meantime the Lakers have suffered two losses and delivered one themselves. They lost 85-96 at New Orleans, and 90-113 to the Wolves at home. But the Lakers were able to redeem themselves last night in a rematch with the Pelicans. They blew them out 116-95 with Nash in street clothes. Xavier Henry got a huge poster jam in the 3rd quarter that got Staples on their feet. Player of the game honors went to Jordan Hill who had 21 points and 15 rebounds.

So since I've missed a few games lets look at what has been working for the Lakers and what hasn't.

What works:
- 3 point shooting. When the Lakers are hitting their 3's they are pretty much unbeatable. They very much embody the live by the 3 die by the 3 philosophy.
- The Bench. The Lakers bench has been impressive thus far. If only the starters could match their production and energy.
-Mixing youth and experience. It's been only 1 game, but by injecting more youth in the starting lineup The Lakers got a better start and didn't have to claw out of a hole.

What doesn't:
-Steve Nash's health. He's out for a minimum of 2 weeks with another injury. He can still play when healthy, but the problem is he rarely is these days.
-Pau Gasol. He's doing ok. I expect more than ok from the Spanish Wonder though. Whether he's injured or just in a slump, we need him to step it up.
-The Defense. It looks great at times when the young guys are in and can pressure the ball. But when Nash, Blake, and Pau are in it's a layup line to the rim.

There's a back-to-back against Denver tonight on the road. Lets go Lakers!!!

Lakers at Rockets (11/7/13)

The Lakers got their first road win of the season, and they did it in dramatic fashion by beating the Rockets 99-98. In a game that was hyped by the NBA to be a battle of bad blood since Dwight Howard left LA for Houston the players were rather cordial to each other. The game was still exciting although sometimes for the wrong reasons.

The Lakers started off strong with a bevy of 3 point bombs raining down on the Rockets. They shot 11/14 from 3 in the first half which helped earn them as much as a 19 point lead. The defense of the second unit was excellent. With Farmar, Meeks, Henry, Johnson, and Hill in the lineup the Lakers were able to extend their defense and pressure the ball.

In the 3rd quarter Houston increased their defensive effort and got back in the game. The Lakers turned the ball over left and right. Houston actually took the lead after trailing for the most of the game with around 3 minutes to go. Coach D'Antoni resorted to the "Hack-a-Howard" tactic and it worked. Dwight clanked two clutch free throws which allowed for a 3 point dagger by Steve Blake with 1.3 seconds remaining.

Nightly Notables:

The Good:
-Red hot 3 point shooting in the first half
-Great ball movement
-Nice defense by the second unit

The Bad:
-Pau either looked really tired or uninterested. Either way he played bad
-Too many unnecessary turnovers
-Horrible execution on what should have been the final inbounds play. It almost cost them the game

No time to enjoy the win with a back to back tonight against the Pelicans at 5pm.  It was nice to stick it to Dwight though :P

Go Lakers!!!!

Lakers at Mavericks (11/5/13)

The Lakers have and a thought time even being competitive on the road this year. It's early, but they got blown out again this time in the big D as they fell to the Mavs 104-123.

Beside the obvious is missing #24, the Lakers suffer from a few key issues:

-Their starting back court is extremely short, slow, and old with Nash and Blake. Not only have they been unable to stop opponents from scoring, they also haven't been effective on the offensive end themselves.  Coach D'Antoni should make an adjustment to this lineup immediately.  I wouuld move Henry to shooting guard and bring in either Johnson or Young for the 3 spot. Adds length, youth, and athleticism.

-They have a lot of young players who don't know how to win on the road yet. This comes with experience.

-The Lakers need either a strong defensive anchor or a very strong team defense concept. Right now they are trying to have the latter but they're not close to reaching it yet.

Until the Lakers fix these problems they'll continue to struggle especially on the road. They play the Houston Rockets tonight at 6:30pm.

Lakers vs Hawks (11/3/13)

I wasn't able to catch this one, but the Lakers won a nail biter 105-103. Pau Gasol was able to save the day with 2 clutch free throws and a block of a game winning attempt by Kyle Korver. Check the link for Dancing Barry's review:

Dancing Barry's Thoughts and Smiley Ratings

The Lakers let a 21 point lead slip away in this. They've got to make better habits of keeping leads. Tonight they'll play the Mavericks on the road.

Lakers vs Spurs (11/1/13)

The Lakers had a chance but couldn't get over the hump, and they fell to the Spurs 85-91.  They jumped out to a 15 point lead in the first half. At that point Xavier Henry got injured on a drive to the basket which stopped the game for a few minutes. After the game resumed Mr. Momentum switched jerseys and Spurs got back in the game. The game remained close and was tied at 80-80 with about 2 minutes to go. From there the Lakers had no closer while Tony Parker did the dirty work for San Antonio.

Nightly Notables:

The Good:
-The Lakers got off to a great start defensively. They were active and getting into the passing lanes. Their offense was off but their defense gained them the 15 point lead.
-Jordan Hill brought instant energy when he finally got in the game in the fourth quarter. It changed the complexity of the game and he probably should have been inserted into the game earlier.

The Bad:
-The Lakers backcourt of Nash and Blake shot the ball poorly. Nash was finally aggressive on offense but he just couldn't make a shot.
-The Lakers gave up too many offensive rebounds
-In the final two minutes the Lakers had no one who could manufacture points. This is where Kobe is really missed. Ideally Nick Young could fill in here, but he has not played well to start this season.

The Lakers lost a winnable game. But they're figuring some things out and will hopefully improve. Coach D'Antoni is inserting Xavier Henry into the starting lineup today to see if that will be a good adjustment. I tend to like the adjustment because it makes the backcourt a little bigger.

The Lakers will play the Hawks tonight at 6:30pm.

Lakers at Warriors (10/30/13)

As fun as it was to watch the Lakers debut against the Clippers, it was equally painful to watch them get blown out by Golden State the very next night. They lost to the Warriors 94-125.

It was a back-to-back game, but it's way to early in the season for the tired legs excuse. The Lakers were simply outplayed by hot shooting Warriors squad that plays well in their building. Steve Nash was unavailable as the team tries to limit his minutes in back-to-back scenarios.  Klay Thompson, son of former Laker great Mychal Thompson, had a field day. He scored 38 points and just shot over the top of the shorter Lakers guards. It would have been nice to Kobe to guard him, or the Lakers might consider going with a bigger guard rotation to start the game next time.

Nightly Notables:

The Good:
-It was a good learning experience for the Lakers young guns. Those crowds and officials on the road aren't going to be as friendly as they would be at home.
-Jodie Meeks had a good first quarter. He sort of kept the team afloat in that period and finished with 14 points on 50% shooting.
-Xavier Henry stayed aggressive despite not getting calls in his favor

The Bad:
-Didn't match the Warriors intensity all night
-Allowed Klay Thompson to get good looks in rhythm. Once a player like that gets going it's hard to stop.
-Couldn't counter the Warriors ball pressure. You have to attack on ball pressure to beat it. You can't be passive

The Lakers will play again tonight at home against San Antonio. It's a brutal start to the season, but hey...welcome to the NBA.

Go Lakers!!!