SPL: Laker vs Mavericks Impressions (07/16/15)

The Lakers young guns looked MUCH better Wednesday night as they took on the Dallas Mavericks SPL team. In the second half of the game the Lakers finally abandoned some of their archaic Princeton sets which have been very troublesome for the younger players to grasp. For those that remember, Mike Brown was trying to run a similar offense with Nash and Howard on board. It was unsuccessful then, and it's not the ideal system to run now when you have a lot of athletes who can create their own shots. Once the Lakers got into more traditional pick and roll offense with a few horns sets thrown in, they began to play a lot more freely. This is hopefully an adjustment the coaching staff makes soon. But don't count on it. Byron is as stubborn as they come.

Here's what I saw from each player:

D'Angelo Russell
- Russell had far fewer turnovers in this game than the previous one. By relaxing some of the Princeton sets he looked a lot more comfortable. He had one crucial turnover where he tried to split the double team on one of the final possessions. Just a rookie mistake that he will learn from.
- His shooting was off target all night. Looks like his legs might be a little gassed at this point, which is normal for a rookie.
- He had some more dazzling passes in this one. I really can't wait until the chemistry between Russell and his teammates is built up and we start running better sets

Julius Randle
- Julius Randle found a much better rhythm and diversified his game with drives to the basket, kick-outs to teammates, post ups, and his mid range jumper.
- He had one sequence where he did a jab step into a step back fade away from 20 feet out. That's very encouraging as that is what will open up the floor for the rest of his game.
- Randle was switched onto guards several times defensively and showed good effort. He led the team in the NBA's new "hustle" stat.
- Julius needs to consistently box out on the defensive glass and set better picks.

Jordan Clarkson
- Clarkson sliced and diced to rim for layups pretty much whenever he wanted. I think he is often on cruise control for much of these games.
- He and Russell looked much more comfortable as dual initiators when the Lakers ran a simpler, more efficient offense.
- He tried to force it in some of the final possessions. He likely got fouled on his final drive, but it wasn't called.

Robert Upshaw
- Upshaw didn't play a ton of minutes. He gets called every game for illegal screens.
- He had a nice turnaround jump shot today that shows he won't be a liability on offense in the future. His free throw form also looks good.
- Robert just needs to continue to add strength and conditioning in addition to staying away from distractions off the court.

Anthony Brown
- Anthony Brown was taken out of the starting lineup for Jabari Brown.
- The way the Lakers play doesn't afford much opportunity for Brown to score. I'd like to see him run off some screens to create catch and shoot situations for him. Or have him waiting to launch a corner 3 on a drive and kick.

Tarik Black
- Tarik could not contain Jeremy Tyler. He's just too undersized. He's going to have to exert more energy if he doesn't want to be a liability defensively.

Larry Nance Jr.
- Nance Jr. didn't do much in this contest. Like Black, he must use his tremendous motor to impact the game.

The Lakers will play again on Friday afternoon at 3pm against the Jazz SPL team. I'll likely have to DVR that one. There'll be a write up to follow. After summer league finishes, I'll give my thoughts on the results of the Lakers free agency: Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams, and Brandon Bass.

Also, coming up soon on July 23rd I'll be apart of a team doing missionary work in Kenya. We'll be working in Kibera Slums which is the largest slum in Africa and is home to over 2 million people. There is one toilet with plumbing for every 2000 people there. We are in need of prayers and financial assistance. We're at about 65% funded right now. If you'd like to give you can at the link below:

www.wateroflifecc.org/gorgive

Register and then hit the give to teams button to select "2015 - Kenya Team 1" and my name is Jason

Thank you SO MUCH for your help. Any amount counts :)

Thanks for reading, go Lakers!!!