Game Debrief: What Went Right And What Went Wrong?

WOW, I am watching this on the Suns broadcast.

The commentators are HORRIBLE....

"Where's the foul?"

Replay shows Booker slapping LeBron's hand

The commentators then go dead silent for 30 seconds after watching the replay.... LOL...

 

Awful fourth quarter. Lucky we got that one. Bron came through finally but a lot of bad basketball by him and the guys tonight.

Vando gave great minutes and energy. Hopefully he’s earned his way back into the rotation because we need that.

 

The robber baron is back! Finally. We needed that energy. Also our bigs did work.

The suns with the punchable face twins are an unlikable bunch. Also we had a lot of braindead plays out there. This game was way harder than it needed to be.

 

W without our best player @LTLakerFan



Trying to bait him like Brooks did with LBJ.

 

When Vando plays like this, he really impacts the game. But for the last few years he has been a negative in the playoffs and even after his hot start last year, he kind of trended downwards as the season progressed.

This year, this is his first proper good game.

 

Yeah, whatever.
He hasn’t played at all this season.
Please tell me again how much he can’t affect winning.
We just saw our squad go up by 20 based on his effort and then just as quick lose all of the lead as he sits on the bench.
Biases are hard to break, even when reality slaps one upside the head.

 

I don't think I'm biased. I understand your point of view, Vando is a high energy guy that is a good defender, when he plays like tonight and the game breaks for him, he can have a nice impact.

But there's alot going against him too. He can't shoot, drive or finish at the rim. And with our switch heavy defense, teams can negate his impact quite easily - just keep screening until Vando is off the ball handler.

 

Don't you think he hasn't played much this season is a result due to his bad play?

He can't shoot, can't score, and sometimes his defense is mediocre. It worked against the Suns today because the Suns play small and Vando's length and size caused problems for the Suns.

It doesn't work every game and that's when Vando's deficiencies become even more evident.

The issue with Vando is he's very match-up dependent. He'll have a superior amazing performance one game but then the next 3-5 games, you're wondering how he is so bad at offense and what his actual role is.

No one hates Vando here other than he hasn't really improved since joining the Lakers. The shot is still horrible, he's empty on offense, can't hit FT's, and is a liability when the defense isn't showing up.

 

Our defense has been bottom third, piss poor all season.
Vando significantly improves ALL FIVE players on the floor, defensively. The intensity is dramatically increased.
JJ is not an infallible coach and IMHO has failed significantly when it comes to the defensive combinations he’s tried(and not tried) so far this season.

 

what the hell happened in the last 4 minutes? They were up 14 and I stopped paying attention thinking they were finally going to get an easy well deserved win lol

 

LOL you’ll have to get a new cause celebre to annoy people about on multiple forums when your Lakers savior, the chosen one … I agree Big M Walter …. to whom you’ve pledged to support his decisions, “chooses” not to trade AR for anyone …. maybe ever.

 

Oh, he gone. Fa sho.

 

Bite …. errrr …. BET me!

 

Such a dumb game from JJ.... aside from letting Vando cook.

 

I actually don't think Vando is defensively transcendent like you make him out to be here. He doesn't raise the level of everyone around him. When we went on that run we were playing Smart, LaRavia, Vando, Lebron & Hayes. That's about as solid a defensive unit as we can put together. It wasn't Vando magically doing everything.

He has had 16 games this season and outside of a few good runs (notably with Rui & Vando at the 4 and 5), he has been average defensively and negative offensively.

 

1.5 pt differential lol but hey 9-0 in the clutch

 

Lakers go into PHO w/o AR, play an even game to halftime, 62-62. Lakers play good D in the 3rd, hold PHO to 15 points and go into the 4th up 9.

With 8:40 left in the game Bron hits Jake for a dunk: Lakers up 20 and they have played a stellar last 15 1/2 mins. As they say on the Internet: You'll never guess what happened next!

Then...they did what they do: PHO cuts it to 9 with 2:34 left. Booker hits both FTs: 7. Bron throws it away and Brooks hits a shot with 90 secs left: 5 point Laker lead. Gillespie hits a 3 after a Luka miss: Lakers up 2 with 56 secs left. If you weren't angry at our guys, you just don't care. How can they take their foot off a teams throat game after game after game?

Bron sees an opening and drives for a layup: up 4 with 40 secs left. Marcus fouls G. Allen, Allen makes 'em both: back to 2 with 28.5 left. They say if you exhale all your air, then do a long, slow inhalation and count to 7, saying to yourself, "I am one with Nature, we will get an 18th ring" you calm down. That's what they SAY...

Marcus gets his shot blocked, Booker gets the board then misses a pullup J, which felt like a miracle. But he gets his own board, dishes to the ever-delightful Dillon Brooks, who cans a 3: Suns by 1 with 12 secs left. Lakers timeout. Brooks the obnoxious loudmouth does the Lakers a favor and gets T'd up and kicked out. Bron bricks the technical, which would have tied the game with 12 secs left. ("I am one with the universe and all that jit...") Lakers take the ball in, and Booker fouls Bron on a 3. Suns challenge, lose. Suns still up 1. Lakers have pissed away a 20 point lead over the last 8 1/2 mins.

Lebron misses the first of 3. Lakers still down 1. ("I am going to hell and Nature doesn't care...")
Lebron hits the next 2: Lakers up 1 with 3 secs left. Breathe!

Frenzied play: Grayson Allen goes for a 3? a 2? He attempts a shot jumping forward from the arc, misses. Marcus gets the board with 0.4 left, is fouled, makes 1 of 2: ballgame.

It didn't have to be this ridiculously close. But that is the la-la-land relaxed Lakers team this year. Can't step on anyone's throat: might mess with their chakras, be bad juju, disalign their karma, some jit. My gawd.

We were 7 for 37 from deep. I saw Steph hit 12 3s tonight in POR. 12 3s from ONE GUY. Luka was 2 for 14 from deep. You'd think we'd lose a game like that. We almost did.

Vando played: 7 points, 7 boards, 2 steals and a block. Big Vando energy.

A play in the 4th: Luka misses a 29 footer, 2 Suns are there to rebound, but Ayton tipped it up, tipped it again, grabbed it, then hits a 10 footer. It was magnificient.

 

So Ayton and Hayes 47 of the 48 available minutes at center. Their combined stat line is 32 pts 22 rbs while shooting 14/15 from the field. If we could get that kind of production often, I would say our center position is filled. Period.

 

That Dumb TO resulting in 5 point swing and momentum change... I am still fuming about it. Marcus Van Dumb.