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Lakers @ Suns takeaways (thread):
Impressive road win that I expected from the Lakers. A good read on a championship level team is how they respond to a disappointing loss.
That Suns squad is legit. Came into the game 4th in net rating. This is a meaningful win.
Impressive road win that I expected from the Lakers. A good read on a championship level team is how they respond to a disappointing loss.
That Suns squad is legit. Came into the game 4th in net rating. This is a meaningful win.
Three major takeaways from this one:
1- The basketball IQ on this Laker squad is ridiculous.
Young teams, i.e. last year’s Lakers, have short attention spans and go off script for no apparent reason.
The repetitive Laker start to the 3rd was so impressive and showed maturity.
1- The basketball IQ on this Laker squad is ridiculous.
Young teams, i.e. last year’s Lakers, have short attention spans and go off script for no apparent reason.
The repetitive Laker start to the 3rd was so impressive and showed maturity.
They continually ran the same play about a dozen times in a row, even though it mostly involved Avery Bradley and the center, using LeBron and AD as decoys, simply because it was *working*.
As a result, the Lakers either scored or drew a foul on *TEN* consecutive possessions.
As a result, the Lakers either scored or drew a foul on *TEN* consecutive possessions.
Less mature teams would have went away from it for no reason, or their stars would have selfishly went off script.
It was a small stretch of the game, but it was effective and it speaks volumes of the winning focus from the vets.
It was a small stretch of the game, but it was effective and it speaks volumes of the winning focus from the vets.
2- LeBron has to be more aggressive.
The offense was amazing tonight. Their best night of the season. And LeBron had a ridiculous night passing, 11 assists w/ only 1 turnover.
And in the 4th he made some really nice drive-and-kick plays that ignited the 3pt barrage that won it.
The offense was amazing tonight. Their best night of the season. And LeBron had a ridiculous night passing, 11 assists w/ only 1 turnover.
And in the 4th he made some really nice drive-and-kick plays that ignited the 3pt barrage that won it.
But when he did try to be agressive and score in the fourth he looked clunky and out of rhythm.
Which is what happens when you barely shoot for 3 quarters. He didn’t shoot for 6 minutes to start tonight.
He’s the Laker closer. He needs to keep that in mind from the opening tip.
Which is what happens when you barely shoot for 3 quarters. He didn’t shoot for 6 minutes to start tonight.
He’s the Laker closer. He needs to keep that in mind from the opening tip.
3- The Lakers are experiencing some defensive slippage.
It’s purely a matter of focus and effort, because they once again won tonight by stifling a red-hot Suns team to just 23 points in the fourth, but now over the last 4 games they have a DRTG of 105.3, (13th in the NBA).
It’s purely a matter of focus and effort, because they once again won tonight by stifling a red-hot Suns team to just 23 points in the fourth, but now over the last 4 games they have a DRTG of 105.3, (13th in the NBA).
Primary culprit tonight was Javale McGee, who couldn’t handle Baynes shooting 3s in the PNR, and had a defensive rating of 145.0 in the game.
This stretch is nothing to get up in arms about, because the ceiling has still been there. But it’s something to keep an eye on.
This stretch is nothing to get up in arms about, because the ceiling has still been there. But it’s something to keep an eye on.
