Game Day: Lakers (5-10) @ Suns (10-6), Tues 11/22/22

[djy2j]

Was pretty sick with Aytons play until the whole Beverly incident in which I rechanneled all my rage from Ayton to Beverly. How many chances is this dude going to get? He's the mayor of Clown Town. He doesn't deserve to be in the league with this repetitive cheap shot artist bullshit.

[Flagrant Fowl]

I've been critical of Ayton and absolutely think he needs to force the issue more on offense, and play with more force in general. BUT, Cam Payne is not a player who he'll ever thrive next to. Payne is looking to score first, isn't a great PnR or post-entry passer, and, most importantly, doesn't have that PG brain that says "this guy hasn't touched the ball for a while, let me get him a few looks to keep him engaged." Ayton looks much better with Book initiating.

I hope Chris Paul received a gift from Ayton after signing his max contract.

[bajanguy008]

This 2mins here bout to cause some serious discussion
Don't even think the Hate for that short runt going to let ppl on here overlook some of DA's statements

[ShelC]

This might work better for those that don't want all the tweets coming thru....game highlights and postgame stuff in the spoiler

Spoiler: show/hide

[ShelC]

Another solid win for us even tho the Lakers are shit. Pat Bev is shit and pretty ineffective at this point so he needs to resort to garbage cheapshots like always. It's one thing if he's hitting shots and locking down on defense, but last night it was like he wasn't even out there. Don't care about AD's monster line because it was just him getting his and not creating for anyone else or making them better. He can't lift up a team and get more out of guys like Reaves, Bev, Brown or Walker. Even Walker's 24 points came on 18 shots and didn't impact anything. The only reason is was close was the 30 more FTAs they took, which says more about the refs than the Lakers.

What I love most about this recent stretch, even with the close Ls, is seeing the end of bench guys really step up and prove they can contribute. Monty's given guys like DWJ, Ish, Okogie their shots and they've responded. And even with some mistakes or sloppy play, he's stuck with them instead of having a short leash and going right back to his main guys; most coaches panic or lose confidence quickly but Monty's sticking with it and it's paying off. This is the kind of development we've wanted during the regular season.

Big game from Mikal who was really letting it fly with confidence. He was just rising up and knocking them down with no hesitation and his release is looking quicker than ever. Mixed in some good drives around the basket too.

DA came on later in the game and was solid on the boards throughout. Felt like we were looking to attack the rest of the Lakers instead of having him go at AD, which was probably smart since he was picking up some fouls early on. Biz came in and gave us some good minutes again on the boards and protecting the rim. Hope his minutes are another case of playing against a bigger frontcourt and Monty wanting to keep guys engaged and ready to play and not anything to do with Landale specifically.

Really love what DWJ is showing. He wasn't great in the 1st half but played well in the 2nd half. He's a shotmaker, plays with confidence and really looks like he belongs out there. Plays like a mini-Book sometimes but also reminds me of a bigger Eddie House with a bit more on-the-ball skills. Small sample so far, but it feels like he's more impactful than Shamet's been and gives us way more all around than guys like Jevon, Moore, Galloway, Elfrid ever did in that end of bench guard spot. Monty even had him out there later than usual in the game before bringing Payne back with 3minutes left to close it out.

DLee's playing with crazy confidence right now. His shot looks great and he's hitting those backbreaker 3s that can kill the other team's momentum, especially when they're worrying about guys like Book, DA, and Mikal. He's essentially filling the role we envisioned for Crowder this year - coming off the bench for 20 minutes and hitting 3s, grabbing some boards and bringing the attitude.

Payne was solid but a little wild with some TOs early on. Feels like we're playing a lot faster and pushing it more than we do with CP which is fun to see. It may lead to some TOs and quick shots, but there's better flow and it takes better advantage our speed and athleticism on the wings with Book, TC, and Mikal. Not as much slowed down, grinding halfcourt offense against a set defense where we need more shotmaking and off-the-dribble stuff - things we lack in the halfcourt. Interested to see how Monty keeps a balance when CP is back.

[Split T]

[LazarusLong]

Beverly and his 0 pts in 29 minutes is such an inspiration for the Lakers ....

[Split T]

I’m not usually a Nick Wright guy, but I couldn’t agree more here. Can’t wait till he’s gone and I hope we don’t have to see his face on any networks either…Let him drop off into obscurity.

[SunsRIt]

It’s crazy that he can be the least offensive and the most offensive at the same time.

[Split T]

I've been critical of Ayton and absolutely think he needs to force the issue more on offense, and play with more force in general. BUT, Cam Payne is not a player who he'll ever thrive next to. Payne is looking to score first, isn't a great PnR or post-entry passer, and, most importantly, doesn't have that PG brain that says "this guy hasn't touched the ball for a while, let me get him a few looks to keep him engaged." Ayton looks much better with Book initiating.

Ya I’ve said before that I’d tie Ayton’s minutes to CP3. Payne isn’t very good at finding bigs.

[Split T]

Good minutes from our 2-way guys tonight. Duane Washington quietly saved us in the 4th and if Ish can play like this on a semi regular basis, I think we’ll have seen the last of Dario in the rotation.

Yep, both DWJ and Ish have shown more potential as rotation pieces than both Shamet and Dario have this season.

Shamet, Dario and Jae are just 30 million of dead money at this point. Really hope we can capitalize on the right deal for these guy because the west looks crazy open right now.

I think that package being moved for an undesirable contract(though still a good player) might be our best bet to improve this years team. I’m thinking Tobias Harris or Gordon Hayward.

[specialsauce]

What I love most about this recent stretch, even with the close Ls, is seeing the end of bench guys really step up and prove they can contribute. Monty's given guys like DWJ, Ish, Okogie their shots and they've responded. And even with some mistakes or sloppy play, he's stuck with them instead of having a short leash and going right back to his main guys; most coaches panic or lose confidence quickly but Monty's sticking with it and it's paying off. This is the kind of development we've wanted during the regular season.

Man it was so satisfying to watch them kick their asses even with the refs so obviously keeping it close. Lakers fucking suck and are stuck for a while, it’s beautiful.

Let’s be real on your last point though- end of bench development is NOT what we’ve wanted. #2, #3, #4 guy development is what we’ve wanted. It is nice that the end of our bench is much more useful than Drifty Alfred Payton, but we need to see more consistent offensive independence from guys 2-8.

[specialsauce]

Good minutes from our 2-way guys tonight. Duane Washington quietly saved us in the 4th and if Ish can play like this on a semi regular basis, I think we’ll have seen the last of Dario in the rotation.

Yep, both DWJ and Ish have shown more potential as rotation pieces than both Shamet and Dario have this season.

Shamet, Dario and Jae are just 30 million of dead money at this point. Really hope we can capitalize on the right deal for these guy because the west looks crazy open right now.

I think that package being moved for an undesirable contract(though still a good player) might be our best bet to improve this years team. I’m thinking Tobias Harris or Gordon Hayward.

I don’t think we go after Tobias. I’d be okay with it but I don’t see it with Cam J here and expecting a contract that would reflect starter money.

Hayward maybe more likely

[Mori Chu]

The Lakers are INSURMOUNTABLE! Lebron James? GOAT. Anthony Davis? Best #2 in NBA history. No, way, that we beat these guys.

[Mori Chu]

Not the first to say it, but, FUCK Patrick Beverley. The way he plays has no place in the sport. And he just keeps doing it again and again and again. I lost all respect for that guy when he intentionally injured Russell Westbrook back in the day, kept him out for a whole year, and then when he came back, dove at his legs and tried to injure him AGAIN. He should get a long suspension for shoving guys in the back given his history.

[Split T]

What I love most about this recent stretch, even with the close Ls, is seeing the end of bench guys really step up and prove they can contribute. Monty's given guys like DWJ, Ish, Okogie their shots and they've responded. And even with some mistakes or sloppy play, he's stuck with them instead of having a short leash and going right back to his main guys; most coaches panic or lose confidence quickly but Monty's sticking with it and it's paying off. This is the kind of development we've wanted during the regular season.

Man it was so satisfying to watch them kick their asses even with the refs so obviously keeping it close. Lakers fucking suck and are stuck for a while, it’s beautiful.

Let’s be real on your last point though- end of bench development is NOT what we’ve wanted. #2, #3, #4 guy development is what we’ve wanted. It is nice that the end of our bench is much more useful than Drifty Alfred Payton, but we need to see more consistent offensive independence from guys 2-8.

2-4 is hard because 2 of them are out hurt right now. Bridges has been 18/6/5 on 51/47/92 since CP3 went out, so he’s clearly doing what we need. Ayton is really the guy we need to step up that isn’t. Hard to expect more than we are getting from Lee/Craig.

[Drewsprocket]

Should there be a limit to how many tweets we share in one response? Not trying to stir anything, just seems like scrolling through Twitter isn’t necessary here.

[Split T]

Should there be a limit to how many tweets we share in one response? Not trying to stir anything, just seems like scrolling through Twitter isn’t necessary here.

It does make the site crash for me often when there are a ton of tweets trying to load…not sure if that’s the case for other people

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Me too, haven't said anything, as I appreciate the effort, but on mobile devices safari crash on me very frequently trying to load all those tweets, sometimes I even have to skip the entire page.

[In2ition]

I thought I would share this, as it gave me a few chuckles.