Great game in my opinion. Lakers have a better squad and that is usually the difference in crunch time. I love the fight in us though. It bodes well for the rest of the season.
I see no reason to be negative after this game. We hung in tough and had an opportunity to win even in a bad matchup for us. I expected a worse game due to their height and size down low.
Great shooting kept us in it. Awesome game but we really missed Ayton’s size tonight. I’m hoping this is lighting a fire under him.
70 points in the paint did us in. A few bad possessions here and there did us in but in now way were we outplayed, outcoached, outworked. We've been in every game and even the Ls, with the exception of Miami, came down to a handful of plays.
Oubre was guarding LeBron all night so the offense is whatever. We'll call it one of Oubre's "drug games" because offensively it looked like he was on drugs. The shot wasn't falling and he was out of sorts going to the basket because of Mcgee, AD and Howard meeting him at the rim.
Rubio and Baynes were terrific. Cam Johnson is a player, Tyler Johnson is a steady scoring hand off the bench.
Biggest takeaway for me is that we need Book to pick his spots and be assertive. He's a superstar and we need him hitting shots down the stretch. He and Monty have to find the balance for him being more selfish when the team needs a basket. And he needs to stop overthinking the play and make up his mind what he wants to do.
It's hard to knock Bridges for his shooting because he does so many other things, but if his shot doesn't come around...I don't know.
We're 6-4, should be 8-2. I called 7-3 after 10 so I'm collecting my money. The most important thing so far is that we're playing at a consistently high level every game for 48 minutes. We're not starting off strong and fading, not waiting to get down by 20 to make a comeback. It's the type of consistent effort and execution that you see from the better teams in the league.
Pretty sure it was against leBron last season that ayton guarded him, did it well and gave us an insight as to how else we might use him ... that up our sleeves for next time, Baynes takes AD and we’re an even better chance.
Props to Vogel for effective use of Howard, McGee and Davis. McGee is useful when his minutes are targeted and his purpose is well-defined -- left to his own devices, he can be a clustermess.n
An encouraging development is the progress of C. Johnson.
This might have been a game where Ayton may have made a significant difference. But that's pure conjecture.
Biggest takeaway for me is that we need Book to pick his spots and be assertive. He's a superstar and we need him hitting shots down the stretch. He and Monty have to find the balance for him being more selfish when the team needs a basket. And he needs to stop overthinking the play and make up his mind what he wants to do.
This was my big worry with Monty. I posted about it before his hiring. In N.O. there were serious issues with AD not touching the ball down the stretch in the 4th. Disappearing for 8 minutes at a time and the Pels would lose games by a handful of points. I really hope history isn't repeating itself here.
Heartbreaker of a game. We hung tight with the Lakers for 46.5 minutes, despite playing without Ayton, Oubre having a bad game, and Booker not being assertive. Then with 3 minutes left in the 4th they get that 9-0 run, and that's the game.
This is a very coachable game, IMO. Monty can pull film of lots of good things and lots of little adjustments. Not just that 9-0 run. The way we played McGee in the first half vs the second half. Decisions on offense throughout the game, etc. Shoot when you are open.
I feel like Booker is still learning that balance of when to be assertive and when to play within the offense. I'm not mad about the learning curve. He's 23 and hasn't had good teammates and a good coach yet. He'll make the adjustments over the first half of the season and will finish the season very strong.
This is the Oubre Washington was glad to trade for Ariza. He's a very emotional player, and can be very inconsistent when he isn't feeling the game. I think he's learning how to prepare mentally for a game, and we haven't seen many games like this. I don't think we will see many more.
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan
Oh I think I see this game as a really positive sign. The Lakers are going to be tough this year, and it was a back and forth game the whole time. The team has nothing to hang their heads about. Except maybe Oubre--he seemed really out of the game last night.
Biggest takeaway for me is that we need Book to pick his spots and be assertive. He's a superstar and we need him hitting shots down the stretch. He and Monty have to find the balance for him being more selfish when the team needs a basket. And he needs to stop overthinking the play and make up his mind what he wants to do.
This was my big worry with Monty. I posted about it before his hiring. In N.O. there were serious issues with AD not touching the ball down the stretch in the 4th. Disappearing for 8 minutes at a time and the Pels would lose games by a handful of points. I really hope history isn't repeating itself here.
Thing is, Booker's had the ball. It's not a matter of not running plays for him. He's just indecisive IMO. He'll come off a curl for what looks like an easy jumper but dribbles, dribble hesitates, kinda looks to pass, kinda looks to see if he should put up a floater or go in for the drive. All the while the defense is collapsing and he puts up a bad shot or passes for what is usually a tough shot for a teammate. I'm fine with just clearouts and ISOs for certain possessions but he's gotta have that attack and score mentality no matter what.
Props to Vogel for effective use of Howard, McGee and Davis. McGee is useful when his minutes are targeted and his purpose is well-defined -- left to his own devices, he can be a clustermess.n
An encouraging development is the progress of C. Johnson.
This might have been a game where Ayton may have made a significant difference. But that's pure conjecture.
I don't want to keep harping on Ayton, especially after a loss but we were easily outsized and outmanned at the 5 spot. McGee and Howard don't get that BS off with him taking up space in the paint and bodying them up. And as much as they overwhelmed us starting with McGee and then Howard coming in, we'd do the same with Ayton and then Baynes.
Last edited by ShelC on Wed Nov 13, 2019 9:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Biggest takeaway for me is that we need Book to pick his spots and be assertive. He's a superstar and we need him hitting shots down the stretch. He and Monty have to find the balance for him being more selfish when the team needs a basket. And he needs to stop overthinking the play and make up his mind what he wants to do.
This was my big worry with Monty. I posted about it before his hiring. In N.O. there were serious issues with AD not touching the ball down the stretch in the 4th. Disappearing for 8 minutes at a time and the Pels would lose games by a handful of points. I really hope history isn't repeating itself here.
Thing is, Booker's had the ball. It's not a matter of not running plays for him. He's just indecisive IMO. He'll come off a curl for what looks like an easy jumper but dribbles, dribble hesitates, kinda looks to pass, kinda looks to see if he should put up a floater or go in for the drive. All the while the defense is collapsing and he puts up a bad shot or passes for what is usually a tough shot for a teammate. I'm fine with just clearouts and ISOs for certain possessions but he's gotta have that attack and score mentality no matter what.
I got the impression that Book knew that any Lakers game is an opportunity to showcase. He has already showcased scoring a ton and losing. He wanted to showcase what the media has been praising him for this year, and show he can win in an efficient, selfless manner, while playing some defense. It didn't work, but it was close. A 25 point game with 10 assists on 50% shooting with a win over the Lakers would have helped that cause. He is a missed 3 and an assist away from that, if we could have kept the bigs from wrecking havoc on us last night, allowing Kuzma to beat us.
70 points in the paint did us in. A few bad possessions here and there did us in but in now way were we outplayed, outcoached, outworked. We've been in every game and even the Ls, with the exception of Miami, came down to a handful of plays.
“They were just stronger,” coach Monty Williams said of the Lakers. ” … That was hard to stomach.”
"Too little, too late, too unbothered."
- Phoenix Suns 2023-2024 season motto.
I don't blame Booker for the loss. He could have done more, but he played within the flow of the game. It was really hard to win with essentially no contribution from Oubre. 1 point in a big game is a real dud for him. He's having a good season overall, so I'll assume it was just a one-time off night.
I was really frustrated with our interior defense most of the night, and especially during the stretch in the second half where we let JaVale McGee stroll to the hoop what seemed like 10 straight times. We had good offensive stats in the 3rd quarter but we didn't seem at all interested in stopping the Lakers from getting easy buckets.
But I do think that overall this game reinforces my confidence in this being a good team. We didn't get blown out; we held them close the whole game and were within a few plays of an upset win. That is a stunning turnaround from last year. Nobody can pencil in a W against us ahead of time; we make them earn it. They don't give up when they get down by 8-10 points or have a bad stretch. They pass the ball and have a good flow to the offense. These guys are going to win games this year. I'm proud of this team.
Thank goodness Baynes is okay. That fall looked rough. Somebody needs to tell NBA big men not to take full-steam horizontal jumps. Jump up, not sideways!
Biggest takeaway for me is that we need Book to pick his spots and be assertive. He's a superstar and we need him hitting shots down the stretch. He and Monty have to find the balance for him being more selfish when the team needs a basket. And he needs to stop overthinking the play and make up his mind what he wants to do.
This was my big worry with Monty. I posted about it before his hiring. In N.O. there were serious issues with AD not touching the ball down the stretch in the 4th. Disappearing for 8 minutes at a time and the Pels would lose games by a handful of points. I really hope history isn't repeating itself here.
It was a down to the wire game vs the best team in the NBA with multiple giant athletic PF and C's. I think freaking out about Monty is the last thing to worry about. He's the reason we almost pulled out the win. I'm sure it won't be an issue.
What is smallball? I play basketball. I'm not a regular big man. I can switch from the center to the guards. The game is evolving. I'd be dominAyton if the WNBA would let me in. - Ayton
He’s had games of 11, 14, 15x2, now 1 points. My expectations for him are to be a 20ppg scorer consistently.
I also feel his play has been slowly declining each game. Been missing shots he’d normally make and his defense has been nonexistent. Steals have dropped off entirely. Just feels like he’s been in a funk.
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AmareIsGod wrote:
It was a down to the wire game vs the best team in the NBA with multiple giant athletic PF and C's. I think freaking out about Monty is the last thing to worry about. He's the reason we almost pulled out the win. I'm sure it won't be an issue.
How is that freaking out? I said it was a concern in his previous job that I thought might carry over.
AmareIsGod wrote:
It was a down to the wire game vs the best team in the NBA with multiple giant athletic PF and C's. I think freaking out about Monty is the last thing to worry about. He's the reason we almost pulled out the win. I'm sure it won't be an issue.
How is that freaking out? I said it was a concern in his previous job that I thought might carry over.
I guess it was just the way you phrased it.
This was my big worry with Monty. I posted about it before his hiring. In N.O. there were serious issues with AD not touching the ball down the stretch in the 4th. Disappearing for 8 minutes at a time and the Pels would lose games by a handful of points. I really hope history isn't repeating itself here.
What is smallball? I play basketball. I'm not a regular big man. I can switch from the center to the guards. The game is evolving. I'd be dominAyton if the WNBA would let me in. - Ayton
