A few points from the Lakers game

I argued with some of you about the CP-Rondo fight. Let’s bury that hatchet and get back to basketball. Here are some observations from the Lakers game.

Main improvement:

Much better effort to contest 3’s. Gold stars to Green, Capela, and (checks notes in disbelief) Melo. The biggest damage we took from the arc were the shots we deliberately let them take, mainly Lonzo’s. Sometimes a bad shooter gets hot. But in the long term, what we’re doing will allow us to cut down the woeful number of points we’re conceding.

Continuing problems:

1. The boxing out remains almost nonexistent. Ennis is the only guy making a serious effort. On one particularly atrocious defensive possession, four of our guys collapsed toward the basket and allowed an opponent (Kuzma, I think) to come in behind them and nearly grab the rebound. There is no reason why four professional basketball players can’t spare one of them to box out a single opponent. Especially since the Rockets player who was directly in that opponent’s path, and should have done the job, was Chris Paul.

2. Defensively, we’re still getting beaten to the basket with speed, both in the half court and in transition. This and the needless offensive rebounds we’re giving up are the main reasons why we’re conceding so many points.

3. Our defensive focus was slightly better than in the Pelicans game, but still awful much of the time. Again and again, our guys ball-watched as the players they were supposed to guard cut to the basket to catch and finish. Harden remains the worst at this. I was glad to see CP get on his case about it. But CP and Ennis also blew assignments.

New problems:

1. Inattention while holding the ball. CP, Capela, and I forget who else lost the ball to steals. This is mental. Wake up.

2. Harden throwing the ball away on crazy passes, sometimes full court. Either he’s in love with this idea regardless of the risks, or he has bad court vision at that distance. Either way, stop it.

Individual players:

PJ: What can you say, an unbelievable stud. Stood up LBJ on several possessions. Also kept up with guards, forced Hart to miss that layup near the end.

Green: working his tail off. Contesting shots, hustling for steals and rebounds. That, combined with his shooting, is earning more PT.

Capela: His performance in Game 2 confirmed that his troubles in Game 1 were just about playing against AD. Capela continues to coordinate nicely with CP and Harden, basically making their arms 10 to 30 feet longer. And his defense on guards is so consistently agile that we’ve come to take it for granted. We shouldn’t.

Melo: I was not a fan, so I’m pleasantly surprised by how he’s playing. His defense on guards has been passable: switching, covering cuts to the basket, and forcing a turnover while defending the ball. He’s working the boards harder than Ryno did, and he’s even getting around screens to contest 3’s. Also I’m enjoying Melo’s passing game. P&R with Capela! Love it.

Ennis: The pattern so far is that he’s tight early in games, but then his shot—Houston’s answer to the question, “Is there an uglier shooting form than Lonzo’s?”—loosens up and he starts hitting. Solid defense, and he’s hustling for loose balls and rebounds, more effectively than Ariza did. Lacks Ariza’s maturity and defensive leadership, but at least twice, I saw him directing traffic and assignments in defense, once in transition and once in the half court. One key to the season is whether he can do more of this.

MCW: Looks like he’s trying to figure out how to use his quickness to defend bigger guys in the post. Good for him. Got called for a reach-in as he tried to poke the ball away. He’ll have to improve that if he wants to keep his PT.

 

I promise not to post an analysis after every game! I'm just ticked off that the stupid fight got us talking about that instead of what we can do to regain control of our season.

 

The only thing I have in my notes is great defense. The standout play was where he gave ground on a drive and stripped the ball. He looks so chunky that sometimes I forget how quick he is. Also solid at defending bigs.

The challenge for EG will be stepping into more minutes and a bigger role when CP is injured or (cough) suspended. To be a playmaker, he needs better court vision. Or we'll have to bring in MCW to do that, and pay the price in shooting percentage.