Ok - I thought I was over the SL loss to Lakers. But I m not.
Every time I see all the press Lonzo Ball is getting I think what it would have meant for Nets young guys confidence amd culture to get that win. What it would have also meant for their development to have at least one amd possibly two more games of SL playoffs under their belt
I could not be a bigger Atkinson fan but if his substitutions continue to trend more towards play by the numbers - player development focus rather than focusing on bigger picture of establishing a winning culture -- and responding to and controlling momentum changes in a game -- at least sometimes I am going to blow a gasket this season
The third quarter was where the Nets lost their lead and their composure and they could get neither back after that
How many minutes did the Nets starters play together in third quarter? 2 1/2 minutes because Whitehead who was playing fine, was subbed out for Archie and he did not return for the rest of the quarter. While Lakers ran with their strongest players for most of quarter
To give a contrast between the Lakers approach to player development in this game (to win) and the Nets (to give max number of players some playing time) consider this:
The Lakers top five performing players each played over 26 minutes - - with their two best ((Lonzo and Blue) playing 34 and 35 minutes . Then they had two player at about 15 minutes and a couple around 6 minutes. So essentially 7 man rotation plus 2 players with minor minutes
The Nets -- top five players essentially each played about five minutes less than the Lakers top five players. And the fifth player Archie was given 21 minutes -- including 7 1/2 crucial 3rd quarter minutes when Nets saw 9 point lead change -- even though he was not playing well. By contrast the Lakers limited Zubacs minutes to 15 when they saw he was not playing well. Even though he is one of their key cogs.
The Nets played 11 players total and gave significant playing time to 9 players. Including putting in a very raw Jacob Riley at four minutes left in 3rd quarter when Nets still had 4 point lead.
At that point we had Dinwiddie Archie Riley Murphy LeVert against
Lonzo. Blue, Thomas Caruso. Wear - - with all but Wear being among their top five performers
A minute later we subbed in Milton Doyle for LeVert
So essentially Lonzo amd three of their best players against Dinwiddie and a bunch of really raw talent at end of SL bench
Two minutes later Lonzo is subbed out after playing 9 straight minutes amd with Lakers ahead by 3 -- after an 11 point lead change