1/25 Game 45: Lakers (24-18) @ Warriors (22-22) ABC 5:30pm PST

[DonaldSanders]

- Nice to see Post have more solid minutes. He's the clear best center, hopefully Steve starts him sooner than later.
- Podz seems to have found his shot again, so that's nice to see
- Gui continues to be a decent rotation player, he needs to continue to get minutes
- That Laker favorable whistle on sneeze 'fouls' continues, with no such reciprocation on the other end. We'd lose regardless, but it's still exhausting to watch the Lakers against any team.

If I still viewed us as pushing for a good playoff spot, I'd be more disappointed in a night like tonight. But I'm happy to see the positives of some of the young guys developing, especially Post. Quinten's wingspan looks nuts out there, and with very little NBA experience he looks comfortable, confident, and someone who can continue to improve.

It's time for the Warriors to ride the NBA evolution -- the best teams have 4, if not 5 shooters out there. Post is the kind of guy we need at C, especially if we want to be playing JK or Dray at PF.

[cdubbz]

cry fest.

For the love of God sit Schroeder. What is kerr thinking.

Kerr continues to play schroeder and tjd, he's essentially pissing on steph.

Schroder plays like he's autistic

[Mac1958]

Lakers are so much bigger at every position.

The league is getting bigger, quickly.

This team needs more size and more shooting. That's a big order.

[Crazy-Canuck]

cry fest.

For the love of God sit Schroeder. What is kerr thinking.

Kerr continues to play schroeder and tjd, he's essentially pissing on steph.

Schroder plays like he's autistic

Aren't you doing the same thing? Yes, you are.

[HiRez]

Lakers are so much bigger at every position.

The league is getting bigger, quickly.

This team needs more size and more shooting. That's a big order.

Well...Post does give you both of those at one position. Still has to prove himself long-term (if Draymond doesn't send him back to the bench) and they'd need more than just Post to counter the league's size, but he could be a good start getting there. He's giving the Warriors some things they haven't had for a long time and seems to have a really great feel for the game for a rookie.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Lakers are so much bigger at every position.

The league is getting bigger, quickly.

This team needs more size and more shooting. That's a big order.

Well...Post does give you both of those at one position. Still has to prove himself long-term (if Draymond doesn't send him back to the bench) and they'd need more than just Post to counter the league's size, but he could be a good start getting there. He's giving the Warriors some things they haven't had for a long time and seems to have a really great feel for the game for a rookie.

Post at C, wiggs at SF, and steph at pg. We aren't at a size disadvantage. And we have shooting.

Dray is dray. He plays as big as any pf in the league regardless of his height. And he's been shooting the ball well.

SG (more than C) is the issue. Heild or podz needs to grab that spot. I'm done with schroeder as a starting sg.

Putting wiggs at sg and jk at sf is another option, but not sure kerr goes back to that.

[Romulus]

Here was the game: start of the second half. Lakers blitz Curry (no surprise) and he passes to TJD -- 3 times. And TJD can do NOTHING with any of those chances. Later he gets fouled and misses BOTH free throws. GET HIM OUT OF HERE. What does he even give you? He has no offensive skills; he's a poor passer; he's a terrible rebounder. At least Looney (rebounding) and Post (shooting) have a skill that helps. Why the freak this guy is starting and playing meaningful minutes is a mystery that only Steve Kerr can answer.

Also, because the Warriors have no shooting or spacing, Curry never gets any shots. He passes to wide open guys who almost always miss. Congrats, Steve Kerr on attempting all those 3s. Your team sucks at it though.

Come on. Go out and improve this roster. Watching this team is like being tortured -- over and over again.

[jozef]

Here was the game: start of the second half. Lakers blitz Curry (no surprise) and he passes to TJD -- 3 times. And TJD can do NOTHING with any of those chances. Later he gets fouled and misses BOTH free throws. GET HIM OUT OF HERE. What does he even give you? He has no offensive skills; he's a poor passer; he's a terrible rebounder. At least Looney (rebounding) and Post (shooting) have a skill that helps. Why the freak this guy is starting and playing meaningful minutes is a mystery that only Steve Kerr can answer.

No.
Look at Lakers: 6-10 Davis 36 mins, 7-0 Hayes 12 mins, 6-9 James 35 mins, 6-8 Vanderbilt 12 mins, 6-7 Finney-Smith 26 mins.
Look at Warrors: 6-9 Jackson-Davis 14 mins, 7-0 Post 23 mins, 6-9 Looney 10 mins, 6-7 Wiggins 35 mins, 6-6 Santos 20 mins.

At Center they played Davis and Hayes versus Jackson-Davis (-2), Post (+2) and Looney (-10): dominating in Anthony Davis minutes (+9) and struggling in Hayes minutes (-8).
At power forward they played James (+11) and Vanderbilt (+6) versus Wiggins and Santos.
I see obvious athleticism advantage in paint area in favor of Lakers. Continue to small forward position Finney-Smith was game-high +20...
Lakers starting guards: 6-4 Christie and 6-5 Reeves.

Under these circumstances we need help 6-9 TJD with a size. He is the only vertical inside threat there. I am deeply disappointed he had not improved his athleticism but still there is no other real vertical option - Looney and Post are limited athletes and inside scorers. No Gafford, no Collins, no Vucevic, etc. whomever Warriors reportedly are interested in.

So GSW either believe in small lineups making enough 3pters OR GOING BIGGER. The latter one would be my choice. To neutralize athleticism disadvantage I would plan this rotation for that game:
PG Curry 34, Podziemski 14
SG Moody 24, Hield 24
SF Santos 20, Payton 20, Wiggins 8
PF Wiggins 28, Jackson-Davis 12, Looney 8
C Jackson-Davis 20, Post 20, Looney 8

As you see, no Schroeder cause if a team is shorter in the frontcourt then you cannot aggravate it in the backcourt too.
My PF/C pairing would be:
PF Wiggins and C Jackson-Davis/Looney
or
PF Jackson-Davis/Looney and C Post
to keep one big shooter and one big banger on the floor.

Btw, the decisive Lakers run from 93-87 to 100-87 happened with Schroeder and Curry at guard positions and Wiggins and Post at PF/C positions.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Here was the game: start of the second half. Lakers blitz Curry (no surprise) and he passes to TJD -- 3 times. And TJD can do NOTHING with any of those chances. Later he gets fouled and misses BOTH free throws. GET HIM OUT OF HERE. What does he even give you? He has no offensive skills; he's a poor passer; he's a terrible rebounder. At least Looney (rebounding) and Post (shooting) have a skill that helps. Why the freak this guy is starting and playing meaningful minutes is a mystery that only Steve Kerr can answer.

Also, because the Warriors have no shooting or spacing, Curry never gets any shots. He passes to wide open guys who almost always miss. Congrats, Steve Kerr on attempting all those 3s. Your team sucks at it though.

Come on. Go out and improve this roster. Watching this team is like being tortured -- over and over again.

You missed the 2 blown defensive rotations that lead to lay ups.

We had all the momentum going into the 3rd due to that wiggins 3 to close the 1h. But all of it evaporated in that 2 minute stretch by tjd where he was involved in every play on other sides of the ball.

Absolute killer momentum swing.

[Jester_]

START POST

[jozef]

You missed the 2 blown defensive rotations that lead to lay ups.
We had all the momentum going into the 3rd due to that wiggins 3 to close the 1h. But all of it evaporated in that 2 minute stretch by tjd where he was involved in every play on other sides of the ball.
Absolute killer momentum swing.

What blown defensive rotations??? Never happened.

[Onus]

START POST

Post needs to take all of tjds minutes.

[HiRez]

Starting Post for a while seems like a no-brainer at this point, what do they have to lose?