Game #12 - LA Lakers @ Houston Rockets, 1/12, 5:00 PM PT

[SashAlex]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Round 2 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

@

Arena -


TV: Spectrum SportsNet
RADIO: ESPN LA 710/KWKW (S)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Your Los Angeles Lakers"<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Frontcourt <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

LeBron James #23 ------------------------------------------------- Anthony Davis #3


>>>>>>>>> Center <<<<<<<<<

--------------- Marc Gasol #14 ---------------


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Backcourt <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Dennis Schroder #17 ------------------------------------------- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1


~~~~~ Key stats ~~~~~

* LeBron James - 24.0 PPG
* Anthony Davis - 8.6 RPG
* LeBron James - 7.7 APG
* Anthony Davis - 1.6 BPG
* Anthony Davis - 1.3 SPG

~~~~~~~~~~ Key Bench & Rotation players ~~~~~~~~~~

> Montrezl Harrell #15
> Alex Caruso #4
> Kyle Kuzma #0
> Markieff Morris #88
> Wesley Matthews #9
> Talen Horton-Tucker #5



********************************************************************

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "The Houston Rockets" <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Backcourt <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

James Harden #13 ------------------------------------------------ John Wall #1


>>>>>>>>> Center <<<<<<<<<

------------ Christian Wood #35 -------------


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Frontcourt <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

P.J. Tucker #17 ----------------------------------------------------- David Nwaba #2


~~~~~ Key Stats ~~~~~

* James Harden - 26.0 PPG
* Christian Wood - 9.7 RPG
* James Harden - 11.0 APG
* Christian Wood - 1.9 BPG
* John Wall - 1.2 SPG

~~~~~~~~~~ Key Bench & Rotation players ~~~~~~~~~~

> Eric Gordon #10
> Ben McLemore #15
> Sterling Brown #0
> Jae'Sean Tate #8
> DeMarcus Cousins #15


Game Plan:

* Engaged AD;
* Caruso on Harden;
* Same defensive approach;
* Offensive motion;


GO LAKERS!

[EArl]

I don't know how I feel about playing the same teams back to back. It almost feels like a mini playoffs series with each team that we play.

[Beethoven]

Watch the rockets blow us out ..totally nullifying our beautiful hot takes we made after the last game.

[BEazy]

I expect Schroder to have a huge game. Same with Montrezl.

[lazybatman]

Interesting analysis

Watch on YouTube

[lazybatman]

Watch the rockets blow us out ..totally nullifying our beautiful hot takes we made after the last game.

Why you so grumpy?

[SashAlex]

I don't know how I feel about playing the same teams back to back. It almost feels like a mini playoffs series with each team that we play.

I remember there were regular seasons when we used to play the same team back to back, one away and one at home.

[Beethoven]

Watch the rockets blow us out ..totally nullifying our beautiful hot takes we made after the last game.

Why you so grumpy?

[Kilroy]

Interesting analysis

Watch on YouTube

Swap KCP for Marc and I think we have out starting lineup for the Playoffs... THT and Caruso are just smothering on the perimeter, and THT is a pretty versatile offensive threat, especially with Marc feeding him.

We're still figuring out how to maximize Marc I think... We're thinking about him like a replacement for Howard instead of the swiss army knife on offense he is. We don't need a passing guard as much with him on the floor, so we can afford to start Caruso and THT with him, and have the confidence that Marc's going to find them in spots where they can score even though they're mostly focused on shutting down the other team.

[ducler]

Read on Twitter

[lazybatman]

Swap KCP for Marc and I think we have out starting lineup for the Playoffs... THT and Caruso are just smothering on the perimeter, and THT is a pretty versatile offensive threat, especially with Marc feeding him.

We're still figuring out how to maximize Marc I think... We're thinking about him like a replacement for Howard instead of the swiss army knife on offense he is. We don't need a passing guard as much with him on the floor, so we can afford to start Caruso and THT with him, and have the confidence that Marc's going to find them in spots where they can score even though they're mostly focused on shutting down the other team.

Aside from the passing, Gasol also does Lebron's most under-rated job - calling live defensive rotations on the floor. I've been totally campaigning for deffering his minutes with Lebron, so we have one on court leader at all times. And letting Gasol run with faster cutters & shooters like Kuz, KCP, THT & Caruso in the bench minutes will only bring good things.

THT is indeed special on ball with his long arms, but he is still learning the defensive rotations, just because he's so young and new to the NBA. The kid's IQ / instincts and general skill (unlike Kuz) is off the charts, so he should get integrated into the system sooner than later. Until then, Ima go with Wes over THT for the clutch, but hopefully not for long.

I suggested these linups at the beginning of the season -

Starters -
Schroeder - Wes / Caruso - Bron - AD - Trez

Bench -
THT - KCP - Caruso / Wes - Kuz - Gasol

Morris - 11th man

Aside from the obvious benefits of Gasol leading the bench minutes -
- Trez will get so much joy playing next to Bron & sometimes Schroeder, and I'm not the least bit worried about size with Bron & AD on the court with him.
- Similar to the Lavert - Nets experiment, THT gets the keys to the Bench kingdom and gets to totally go all out rather than sharing the ball with Bron / Schroeder in his as it is limited minutes.

[tamaraw08]

Interesting analysis

Watch on YouTube

Swap KCP for Marc and I think we have out starting lineup for the Playoffs... THT and Caruso are just smothering on the perimeter, and THT is a pretty versatile offensive threat, especially with Marc feeding him.

We're still figuring out how to maximize Marc I think... We're thinking about him like a replacement for Howard instead of the swiss army knife on offense he is. We don't need a passing guard as much with him on the floor, so we can afford to start Caruso and THT with him, and have the confidence that Marc's going to find them in spots where they can score even though they're mostly focused on shutting down the other team.

That smaller lineup with AD at the 5 is more for a closing lineup IMO, AD hates banging bodies with huge centers like Adams, Jokic, Nurkic, Gobert etc that’s when Marc comes in.

[TJM217]

Lol why did Harden think that was a good idea

[politm]

We're running them out of the building

[lazybatman]

Dayum dude.. Defensive flex much!!!

[lazybatman]

Lol why did Harden think that was a good idea

Was that about the layup blocked by AD?

[EArl]

Rockets are taking a beating.

[lazybatman]

That's just disrespectful..

Read on Twitter

[lazybatman]

Another Gasol eagle eye pass.. phew

[Kilroy]

Sloppy to close the half... I'm still not feeling Schroder as the primary ballhandler... I feel like he's better as a pure scorer.