Lakers vs Golden State Warriors, Game #35, 2/28, 7:00 PM PT

[ducler]

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[Mamba Mentality]

Don’t know how to act with this fast start. Like how we’re defending though, threw quick doubles at Dame in the second half a couple nights ago, and doing the same with Curry.

[Mamba Mentality]

Lebron playing defense is scary. Scoreboard shows the impact.

[bb22]

Kuz still looks very uncomfortable out there with no evident role.

[kblo247]

Kuz still looks very uncomfortable out there with no evident role.

His evident role is do whatever the team lacks. They want scoring he gets you double digits. You want rebounds he gets you that at a rate better than anyone not named Bron. You want defense well he is in the 90th percentile as an iso defender this season. He’s literally a guy you put out there and he just produces what the holes are that night.

[Beethoven]

Nice rare win.
That block by Jones reminiscent of when we had Dwight.

Always win when the other team is missing a key player or big. No nurkic. No draymond.

Can we ever beat a good team at full strength?

[BEazy]

Only 5 post for a Sunday game? Yeesh...I think this board is officially dead.

[Kilroy]

Nice rare win.
That block by Jones reminiscent of when we had Dwight.

Always win when the other team is missing a key player or big. No nurkic. No draymond.

Can we ever beat a good team at full strength?

Me before reading this post...

Me after reading this post...

[Beethoven]

[Spanish_Laker]

Nice rare win.
That block by Jones reminiscent of when we had Dwight.

Always win when the other team is missing a key player or big. No nurkic. No draymond.

Can we ever beat a good team at full strength?

That's what the other teams that beat us 4 times in a row could also say.

Nice way to revenge that earlier loss vs Warriors with a massive blowout win and resting LeBron in the 2nd half.

[Hans1984]

A good game by the team from start to finish. Haven't seen that in a while. Let's hope it stays that way.

[Freighttrain]

I liked how we finally played with a little defensive intensity. That combined with decent 3 point shooting makes us lethal. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a streak.

[tamaraw08]

Kuz still looks very uncomfortable out there with no evident role.

His evident role is do whatever the team lacks. They want scoring he gets you double digits. You want rebounds he gets you that at a rate better than anyone not named Bron. You want defense well he is in the 90th percentile as an iso defender this season. He’s literally a guy you put out there and he just produces what the holes are that night.

I agree. Kuzma has been giving that great energy, grabbing offensive rebs for extra possessions, chasing and blocking shots, making the right play as in not forcing shots, passing to the open shooter etc. Some fans here just look at the box score and say, oh, he didn't score much so I think he's lost again. Having said that, I just wish he can drive and penetrate more when the lanes are open, his runners and running hooks are pretty good IMO.

[kblo247]

Kuz still looks very uncomfortable out there with no evident role.

His evident role is do whatever the team lacks. They want scoring he gets you double digits. You want rebounds he gets you that at a rate better than anyone not named Bron. You want defense well he is in the 90th percentile as an iso defender this season. He’s literally a guy you put out there and he just produces what the holes are that night.

I agree. Kuzma has been giving that great energy, grabbing offensive rebs for extra possessions, chasing and blocking shots, making the right play as in not forcing shots, passing to the open shooter etc. Some fans here just look at the box score and say, oh, he didn't score much so I think he's lost again. Having said that, I just wish he can drive and penetrate more when the lanes are open, his runners and running hooks are pretty good IMO.

I really do think people here wouldn’t like Rick Fox if he played in modern times. That’s essentially the closest Laker comparison. Fox was a 17 point guy, a starter. He lost the starting role and struggled but he earned his time back. He became a guy who did whatever Kobe and Shaq needed to win on a given night. People were like but Rice us better (Ingram) yet ignore that guy never would fully click with the two big dogs because he lacked intangibles and wasn’t willing to sacrifice (never played with anyone as talented as Zion my ass). Kuz got the money, has the fame, likes his situation, and just is a winning player now

[tamaraw08]

His evident role is do whatever the team lacks. They want scoring he gets you double digits. You want rebounds he gets you that at a rate better than anyone not named Bron. You want defense well he is in the 90th percentile as an iso defender this season. He’s literally a guy you put out there and he just produces what the holes are that night.

I agree. Kuzma has been giving that great energy, grabbing offensive rebs for extra possessions, chasing and blocking shots, making the right play as in not forcing shots, passing to the open shooter etc. Some fans here just look at the box score and say, oh, he didn't score much so I think he's lost again. Having said that, I just wish he can drive and penetrate more when the lanes are open, his runners and running hooks are pretty good IMO.

I really do think people here wouldn’t like Rick Fox if he played in modern times. That’s essentially the closest Laker comparison. Fox was a 17 point guy, a starter. He lost the starting role and struggled but he earned his time back. He became a guy who did whatever Kobe and Shaq needed to win on a given night. People were like but Rice us better (Ingram) yet ignore that guy never would fully click with the two big dogs because he lacked intangibles and wasn’t willing to sacrifice (never played with anyone as talented as Zion my ass). Kuz got the money, has the fame, likes his situation, and just is a winning player now

I would be lying if I say I fully appreciated Fox's value esp when he replaced Rice as a starter but like many fans here, I used to just focus on points scored/game. He is more physical than Kuzma but I'm not sure if he would be as good right now esp with how refs now are protecting shooters but I digress.
But you mentioned the "2 big Dog" system which worked and still works with most great teams. From Phil's Bulls and Lakers. Riley with Bron and Wade etc. Kareem was aging when Worthy became a great scorer so did Duncan with Manu. We saw how Bosh then Love struggled as the supposedly the 3rd scorer... Schroder seems to be ok but AD has taken less shots for that to happened...

[kblo247]

I agree. Kuzma has been giving that great energy, grabbing offensive rebs for extra possessions, chasing and blocking shots, making the right play as in not forcing shots, passing to the open shooter etc. Some fans here just look at the box score and say, oh, he didn't score much so I think he's lost again. Having said that, I just wish he can drive and penetrate more when the lanes are open, his runners and running hooks are pretty good IMO.

I really do think people here wouldn’t like Rick Fox if he played in modern times. That’s essentially the closest Laker comparison. Fox was a 17 point guy, a starter. He lost the starting role and struggled but he earned his time back. He became a guy who did whatever Kobe and Shaq needed to win on a given night. People were like but Rice us better (Ingram) yet ignore that guy never would fully click with the two big dogs because he lacked intangibles and wasn’t willing to sacrifice (never played with anyone as talented as Zion my ass). Kuz got the money, has the fame, likes his situation, and just is a winning player now

I would be lying if I say I fully appreciated Fox's value esp when he replaced Rice as a starter but like many fans here, I used to just focus on points scored/game. He is more physical than Kuzma but I'm not sure if he would be as good right now esp with how refs now are protecting shooters but I digress.
But you mentioned the "2 big Dog" system which worked and still works with most great teams. From Phil's Bulls and Lakers. Riley with Bron and Wade etc. Kareem was aging when Worthy became a great scorer so did Duncan with Manu. We saw how Bosh then Love struggled as the supposedly the 3rd scorer... Schroder seems to be ok but AD has taken less shots for that to happened...

Just some Foxy love.

In Game Seven of the 2002 Western Conference Finals against the Kings, he had 13 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists.

This Adleman talking about Fox defending Peja in 2001 and why Peja was struggling: "If he goes backdoor, Fox extends an arm to prevent the pass. If he spots up in the corners, Fox is there again, in his face, arm in the air. If he tries his rocker step from the wings, Fox moves with him, never missing a beat."

Phil in the last season called him "a smart player who never made a boneheaded play and always played within himself" and said that was why he had no hesitation about him replacing Rice

I mean he just understood how to play and how to do what the stars needed. Fisher and Horry also knew it. They could have people more talented than them and generally get over looked, but they knew how to play and win in a the trenches with Kobe and Shaq.

Go back and look at those 3 and you will be like well Nick and eddie didn't fight like them when they backs were on the wall.

I mean just the other day I saw the 03 Minny series on youtube. We all remember Troy Hudson tearing Fish up. What we don't remember is in that series Fisher averaged 16ppg, shot 52% from the field, shot 59.7% from three, with 2 steals a night at 36 mins a night. Even versus the Spurs he shot a 54/56/83 split that series. Heck Fish when we swept the nets was 13 ppg on a 52/67 split and the 67 was from three lol. Go back to 01 and did you know Derek Fisher averaged 21 ppg in the close out games of those playoffs? Heck skip to the last title in 10, did you know that only two Lakers did not see their averages dip on the road, and actually had their numbers go up, not Pau or Odom or Bynum, but Fisher and Kobe scored more, rebounded more, assisted more on the road with thousands booing them.

My rambling is basically Kuzma, AC, Kieff, and KCP are becoming their Fisher, Fox, Horry, and Shaw who are going to be there for AD, Bron and Vogel

[Kilroy]

His evident role is do whatever the team lacks. They want scoring he gets you double digits. You want rebounds he gets you that at a rate better than anyone not named Bron. You want defense well he is in the 90th percentile as an iso defender this season. He’s literally a guy you put out there and he just produces what the holes are that night.

I agree. Kuzma has been giving that great energy, grabbing offensive rebs for extra possessions, chasing and blocking shots, making the right play as in not forcing shots, passing to the open shooter etc. Some fans here just look at the box score and say, oh, he didn't score much so I think he's lost again. Having said that, I just wish he can drive and penetrate more when the lanes are open, his runners and running hooks are pretty good IMO.

I really do think people here wouldn’t like Rick Fox if he played in modern times. That’s essentially the closest Laker comparison. Fox was a 17 point guy, a starter. He lost the starting role and struggled but he earned his time back. He became a guy who did whatever Kobe and Shaq needed to win on a given night. People were like but Rice us better (Ingram) yet ignore that guy never would fully click with the two big dogs because he lacked intangibles and wasn’t willing to sacrifice (never played with anyone as talented as Zion my ass). Kuz got the money, has the fame, likes his situation, and just is a winning player now

Oh, Rick Fox was a Billionaire's Kuzma though... He was a fundamentally solid, elite defender, as well as a consistent scoring threat... In fact, for a lot of us, he's everything we wish Kuzma could be, and are frustrated because he just can't seem to string a group of good games together...
Kuzma isn't consistent... He's all over the place with his contributions, to the point, you can't as a fan, count on him... That's basically the direct opposite of Rick Fox... Fox could come in in just about any situation and give you exactly what he was supposed to, and was a killer in the playoffs.

I get the similarities, but I think comparing Kuz to Fox gives Kuz a hell of a lot of credit he hasn't earned yet.

[kblo247]

I agree. Kuzma has been giving that great energy, grabbing offensive rebs for extra possessions, chasing and blocking shots, making the right play as in not forcing shots, passing to the open shooter etc. Some fans here just look at the box score and say, oh, he didn't score much so I think he's lost again. Having said that, I just wish he can drive and penetrate more when the lanes are open, his runners and running hooks are pretty good IMO.

I really do think people here wouldn’t like Rick Fox if he played in modern times. That’s essentially the closest Laker comparison. Fox was a 17 point guy, a starter. He lost the starting role and struggled but he earned his time back. He became a guy who did whatever Kobe and Shaq needed to win on a given night. People were like but Rice us better (Ingram) yet ignore that guy never would fully click with the two big dogs because he lacked intangibles and wasn’t willing to sacrifice (never played with anyone as talented as Zion my ass). Kuz got the money, has the fame, likes his situation, and just is a winning player now

Oh, Rick Fox was a Billionaire's Kuzma though... He was a fundamentally solid, elite defender, as well as a consistent scoring threat... In fact, for a lot of us, he's everything we wish Kuzma could be, and are frustrated because he just can't seem to string a group of good games together...
Kuzma isn't consistent... He's all over the place with his contributions, to the point, you can't as a fan, count on him... That's basically the direct opposite of Rick Fox... Fox could come in in just about any situation and give you exactly what he was supposed to, and was a killer in the playoffs.

I get the similarities, but I think comparing Kuz to Fox gives Kuz a hell of a lot of credit he hasn't earned yet.

I agree he is not refined like Rick yet. That is just who I see him developing into. Fox was older when took that role. He was a player with his stock on the rise in Boston. Then he came to LA and was a starter and excelled. Then Rice came and so did title expectations and he was benched. He really had an adjustment period in year one under Phil, but so did Fish and Horry, which a lot of people called regression at the time. Then Rick just got it and it worked out great in 01.

I am hopeful that with Kuz it all keeps coming together and he grows more and more into his role. We have seen some stuff we would have never seen from him before. Like the minny game, he was hot as fire, and he just stopped shooting to get others the ball. He has been rebounding and working hard. He is a good by the numbers defender in iso situations. And he made no stink about being benched for Kieff, in fact he did not even come out chucking to prove a point. I see growth from him this year.

I also like the Fox thing because to me I know he has aspirations outside basketball and I think he can be a tv actor, sports talk show, hot wife kind of guy in LA for years long as he keeps focus like it is now and accepts that while he is not an all star, he can be a star in his role and be beloved, make good money, and win.

Could you imagine before this year a situation where you would say Kuzma is ... 5th in shots but also 4th in 3pt percentage, 2nd in rebounds, and 3rd in blocks?