Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Wed Mar 07, 2018 7:58 am

(20-44)Image at Image(28-35)

Wednesday, March 7, 2018, 7:30 PM PDT
Staples Center • Los Angeles, CA

Referees: Bill Spooner (#22), Courtney Kirkland (#61), Derek Richardson (#63)

Replay Center: Matt Boland, Marat Kogut

Line: Lakers -7

Local TV: Spectrum SportsNet

Image

GAME PREVIEW: MAGIC AT LAKERS


by NBA.com

The Los Angeles Lakers might look similar to the opponent they blew out five weeks ago, but the Orlando Magic shouldn't expect a repeat performance Wednesday night at Staples Center.

The Lakers have gone 9-4 since they lost 127-105 in Orlando on Jan. 31, the second-largest margin of victory for the Magic this season.

A week after that loss, the Lakers traded high-scoring reserve guard Jordan Clarkson and speedy forward Larry Nance Jr. to the Cleveland Cavaliers for two-time All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, veteran forward Channing Frye and a 2018 first-round pick.

But the biggest difference between Los Angeles now and the Lakers at the end of January is the return of rookie point guard Lonzo Ball. He missed half of January and most of February with a knee injury but has played his best basketball since his return.

The highlight came in a 116-112 victory at the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, when he totaled 18 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists.

Orlando (20-44) was also without a key player in its last meeting with the Lakers as leading scorer Aaron Gordon missed the game with a strained left hip flexor. He returned two weeks ago and is averaging 17.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in his past six games.

The Lakers (28-35) will also get their first look at Orlando rookie forward Jonathan Isaac, who returned last weekend after missing two months with a severely sprained ankle. Isaac, the sixth overall draft pick last June, had seen his minutes and production climb at the time of the injury, but has combined for only three points in the three games since his return, missing all seven field goal attempts in the past two.

"I'm not worried about him at all," Orlando coach Frank Vogel said. "He's going to be fine. He knows it's going to take time."

Orlando has had four losing streaks of seven games or longer this season. The Magic ended their second seven-game losing streak by beating the visiting Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies last weekend before losing Monday to the Utah Jazz 94-80 to open this five-game road trip. The Magic shot only 34.1 percent.

The Lakers had a chance to test themselves against the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers on Monday but couldn't protect an 11-point lead with just over five minutes remaining and lost 108-103 to end a five-game winning streak.

Brandon Ingram, who averages 16.2 points for Los Angeles, missed the past two games with a strained groin and will miss at least the next two. Lakers coach Luke Walton doesn't want his team finding excuses down the stretch.

"We can't waste the last 20 games of the season," Walton told reporters after practice Tuesday. "We've got to use these as opportunities to build momentum into the summer. ... Build momentum, get confidence and get better, because it is all part of the journey that we're on to get back to being a playoff and, eventually, a championship team."

Orlando made franchise-record nine 3-pointers in the third quarter and scored 43 points against the Lakers in the last game. Los Angeles remains one of the better 3-point defending teams, however, limiting opponents to 34.8 percent from beyond the arc, fifth-lowest in the NBA.


http://www.nba.com/games/20180307/ORLLAL#/preview
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Wed Mar 07, 2018 12:30 pm

Pencil in the W. The boys should be mad and playing with intensity. Ending the season as close to .500 should be the goal -- which would be a fantastic sign of how far we've come in the last two years.
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Wed Mar 07, 2018 9:47 pm

56-51 Lakers at the Half. I think we will win this one. So far so good. Thomas has made 3 3's so far tonight which has really helped.
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Wed Mar 07, 2018 10:23 pm

Disappointing effort overall tonight. I will say that for some reason, this Magic team seems like a bad matchup for us (although we're without Ingram and Hart).

Tied against this shit team at home with 9 minutes left. You can tell the lackadaisical approach. I don't get it. Let's see if they can wake up!
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Wed Mar 07, 2018 10:26 pm

Just like that, they woke up! 6-0 run led by Kuz! Time to put the metal to the pedal!

UPDATE: Make that an 11-0 run. Lakers 96, Magic 85. 6:09 to go. They don't have Lillard, so great defense should do it.
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Wed Mar 07, 2018 10:56 pm

We didn't deserve that win, but we did deserve to win others that we lost this season so I guess that balances out. It's hard to say that a 108-107 game wasn't a great game, but it wasn't.
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:28 am

KobeMVP888 wrote:We didn't deserve that win, but we did deserve to win others that we lost this season so I guess that balances out. It's hard to say that a 108-107 game wasn't a great game, but it wasn't.


Yeah that was a crazy ending! We have lost a few we really deserved to win so it usually evens out :roflmao: Lopez stepped up to the line like Steph and handled his business. A win is a win. We are now 29-35, that record isn't too terrible actually and at least anymore we are competitive every night.
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Thu Mar 08, 2018 1:13 am

Luke better make them run extra gassers after practice -- giving up 9 point leads at home with less than 2 minutes to go is not acceptable. And if that's the rule on an untouched throw-in that goes out of bounds, then so be it. Good job Brook! As clutch as we need him to be. On to the next.
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Thu Mar 08, 2018 11:32 am

lakerevolution wrote:Luke better make them run extra gassers after practice -- giving up 9 point leads at home with less than 2 minutes to go is not acceptable. And if that's the rule on an untouched throw-in that goes out of bounds, then so be it. Good job Brook! As clutch as we need him to be. On to the next.


Luke needs to use Brook on the block a lot more. He is among the very best low post centers in the NBA. It is a fine balancing act though, mainly because that is where Judge Julius holds Court and there's no question that both players should be starting and playing big minutes. Robert and I both think that if we can get him back on the cheap, the Lakers should try to re-sign Brook Lopez. I'm all about continuity and teamwork and he is an asset that can always be traded if need be. On to Denver! Hopefully Julius will recover from his illness and brutalize Nikola Jokic. I just love the way he goes to the body!
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby Julius Russell » Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:42 pm

Julius wasnt himself...and we won.

With the injuries and youth... i don't expect blowouts to bad teams
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Re: Game 64: 03/07/18 Magic at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Fri Mar 09, 2018 4:57 pm

We're just going to ignore Brook's ZERO REBOUNDS
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