Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:29 am

(49-30) JAZZ AT LAKERS (36-44)

Sunday, April 7, 2019, 6:30 PM PDT
Staples Center • Los Angeles, CA

Referees: Ken Mauer (#41), Tony Brown (#6), Leon Wood (#40)

Replay Center: Bennie Adams, Rodney Mott, Natalie Sago, CJ Washington

Line: Jazz -11.5

National TV: NBA TV Local TV: Spectrum SportsNet

Image

GAME PREVIEW: JAZZ AT LAKERS


by NBA.com

The Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers will head in opposite directions next week.

The Jazz will enter the playoffs for the third season in a row, while the Lakers will start their vacations early for a sixth straight year.

Both teams have developed something in common, however.

Because of injuries, both slight and severe, the Jazz and Lakers will continue to be severely short-handed when they meet in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The lack of healthy bodies has opened the door for both organizations to take longer looks at end-of-the-bench players in these final games of the regular season, and both clubs have witnessed some surprisingly good performances.

Utah rookie shooting guard Grayson Allen has recorded his season-high point total in each of the past two games, helping the Jazz win four straight and stay in the hunt for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.

Allen, the 21st overall pick out of Duke last June, scored 23 points in a 119-98 win on Friday against the visiting Sacramento Kings, two nights after he scored 14 in a 118-97 win at the Phoenix Suns.

"This is just the beginning," Utah teammate Donovan Mitchell said of Allen. "You see the way he's creating, the way he's poised. I think there's a lot more. The biggest thing we all see is his competitiveness on the defensive end. ... I think he takes pride in that."

The Lakers received an eye-opening performance from shooting guard Alex Caruso in a 122-117 win against the playoff-bound Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Caruso had a career-high 32 points, shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range, and the undrafted 25-year-old out of Texas A&M grabbed 10 rebounds.

Caruso has taken advantage of a depleted Los Angeles roster as well.

The Lakers (36-44) have been without their top three scorers in the past four games. LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, as well as starting point guard Lonzo Ball, have been shut down for the season.

Caruso is averaging 19.8 points and six assists in the past four games.

"The more time he plays, the more he shows what he can do," Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters. "The more he makes the case for himself, he lets the whole NBA see what we've seen, and the growth that he's had as a player the last couple years."

The Lakers are also taking a long look at undrafted rookie Jemerrio Jones, an undersized 6-5 forward who grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench against the Clippers and helped limit their leading scorer, shooting guard Lou Williams, to 4-for-12 shooting.

"I'm searching the bench for guys who will get out there and play," Walton said. "(Jones) does that every time he steps on the court."

The Jazz (49-30) are one game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for fourth place in the West with three games left for each. Utah owns the tiebreaker, but faces a tough sprint to the finish with injuries to Dante Exum (knee surgery), Derrick Favors (back spasms), Kyle Korver (right knee soreness), Jae Crowder (quadriceps), Raul Neto (ankle), and Ricky Rubio (quadriceps).

Rubio returned against Sacramento after missing a game with hamstring soreness, but he played just five minutes before leaving with a quadriceps injury.

If the Jazz continue to be short-handed, confidence is growing that Allen can fill some of the void.

"I feel like he's giving effort defensively and working," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "He's made that important. I like seeing him compete, and that's what he's been doing, and when you're a good player and you do those things, good things happen."


https://www.nba.com/games/20190407/UTALAL#/preview
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Re: Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Sun Apr 07, 2019 3:43 pm

I thought we hit rock-bottom a couple seasons ago. This is a new kind of post-season-less hell we're dealing with, and the NBA offseason is a long one. Perhaps Magic will dazzle us with his "Phase 2" acquisition plan, and LeBron will have that co-star he needs to get us into serious contention. Don't get me wrong -- I love the diversity and parity the NBA has produced in the post-Kobe era . . but nobody likes to see the Lakers suck, despite all of the haters.
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Re: Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Sun Apr 07, 2019 5:43 pm

lakerevolution wrote:I thought we hit rock-bottom a couple seasons ago. This is a new kind of post-season-less hell we're dealing with, and the NBA offseason is a long one. Perhaps Magic will dazzle us with his "Phase 2" acquisition plan, and LeBron will have that co-star he needs to get us into serious contention. Don't get me wrong -- I love the diversity and parity the NBA has produced in the post-Kobe era . . but nobody likes to see the Lakers suck, despite all of the haters.


I have been a Lakers fan since 1977, even before Magic. I loved Kareem before Magic. I have to think but this may be the most disappointing season in my fandom history. I fully expected with LeBron we would make the playoffs and win a playoff series.
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Re: Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:41 pm

No Rajon, No Lance, no Tyson?
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Re: Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:48 pm

I know these are not the real Jazz, but the guys look nice.
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Re: Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:54 pm

Dodgers' Cody Bellinger just UNLOADED a shot to the upper deck, 428 feet . . Dodgers killing the Rockies 12-5.

And oh yeah Lakers win :bart:
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Re: Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Mon Apr 08, 2019 7:42 am

Wow. We won. I saw most of the first half and some of the third quarter, but when we got behind by 10, I watched something else with my wife. This Jemerrio Jones kid is a bizarre player, like a mini-Rodman. Anyway, I'm glad they are playing their asses off and giving the fans their money's worth.
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Re: Game 81: 04/07/19 Jazz at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Mon Apr 08, 2019 9:01 am

KobeMVP888 wrote:Wow. We won. I saw most of the first half and some of the third quarter, but when we got behind by 10, I watched something else with my wife. This Jemerrio Jones kid is a bizarre player, like a mini-Rodman. Anyway, I'm glad they are playing their asses off and giving the fans their money's worth.


Yeah, they got down 10 but immediately survived it and erased it. KCP put the team on his back down the stretch, McGee was going off and Caruso was getting all the buckets -- they really looked like they were having fun and the bench mob of LeBron, Lance, Rajon and others were hyping them up. A meaningless silver lining, but a good look internally nonetheless.
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