27 replies to this topic

[leor_77]

I like the guy's match-ups. Against the Pacers, we clearly lost because Gasol was way too slow cutting off the guy on the pick and roll, who flipped it over DH, for the win.

Now, he is leaving Pau in on offense late in games, but is making the necessary adjustments, by taking him out, in key defensive situations. We went with various defensive, and quickness-minded rotations at the end of game with either Nash, Kobe, MWP and Morris, or Nash, Kobe, Morris and Meeks when MWP fouled out. You could see that the combinations worked because JR only got off a well-contested shot by Morris, and there were a bunch of plays where they fumbled the ball, turned it over, etc. I believe that one of the only points they got was off of that turnover by Kobe at the end.

Nice to see MDA with legitimately good end-of-game coaching.

[K0be10-11]

I like how he puts Nash on shooters like Novak.

[TKainZero]

I like how he puts Nash on shooters like Novak.

that was a great move

Dantonie has been coaching well.
Still strange coaching calls all over, but, as long as in results in wins, he is doing fine.

Managment needs to get him another wing and a guard player ASAP though...
Morris or Duhon at SG needs to stop,

[K0be10-11]

Honestly, we need a small trade. No way we are winning the ring with Morris playing the Starting 2. I think Lakers should trade for a solid 3 that can play D and shoot the long ball. Then let Kobe play the 2 again and we back in business.

[Majesty]

Honestly, we need a small trade. No way we are winning the ring with Morris playing the Starting 2. I think Lakers should trade for a solid 3 that can play D and shoot the long ball. Then let Kobe play the 2 again and we back in business.

I don't worry about Morris at our 2 position as much as I worry about how different in terms of efficiency the offense gets when Duhon comes in.

The back screens fade, the decision making turns down 10 notches and the pace of the game slows down to a snails crawl.

I don't like that at all really. I don't mind Morris picking up early fouls because we all pretty much called that when he was put into the position.

My bigger worries are this, when Duhon comes in to a close game, and when Meeks is having a cold night.

[leor_77]

Lately, Duhon has been struggling, but if we can get from him what we used to get (i.e. 8 assists, make an occasional three or two of them) then that's all we really need. Our back-up PG spot is going to be so key...At this age, you have to make sure you don't put all of your eggs in the Nash basket. Hopefully, with Duhon, Blake and Morris, you can get at least one to flourish under Nash (i.e. like how Dragic learned from him).

Edited by leor_77, December 25, 2012 - 08:44 PM.

[Majesty]

Lately, Duhon has been struggling, but if we can get from him what we used to get (i.e. 8 assists, make an occasional three or two of them) then that's all we really need. Our back-up PG spot is going to be so key...At this age, you have to make sure you don't put all of your eggs in the Nash basket. Hopefully, with Duhon, Blake and Morris, you can get at least one to flourish under Nash (i.e. like how Dragic learned from him).

Well I'm not worried about Blake as opposed to how long it would take him to get in shape. D'antoni's system is basically made for a point guard like him. I'd be worried about chemistry in that aspect but I expect him to play the backup better than Duhon has lately.

Even so, Duhon hasn't just been bad offensively really, but his defense has seemed to be slipping. Defense and three point shooting was his thing, even as far back as last year. His three point shooting seems there still but the defense has been REALLY bad as of late.

[KobeBeef24]

Honestly, we need a small trade. No way we are winning the ring with Morris playing the Starting 2. I think Lakers should trade for a solid 3 that can play D and shoot the long ball. Then let Kobe play the 2 again and we back in business.

Wishful thinking on my part, but if we were able to land either Omri Casspi, Martell Webster, Tayshaun Prince, or C.J. Miles, that'd be pretty awesome.

[steven v]

Starting Morris isn't a good idea IMO.


I like the guys effort on defense but he is an offensive liability and too turnover prone.



I can see this kid growing into the next thabo seffalosha.

[Carpe Diem]

Steve Blake would fix some things

[L.A.K.E.R]

We can't keep Morris at the starting 2, his defense isn't nearly good enough to make up for his complete lack of an offensive production. He's no defensive specialist, not even close. A small trade for a serviceable SG or SF and we'll be even better.

[Ham]

Tony Allen anyone?

[MrKnowItAll]

Tony Allen anyone?

I wish but there's no one we could give them

[KobeBeef24]

I wish but there's no one we could give them

Plus I don't think any contending teams in our conference would help us out.

[Cj2008nw]

Starting Morris isn't a good idea IMO.


I like the guys effort on defense but he is an offensive liability and too turnover prone.



I can see this kid growing into the next thabo seffalosha.

Plays nothing like Thabo and is a better shooter than thabo and Sefalosha is a wwaaaaaayyy better defender than morris

[Cj2008nw]

We can't keep Morris at the starting 2, his defense isn't nearly good enough to make up for his complete lack of an offensive production. He's no defensive specialist, not even close. A small trade for a serviceable SG or SF and we'll be even better.

How is he a offensive Liability when the game before this he had 6 points in 6 minutes.... I don't understand your logic and he is still a good 3 point shooter and on offense Nash is the primary ball handler..... while Morris guards the quick PGs.... this is our best possible lineup to be honest... because MWP sixth man role right now is doing wonders for us

[Cj2008nw]

Steve Blake would fix some things

LOL no he won't!!!! what did he fix when he was starting?

[Majesty]

LOL no he won't!!!! what did he fix when he was starting?

it's funny to me with how much credit you give Morris to the point you won't admit he can be an offensive liability but you neglect any and everything Blake does scoring the ball that probably makes him a more dependable "scorer" than Morris in terms of consistency. As he scored between 6-8 and only scores less once I believe. And he didn't get many games before hurting his abdomen. However I'm willing to bet he understands the system at PG better than Morris does and also having followed Blake, he'll play this offense better than Duhon will. The main issue will be his conditioning and timing when and if he comes back.

If Morris was scoring 6-8 off the bench I'm sure you'd use that as a reason he's a great fit offensively. Yet when Blake has put up similar or better scoring numbers off the bench you probably still talked down to him.

So if Blake comes back and plays as well in D'antoni's system as I think he will. Then it will be between him and Duhon for minutes. D'antoni obviously sees Morris as more of a 2 than a 1 anyway at this point, so you shouldn't worry about Blake stealing Morris' "spot" D'antoni doesn't seem to see him as a 1 anyway or doesn't want to use him that way over Duhon.

Edited by Majesty, December 26, 2012 - 12:37 AM.

[L.A.K.E.R]

How is he a offensive Liability when the game before this he had 6 points in 6 minutes.... I don't understand your logic and he is still a good 3 point shooter and on offense Nash is the primary ball handler..... while Morris guards the quick PGs.... this is our best possible lineup to be honest... because MWP sixth man role right now is doing wonders for us

You really don't understand the game at all if you're asking that question. Can Morris create for himself or others off the dribble? Can he drive and finish at the rim? Can he spot up and make the opposition pay as a floor spacer on a consistent basis? The answer to all three is a resounding NO. Darius Morris is not a good offensive player, he's a below average NBA player. But he's young and athletic, so he's probably a legit NBA starter in your book. Effort =/= effectiveness, and he definitely isn't effective for us offensively unless he's wide open with no one within 8 feet of him (because they'll give him jumpers from 20+ feet out all night long) or if it's in transition on the break.

Guess where all 6 of those points against Golden State came from? A lay-up in transition off a steal, a lay-up when the Warriors completely fell asleep on defense, and a lay-up where he ran the floor in transition and attacked the Warriors defense. He is not effective in a halfcourt set (which we're going to be running frequently with our personnel), thus he's an offensive liability for us.

Good 3-point shooter? Based off what exactly, that he knocks down shots when there is no one playing a hint of defense? Get real. He is not a good shooter. That would be referring to Jodie Meeks. Looking at Morris' percentages on the season don't tell the whole story, especially when he's being spoon fed with the defense giving him all the space in the world. Hell, if he's not in that left-hand corner, he's almost useless from beyond the arc. If he were a good shooter, then he wouldn't be seeing so little defensive coverage off the ball.

Morris doesn't deserve to start. He's not good enough to be a starter in this league, he's not a good enough defensive player to handle starting caliber SGs or PGs on most teams, and he's a liability on the offensive end for the most part. We're basically hiding a weak link and soaking up minutes by putting him on the floor with our 4 best players until we plug MWP into the game. The only reason for Kobe's move to SF is due to the massive hole we had at backup SF this entire time. Shifting him to that position and keeping Morris as a token starter at SG eliminates our production issue from the SF position. That's it.

Sure, it works for now, but I'd much rather have a player that can actually be a contributor for us on a nightly basis in the starting lineup. You'll see Morris yanked out early and often in games because he'll usually be taken advantage of by starting caliber players. It doesn't really add anything to our team thrusting him in as a starter, it's just a minutes stopgap.

[Cj2008nw]

it's funny to me with how much credit you give Morris to the point you won't admit he can be an offensive liability but you neglect any and everything Blake does scoring the ball that probably makes him a more dependable "scorer" than Morris in terms of consistency. As he scored between 6-8 and only scores less once I believe. And he didn't get many games before hurting his abdomen. However I'm willing to bet he understands the system at PG better than Morris does and also having followed Blake, he'll play this offense better than Duhon will. The main issue will be his conditioning and timing when and if he comes back.

If Morris was scoring 6-8 off the bench I'm sure you'd use that as a reason he's a great fit offensively. Yet when Blake has put up similar or better scoring numbers off the bench you probably still talked down to him.

So if Blake comes back and plays as well in D'antoni's system as I think he will. Then it will be between him and Duhon for minutes. D'antoni obviously sees Morris as more of a 2 than a 1 anyway at this point, so you shouldn't worry about Blake stealing Morris' "spot" D'antoni doesn't seem to see him as a 1 anyway or doesn't want to use him that way over Duhon.

Idk how many games Blake played for 40 minutes and and scored between 2 or 5 points the guy is garbage period and doesn't play any defense....