Raiders Outlast Titans in a Rainy Road Game

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' matchup vs. the Tennessee Titans where the Raiders get back on track with a 24-21 victory over the Titans on the road in what was a very wet, rainy game in Nashville.

No more 4-12 or 3-13 finishes at least. But finally, the Raiders get that elusive win against a team they were favored to beat this season. The Raiders were favored the last two games and they couldn't capitalize and we're thinking that Vegas Oddsmakers need to go back to betting against the Raiders. This is at least a way to get the monkey off the back and eclipse our win total from the past 4 seasons. Yes, they're still alive in the playoff hunt, but I'm just going to keep my mouth shut about playoffs and just be glad that the Raiders got a win.

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Seth Roberts, 6 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TDs. Hands down, this is Seth Roberts' best game of his career. Last week against the Lions, you can even date back to the preseason, Roberts showed potential of big play ability. I can't even recall how many big plays Roberts made this game, but they were crucial, especially on both his TDs. The first one, he made a Titans defender miss and nothing but green ahead of him and on the 2nd one, he was just at the right place at the right time when Carr delivered that deep ball. I think it's time to give Roberts the nickname "Big Shot Rob" (reference to Robert Horry for all you Laker fans) because he's caught both Carr's two game-winning TD passes this season.

Amari Cooper, 7 receptions, 115 yards. We all admit Amari Cooper played horribly last week against the Lions. Sensational rookies will have their off games and all they can do is bounce back the next game. This game was a major bounce back for Cooper. To go from 4 yards from the previous game to 115 yards to the next game just personifies his work ethic and do anything he can to help his team win. Coop had a great redemption performance this game.

David Amerson, 6 passes defensed, 1 INT. Amerson played out of his mind this game. Yeah, I know covering guys like Harry Douglas or Dorial Green-Beckham is not that impressive, but Amerson wasn't giving any of the Titans' receivers any room to get any separation and possibly make a big play from a throw by Marcus Mariota. I didn't understand why ever since Nate Allen and T.J. Carrie came back, they demoted Amerson to the slot when he's clearly a better option than D.J. Hayden. I think this game should warrant Reggie McKenzie and the front office that Amerson is worth a keeper.

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The "Zebras." The Raiders committed 11 penalties for 94 yards while the Titans committed 4 penalties for 25 yards. Hmmm, I wonder which team the refs were trying to help? I think the only legit penalty they called was when Neiko Thorpe had his hands full on Harry Douglas when Douglas scored a TD. But, back-to-back pass interference penalties on T.J. Carrie that should've never been called, an unnecessary roughness call on Khalil Mack, and a hold on the end zone when Thorpe didn't excessively grab the jersey. Those were some penalties that stood out and they were just horrible calls that the refs were making.

Conclusion

Despite the rainy weather and penalties that were lopsided against the Raiders, they managed to will themselves to a victory, but a little more work has to be done to finish these kinds of games against teams that are supposed to be "easy wins." They're still alive in the playoff, but next week, the tough stretch begins of the schedule begins. Kansas City is also in the playoff hunt and they are playing like a different beast after starting 1-5 for the season. I bet they have last year's awful loss stuck in their heads the last time they played the Raiders in Oakland as they handed the Raiders their first win. For sure, they'll be out looking for blood and the Raiders have to be well-prepared because this is a critical divisional battle if they want to keep their wild card hopes alive. I'll see you guys next week for that game.

Week 12: RAIDERS @ Tennessee Titans Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

OAK 24 TEN 21

Seth Roberts with the clutch TD catch, Nate Allen with the clutch INT to end the game! I'm going to have a heart attack with this game. With the way the offense was playing throughout the most part of this quarter and letting this Titans team hang around, I'd thought this was going to be a heartbreaking loss, particularly when Carr failed to convert on the 4th and 8 play. But finally the refs stopped screwing this team over with a big holding call on the Titans to set up Carr's third career game-winning drive. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

OAK 17 TEN 14

It's turning out into an ugly game out there with rain pouring down on the field. Jeremy Ross' fumble was costly, could've allowed the Titans to take a quick lead, but luckily David Amerson's INT offset that fumble. It looked like the refs were helping the Titans during their last scoring drive. The Raiders managed to get a stop and then boom, back-to-back penalties on T.J. Carrie. The only legit penalty they called was Neiko Thorpe's hold on Harry Douglas in the end zone. Raiders still have the lead in the 4th.

Q2:

OAK 10 TEN 6

Well, that was some comedy at the end of this quarter. Sebass laughing on the sidelines, failing to convince Del Rio to kick a 65 yard field goal and then a big gain by Roberts before he laterals it to Cooper and Cooper passes it to Carr. Carr could've thrown it, but that would've been an obvious illegal forward pass. The last drive though, they gotta finish those long drives with TDs, not field goals, but nonetheless, a better start this week. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

OAK 7 TEN 6

Slow start for both teams to begin the game. The Raiders couldn't capitalize on good field position early on and Marcus Mariota and the Titans absolutely killed the defense with some bootlegs and play action to the tight ends. After that though, the offense managed to pull through a good response by sustaining a long drive that culminated in a Crabtree TD. Who knows, the Titans' blocked PAT could be a pivotal moment as the game progresses.

RAIDERS-Titans Halftime Post

OAK 10 TEN 6

Welcome in to the halftime post of the Raiders' road matchup vs. the Tennessee Titans where the Raiders have a 10-6 advantage at the half.

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Amari Cooper, 4 receptions, 58 yards. Last week, Coop had the worst performance of his rookie season against the Lions, only grabbing 1 catch for just 4 yards. So far, he has redeemed big time. He's a lot more aggressive this game, running hard on his routes to make plays. One particular play, Carr underthrew the pass and it was guaranteed INT by the Titans defender, but Cooper just snatches it away for a 30 yard gain when the Raiders were backed into their own end zone for a moment. With the aforementioned stat line, that's the Amari Cooper we're used to seeing.

Seth Roberts, 2 receptions, 60 yards. Roberts is developing into a big play receiver this game. He's known for his blocking for the Raiders' running game, but the last two games, he's been making big plays for big gainers and in this game against the Titans, he made some multiple big plays for 20+ yards.

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Finishing long drives. As I said in the 2nd quarter, the Raiders had a good, long, solid drive that started in their back end zone. They made it to the Titans' red zone, but they couldn't cap off the drive for a TD and have to settle for a Sebass field goal. Good job, chewing up the clock, but the goal is 6 instead of 3.

Bottom Line

The Raiders deferred on the coin toss and the offense is coming right back. I like that the aggressiveness is back on the offensive side of the ball, let's hope that they stay aggressive and the defense just needs to hold the fort against Mariota and the amount of tricks the Titans' offense has up their sleeves.

Blazers' Back Court Alone Burns Lakers

Julius Randle was the top performer of this game racking up 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, but the Lakers had no answer for Portland's back court duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum as their combined 57 point effort helped the Blazers put away the Lakers 96-108. Jordan Clarkson added 19 points and D'Angelo Russell added 16 points, making some strides in having an efficient game by shooting 6-11 the field. Despite a 7-20 shooting night, Kobe Bryant turned back the clock a little bit, racking up 21 points, shaking off a nightmarish shooting performance against the Warriors back on Tuesday.

Final Score: @ Portland 96-108 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20151128/LALPOR/gameinfo.html?ls=iref:nba:scoreboard

Highlights:

Next Game: vs. Indiana (11/29)

Lakers Slapped Around by Warriors as Warriors Set Record for Best Start in NBA History

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the defending champion Golden State Warriors at the Oracle where the defending champs made it look easy as the Lakers got an inevitable old-fashioned butt whooping by the Warriors 77-111.

It is what it is as the final score suggested. We drank the "kool-aid" thinking that the Lakers might have a chance to upset the defending champions on their home floor and spoil their run at history, but we knew that the Warriors were going to straight up kick this Laker team in the @$$. And the end result was expected. I couldn't help but laugh because this game was laughable from the start to finish because this Warriors squad made the Lakers look like a JV basketball team out there.

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No positives. Unless you count putting up 77 points on this Warriors team, fine. The Lakers did have some fight in the 2nd quarter, but this game was all bad to warrant no positives to take away from this game.


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Basketball Fundamentals. The Lakers just lacked this all season long. No ball movement, no defense, what more can I say? I've lost count on how many lobs this Laker team allowed, how much they left this Warriors team wide open on threes, how much they let Curry work his magic. Players are not spacing the floor. Nobody is making an effort to go after the ball and give second chance possessions. Nobody is running. Nobody is cutting. Everybody's calling for "iso" plays and throwing up "Hail Mary" shots. Too much dribbling. There is no identity with this team! They're not an offensive team. They're not a defensive team. What exactly is this team? I know this is a young team; this is their first year together. However, what kind of identity will this team shape from now to the future? The soul searching just continues for this team and this game is the latest chapter of it.

Kobe Bryant, 4 points, 1-14 shooting. It's really hard to see Kobe Bryant's 20th season go up in smoke like this. He missed a lot of shots this game that he usually makes if he was still in his prime. Multiple air balls, in fact, he had a shot in which the ball got stuck between the backboard and the back of the rim and the refs had to call for a jump ball. And you got a lot of Kobe fans out there saying "Kobe is going to drop 30 points a game, he'll win MVP, and deliver the Lakers another NBA championship!" As a Laker fan and as a Kobe fan, I am embarrassed by those over-the-top statements because for the past three seasons, he hasn't been the same player. He's 37, has a lot of mileage, the injury bug finally caught up to him, his time is up. He even preached the young Laker squad to move the ball, but still, he tried to play hero ball this game and Byron Scott has the audacity to defend his shot selection, saying "he earned it." I've woken up to the harsh reality, but some would deny it and I bet they'll vote him on the All-Star ballot this season. I love Kobe, he defined my lifetime as a Lakers fan, but enough is enough already.

Conclusion

Well, excuse my semi-tirades on the negative list. Like I said in the 3rd quarter post, congratulations to the Warriors on making history to start the season at 16-0. There is no better fanbase that deserves this moment in history than those a part of Dub Nation. For the Lakers, this organization needs to be evaluated. They're bent on the notion that because it's LA and they have 16 championships, big time free agents will want to play for the Lakers. Well, if there's not a stable core of players in place and there's no contingency plan for the future, I don't see any star player play for the Lakers anytime soon. Sorry, but that's reality. The Raiders have gone through this process and are almost out of the hole and the Lakers are going through this turmoil since 2013 (I was eventually going to bring out this parallel path). I expect the growing pains to continue this season. I'll see you guys for the next televised game, whatever that is.

#FireByronScott
#FireJimBuss

10/24: #ShockTheWorld LAKERS @ Golden State Warriors Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

LAL 77 GS 111

At least they tried. Okay, maybe they didn't try enough. Stay tuned for the full recap. 

Q3:

LAL 55 GS 89

Congratulations to the Warriors on a 16-0 start. That's all I can say right now for this quarter.

Q2:

LAL 38 GS 54

The good thing I can take from this quarter is that the Lakers are showing some fight at least. The first quarter was an atrocity to start with, but things got cleaned up a little bit in this quarter to make this competitive. The Lakers still have a lot of work to do though. Onto the halftime post.

Q1:

LAL 11 GS 30

1st quarter in and this game is just becoming comedy gold. The Warriors are just making mince meat out of this Laker team. Too many easy baskets, how in the hell do you leave the best player in the NBA wide open for a three? Poor defense, a lot of missed opportunities to get something going. The Lakers just don't have any answers right now and they're just being embarrassed on national TV.

LAKERS-Warriors Halftime Post

LAL 38 GS 54

Welcome in to the halftime post of the Lakers' matchup against the undefeated, defending champion Warriors where the Warriors have a 38-54 advantage after the half.

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Lou Williams, 10 points, 4-5 shooting. Looking at Williams' stat sheet the past few games, they haven't been good from a field goal percentage stand point. This game though, his mini run in the 2nd quarter against the Warriors was a big one to put the Lakers back in. Lou Williams was heating up, but typical Byron Scott had to bench him while he's hot.


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Defense. The Warriors are making this look easy against this Laker defense. It's like watching the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals out there. The Lakers are allowing the Warriors to get wide open, leaving a lot of space for guys such as Curry, Draymond Green, and Iguodala to make plays. Leaving Curry, the best player in the NBA right now, wide open for a three says it all about how bad the Lakers defense has been all season long.

Ball Movement? Kobe Bryant in an article preached to this young Laker squad to move the ball. Apparently nobody got the memo. Too much isolation, too much dribbling, too much standing around, too many forced shots, nobody is making an effort to get open, nobody is cutting to the basket. You do this kind of stuff against the Warriors, they will destroy you defensively, and that was evident in the first half.

Bottom Line

For the Lakers to win this game, Luke Walton has to send the Splash Brothers, Iggy, Draymond, and Andrew Bogut to the showers early, to get ready for their game against the Suns on Friday in Phoenix. That's the only way! All jokes aside, there's a lot of basketball left. This Laker team has to slow their role at some point. This game is not over yet, but it will if they don't continue to compete like they did in the 2nd quarter. Let's see what happens.