5 Things: Escaped with a Win

Not the prettiest win but it’ll look like all the others come season’s end. With a who’s of who of injured players the Lakers relied upon some G-Leaguers to secure the victory along with some solid play from our superstar duo along with Gabe Vincent’s best game as a Laker to date. Don’t get too pumped, it wasn’t that amazing but it was nice to see he and some other 12-15 guys get a shot at contributing albeit the results were quite mixed.

1. A tale of two LeBron’s. For the oldest player in the association you have to imagine he’d rather get hot from the outside than need to play bully ball all game long. Unfortunately, LeBron’s 3 point shot continued it’s extended absence (now 0 for his last 15) and he was pressed into paint duty in order to be effective. Congrats to the old man who willingly made the adjustment, even if that resulted in an anemic 3 FTAs despite multiple hits, grabs and bumps. I understand that a player like LeBron (and Shaq before him) initiates a lot of contact but that doesn’t mean the defender gets to grab and get under his legs on drives. This has become a nightly issue and one I don’t expect to be resolved effectively. To his credit, LeBron hasn’t been overt in his ref complaining and generally tries to get back into the play.
2. Good thing we brought AD. AD was unstoppable again and the Lakers continue to win when he hits multiple three pointers. He’s been shooting the right ones, in my opinion. While I don’t really want, or expect, the Lakers to run plays for him to shoot the three ball, he does need to take them with confidence when an open one comes his way or the clock is winding down. It helps all aspects of his game but his bread and butter needs to be scoring inside and punishing the defense.
3. Gabe’s good game. 4-5 overall, 2-3 from deep and some solid D. The unfortunate part is that this really might be Gabe’s best game as a Laker. I wanted to be excited about picking up Vincent but it’s real hard for me to overlook the general futility of his body of work in purple and gold and get excited about one game that was really outside the norm of his role. Gabe won’t often be starting or playing 32 minutes, he needs to figure out how to make this level of impact happen in 15-20 minutes. I’ll get excited when that happens more consistently. Nothing to complain about regarding his defense, which was a big key in the win even if the stats and his +/- don’t jump off the page.
4. Dalton struggled with being blitzed and really just missed some shots he normally makes. I’m still not 100% sold on Dalton staying a starter, I think he’s still yet to be scouted but you can see teams more willing to make him put the ball on the deck and dribble and not just catch and shoot. It’s on Dalton and the staff to adapt if that becomes the norm, which one expects it will. We may need to life some plays and screen gauntlets from the Warriors if Dalton is to remain a starter.
5. Jalen Hood-Schifino’s best game ever. 4 points on 100% shooting from the floor and stripe but that wasn’t what was impressive. He was a gritty point of attack defender who accepted that challenge and did his part in slowing down the Jazz guards and playing straight up D in the paint when he got switched onto a big. I still have plenty of doubts about JHS’s ability to stick in the league past his rookie deal. He hasn’t shown much scoring ability in a meaningful way and his back issues have limited his availability and he’s only 21. He might not be having the career he imagined or the role he thinks he should but he hasn’t done diddly squat besides last night and the only way he can change that is by playing and being ready for night’s when other guys can’t go.