The Lakers have opened up their “Grammy” trip with back-to-back road wins staying unbeaten away from STAPLES. An impressive feat, one that continues last season’s trend and their Bubble play and highlights the Lakers’ “bunker mentality”. While the Bulls are not the Bucks they are no walk in the park, either. They came into the game on a winning streak and are in the hunt for a playoff berth. Let’s dig in.
- Lakers bread and butter. Also known as Anthony Davis and LeBron James. When both of them have a good to great game the Lakers are a tough team to beat. Simple as that. When one, or rarely both, struggle the game becomes difficult for us to win. Not impossible, which is a testament to the rest of the team, but certainly more difficult. They’ve both been pretty locked in since letting the win against the Warriors slip through their fingers. Tonight Davis took the spotlight and shined the brightest in a return to city of his birth, Chicago.
- The Laker defense is back, different but back. The first half was like watching Nate Robinson in the boxing ring: an outclassed opponent getting beaten up on for a little too long. Give the Bulls credit, they surged in the third but then the bench came in with some better focus and was able to protect the big lead all the way through. I consider that, when the scrubs are in, if the other team doesn’t run it down from a 15-20 point lead to single digits that the bench has done a great job defensively. It got close but they kept it above 10.
- Laker turnovers of the unforced variety. Still too many, way too many. At least three Lakers (definitely AC and LBJ) simply dribbled the ball off of their own feet and out of bounds. Toss in one of the worst entry passes Talen Horton-Tucker will ever throw and some lazy post entries the Lakers definitely have one area of the game they can focus on in practice: valuing the basketball to a higher degree.
- Coming back down to Earth. Across the board the Lakers are starting to come back down to Earth from three. While I was hoping that Caruso would continue his nova hot start from three, that Kuzma would rediscover his rookie stroke and that guys like Wes Matthews and Schroder would light it up the team as a whole are trending towards the mean. Not unexpectedly. We’re on the road, these guys aren’t historically knockdown shooters, and the Lakers aren’t designed to be an elite three point shooting team. The good thing is they continue to dominate in the hustle and heart stats which easily overcame a 4-19 showing from three tonight.
- But Jamie you missed the Bucks game. Yeah, I know. That was a great game, too, one of LeBron’s best this season. After a hot start by Giannis the Lakers settled in and played their game for the last 3 quarters. They have similar weaknesses as last season: who finishes the game since GA can’t shoot free throws? The one dimensionality of a Giannis-led offense. Not enough play makers. Should the Lakers and Bucks meet in the NBA Finals I would take the Lakers in 5, if both team rosters remain unchanged and in good health.
Glad to have Jamie Sweet’s FIVERS back.
1. Love the Bread and Butter comparison but that’s not the heart of a great meal. I might suggest meat and potatoes but in today’s dietary culture that might also be inappropriate or outdated. Let’s just say they’re the Lakers Ying and Yang.
2. What a defensive performance in the first half. The blocks, rotations, charges drawn, shots contested. BRAVO! The Lakers now have a 103.6 defensive rating with the next six teams all hovering over 106.X. Lakers starting to separate themselves from the pack.
3. The turnovers are concerning but also reflective of a team willing to make great passes. I’ve always preferred aggressive playmaking, especially when you have elite passers like the Lakers do. In many ways, passing is like shooting. You can’t be an elite shooter unless you’re willing to take shots. Same with playmaking. The risks are worth it.
4. While I agree the Lakers are overachieving when it comes to their 3-point shooting, one game doesn’t qualify as coming back to earth. I still believe ‘Earth’ in the Lakers case is finishing in the top third in 3-point percentages, a big leap from the bottom third of last year.
5. Bucks game was really the only ‘real’ Lakers game so far this season. Reminded me of last March when we took down the Bucks and Clippers back to back. I think we’re going to do a version of that this trip with the Bucks, Sixers, and Celtics.
Thanks for the write-up, Jamie. Not much to say here today except to sit back and enjoy the wins as they come. Some wins feel better than others. While some wins will make you feel like you wish they kept their foot on the gas all game and suffocate the opponent into submission, other wins will make you scratch your head. For example, how could they win on the road with 4-19 3 point shooting? That tells me they are doing their homework on the defensive end. A win is a win, but a win is even better if there are no injuries to the team.
Also, a recurring theme has been turnovers. Not sure that will ever go away, but Tom made a good point about that in his comment. Our 3 point shooting will only get better as we gallop through the season. So one game of futility from behind the arc doesn’t concern me a bit.
I am really worried that Wesley Mathews has been slow to find his place in the rotation. Is it just me?