It took not 1 but 2 last second shots for the Lakers to overcome the short-handed Dallas Mavericks but overcome they did. With Wayne Ellington forcing overtime off of a broken play where the loose ball came to him when it looked like the Mavs had won to Austin Reaves canning a three while getting no-call fouled the Lakers showed a lot of grit in pulling out the win last night. While one of it was very pretty at the end of the season that W will look a lot like all the other ones.
- The Three Lakerteers. Last night saw one of the more balanced outings from the Lakers superstar trio. They shot the ball about equally (AD-18, Russ-18, LBJ-19), scored pretty equally (AD-20, Russ-23, LBJ-24) and played about the same number of minutes (AD-39, Russ-42, LBJ-43). In a game where LeBron was pretty focused on getting his own scoring going, AD was knocking off some rust after sitting out for a little over a week and Russ continued his integration process this was a nice game for the Laker big three.
- Wayne Ellington’s big bucket. It’s easy to forget that Ellington’s clutch shot off a totally broken up play sent the game into overtime because of what came next. But Wayne was much a hero as any Laker last night with 9 points (3-9 from three, no two pointers) and some solid defense (3 steals). Wayne has upped his defensive intensity over the last week or so and it’s paying off. He was a starter last night and was on the floor for most of the 4th and OT when the game hung in the balance. While it’ll take a lot more defense to shake his gunner legacy Wayne has been putting in work on the right end of the court for this team to have success.
- Austin Reaves big bucket. For me the biggest aspect of that shot wasn’t that he took it and made it (when you get the ball with 1 second left you better shoot or you probably don’t belong in an NBA uniform) but that it came after an on-court dressing down from LeBron about a blown defensive assignment. The rookie stuck with it, stayed within his game, and knocked down the winning three much to Mark Cuban’s disbelief. Reaves is going to have plenty of growing pains (as the dressing down regarding his defense indicates) but he seems like a hard-worker who soaks up what he’s taught. Keep that mentality and good things will come of it.
- 3 game winning streak and a .500 road record. There will be nothing historic about this Laker regular season in terms of team victories, records or streaks. Steady progress and growth should be enough for these guys to be ready for the playoffs if everyone can stay healthy (a seeming impossibility but more on that later) and if that road can be navigated successfully we’ll be good come May. The Lakers didn’t give up an absurd number of points in the paint (although early on it looked like we might but they turned the screws a bit and tightened it up) or too many free throws or threes. Some of that was the Mavs missing shots and some was good D but the manner in which the results were achieved is slowly becoming inconsequential as long as we keep pace with the middle of the pack while learning on the fly.
- More guys out for tomorrow. With Russ and Bradley being added to the growing list of players who are out due to the league’s health and safety protocols the Lakers will need more from LeBron, AD, Reaves and whomever else can suit up. Also, welcome back Mr. Isaiah Thomas! A name that has been consistently dangled in front of Laker fans IT is returning to lend whatever help he can. While it’s a ten day deal and will only last until someone else can play it’s always nice to see someone get a second chance and see what they can do with it. Here’s hoping IT proves the doubters wrong and finds a way to stick in the NBA. Like Boogie, serious injuries with terrible timing have derailed his career.
The Lakers are holding onto 6th place in the west and are starting to get a little separation between themselves and the lower tier teams in the western conference. 6 or higher is a must for an aged team like the Lakers. the more rest and fewer games played the better, especially games like the play-ins. So the Lakers need to keep growing, improving and staying afloat for a few more months. With a little luck (which seems in short supply) they’ll do just that.
“The three Lakerteers”. Man, love the way you coined that term. You need to have that copyrighted, Lol. Speaking of the three Lakerteers, I read somewhere that the three of them had at least 20 points each in the same game for the fourth time this season but did not mention how many games we won out of those four. I am not a stats buff but I am assuming we won all of them. It would be nice if anyone can provide stats to show how many we won out of those four.
The good thing about them sharing the workload so evenly is to preserve their energy to “fatten up for the winter” as in your bear analogy. You got my drift?
Overall, this was a well-balanced approach by the whole team. If they continue to move the ball that well to find the open shooter, and work on limiting turnovers, they could handle any jungle warfare against any team. Warriors, Suns or the Jazz be damned.
The only thing that got lost in the hoopla is Avery Bradley’s tenacious play defensively. The guy was really a pest throughout the game. The same could be said for Ellington. He has been getting better defensively for a while now. What I found confusing is Bradley guarding Porzingis. Was it by design from Vogel or just random? Great 5er as usual, Jamie.
Great Fiver, Jamie. And what a game!
1. The Three Lakerteers. Would make Austin Reaves d’Artagnan then? Excellent observation about the balance in every area. While that will vary, having all three superstars humming is obviously going to be how we play our best. But even the Three Lakerteers sometimes need help from d’Artagnan.
2. Wayne Ellington’s big bucket. I agree Wayne’s three to tie the game and send it into overtime was more clutch and important than Austin’s game winner. Wayne misses and we lose. Austin misses and we go to second overtime. Lot more pressure on Wayne than Austin although both shots were up against the clock, which we know always seems to let the shooter fire away confidently.
3. Austin Reaves big bucket. What you said. Kid has the intangible moxie that is going to make him a longtime Lakers fan favorite. Sponge, clutch, savvy, sound, modest, smart. He’s all the adjectives you conjure when you think of great role players like Derek Fisher or Robert Horry. They have a nose for the ball and the moment and a knack of being in the right place at the right time. Like you say, Austin will have his rookie ups and downs but I wouldn’t bet against him ending up starting by the time we hit the playoffs. He’s gunner version of Alex Caruso.
4. 3-game winning streak. Lot better than a 3-game losing streak. I still see good signs even though it seems like our opponents are doing a great job of playing above their level against us and we’re accommodating them by playing down. Overall, though, I don’t see it as a lack of heart or ability or coaching. Mostly, it’s just players struggling with unfamiliar lineups and rotations exacerbated by injuries and now Covid. Time will solve some of the problems but Lakers will need a big trade to fix the roster imbalance and get some size at the three.
5. Third Covid Colored Season! Just hope none of the guys are symptomatic and nobody suffers any long-term effects. I think there’s no doubt the NBA is going to have to do something as this is going to get a lot worse over the next month. Going to be hard to figure out a solution for the league or the country itself considering how controversial and partisan everything related to Covid has become. I don’t think anything should be off the table right now.