Aaaaaaand that folks is why we don’t award things based on hype or expectation. One would imagine just about every human on Earth calling this one a loss before the game but as we saw there’s a reason they play the games. The Lakers got some great contributions from up and down the roster in what ended up being a testy affair and a really fun game to watch.
- The ejection. The game was a tightly fought, back and forth affair. Just prior to the ejection we saw the Nets briefly take a lead on us. Then Schroder and Kyrie Irving got into it after what seemed to be a fairly mundane personal foul call. I don’t pretend to understand what motivates Mr. Irving but the fact that he has now taken the next game off for personal reason, to me, means it was more about his desire not to keep playing basketball and get some time to himself. he left his teammates to explain what transpired so we may never really hear what went down. Schroder, for his part, seemed confused as to why he was assessed the second tech (the official explanation was his little wave to Irving as he departed the floor, that feels silly, players do that all the time). Regardless of what occurred between the two grown men the incident sparked the Lakers to a 57-33 run that ended when garbage time commenced and the Lakers comfortably ahead.
- How we went on The Run. It can be weird, the thing that sparks a team to realize what they can do when short-handed, in the case of the Lakers who were already without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, Kyle Kuzma and Wesley Matthews Jr it was seeing Dennis Schroder depart the court after his 2nd tech. That seemed to free up the remaining Lakers and they started playing fast and loose on offense while getting even scrappier on defense. Whether it was Talen Horton-Tucker finding teammates for a game-high 11 assists, Alonzo McKinnie grabbing 9 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench, Andre’ Drummond powering his way through the Net defense for a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds or contributions from up and down the roster the Lakers seemed to make all the right moves in the third quarter and into the 4th.
- Welcome to the Los Angeles Lakers Ben McLemore. He had started fairly quietly in his first game playing only 17 minutes and taking only 3 shots. That was not the case last night as he played 23 minutes canning 6-12 shots, 5-10 from three point land bestowing upon the Lakers the kind of shot-taker (and maker) that Laker Tim has been pining for all season. McLemore led a solid attack from beyond the arc that saw the Lakers shoot 19-35 (55.9%) but it was Ben who helped fuel the run that out the Lakers comfortably ahead in the third. It started with a nifty shot off a bounce to catch a pass from Caruso. McLemore’s feet barely hit the floor before he got into his shooting motion and canned the first of his three pointers. To their credit the Lakers fed him a steady diet of threes or ran screens to free him up. Like Frank says: go with the hot hand.
- Double-figure boogie. The balance the team had in it’s scoring meant that there was no single player Brooklyn could key in on to stop. Every starter scored in double-figures. Off the bench everyone who played during the meaningful minutes except Alex Caruso hit double-figures, as well. That kind of balance is difficult for teams to handle and it assuredly is the way for this team to be competitive without it’s stars. We don’t need every player to score in double-figures but there needs to be contributions in some form or another from everyone.
- Buyout Blues. There have been some recent reports from various media outlets from small market teams and GMs that they aren’t happy with how the NBA buyout system is working. Well if that isn’t sour grapes I don’t know what is. The basis of the issue is that small market teams feel they’re getting railroaded into buyouts by power agents who rep high profile talents who want to play for teams who are in a better position to compete in the here and now. The gist of theses gripes are that they’re not getting compensated in the form of talent or picks when they choose to make these players available. I don’t get it. These teams sign or trade for players on high dollar contracts then choose to sit them in favor of younger talent. These players are often not on expiring contracts (like Blake Griffin was, for instance) and will be a drag on said small-market team’s ability to offer high dollar contracts in the coming off-season. The buyout is a way for them to free up space to re-sign or extend the younger talent they are choosing to build around. They make the choice to sit the current high-dollar contract they have, they save millions of dollars and get salary cap relief and yet…they want more. While it’s unfortunate that not all teams can play in large markets. It’s not enough that the player gives up money out of their pocket, the fact that draft picks or young talent is flowing their way is, somehow, the league’s fault. That’s absurd. You shouldn’t have signed Blake Griffin to a max deal or traded for him when he was early into that max deal. You don’t HAVE to buyout player X, you’re the one who wants the cap space freed up and for the player to be off your roster. If you can’t find a trading partner you don’t have to buy them out. Play the game back at the agents. Small market teams, they want the Sun, the Moon and the stars and they don’t want to work to get it. Here’s another idea: sell your team and get into a business you better understand and can compete at. You expect your players to try their hardest, give their best and sacrifice limb and life for you but don’t want to do the same yourself. That’s absurd.
Tuesday sees the Lakers face off against the resurgent Knickerbockers and one Julius Randle. Should be a good game and if we can turn in the same effort as we did against the Nets we should be competitive. That’s all any of us can ask.
Good write up Jamie. Sour grapes indeed regarding “Buyout Blues”. No one told Cleveland to banish Dre to the corn fields like Lil Anthony on the Twilight Zone.
As far as Kyrie and Dennis getting tossed. They’ve played a combined 1100 games and it was the first time either was ejected from a game. So its safe to say it was probably an overraction by the ref (Tyler Ford). I think Kyrie got upset with Dennis complaining, and I think Dennis gripe was probably built up from the last few games. I would like to see Vogel have Dennis back and make a public statement that Dennis deserves more whistles for as much as he attacks the rim.
Agreed LRob, Dennis does not get the whistles on his drives and contact he creates that many of the top players do. Whether that’s a byproduct of being on the Lakers, the manner in which he draws contact or what is a mystery.
Kyrie is one odd bird, the foul call on him was legit, maybe he was griping too much, maybe not. Over-reaction by the ref? in the NBA?! Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaw! Oh wait, that’s probably exactly what the deal was, lol.
Small market Wolves going for 1.5B. Must not be profitable:)
Exactly. Oh how can these woebegone small market teams survive?! It’s absurd.
What a game that was. The undermanned Lakers drubbed the Nets so badly that it was basically no contest. I mean, the Nets were so battered in the end they must have felt the wallop of a car crashing into their front porch. This was by far the best win of the season.
The team has been playing very well these past few games. Even against the Heat, this team showed character and never quit. What we are witnessing with this team is a group of role players who are playing with poise and purpose, and not backing down. When Drummond and Mclemore get acclimated and blend in well, this team is going to be a well-oiled machine when the playoffs roll around.
I would like to give a shout-out to Mckinnie and Markief. Mckinnie has been playing very well. He has been playing with poised, and has been injecting energy into the team. He, just like THT, needs to make a large chunk of his three-pointers. That would be huge. Markief on the other hand, has been a steadying force doing all the little things. He has surprised me with his very high-efficiency midrange shot. Unlike Markief, trez’s midrange shot seems to have abandoned him lately. Hope he gets it back soon and makes them with more frequency
Finally, here’s hoping the team could continue this kind of performance the rest of the way. Great recap, Jamie.
Here’s hoping. In the end our role-players beat their role-players along with recently activated KD. I’m not walking away from any of these thinking the team has figured anything special out. The solution is a simple one: compete, play hard. Good things will come of it.
Jamie, I like the fact that you are being cautionary. You are absolutely right. On my part, I am not thinking ahead of myself. I am just enjoying how the team is responding to adversity. So far we are trending in the right direction
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Great Fiver, Jamie. And the game was a needed breath of fresh air and hope for Lakers fans. What I loved most was zero intimidation. Not when the game started. Not when they fell behind by 4 late in the first quarter and then fought back to get the lead. Not when the dumb ref kicked Dennis out with only a 4-point lead. In fact, our response to the ejections compared to the Net’s reaction said everything about which team wanted this game more.
1. The ejections. Agree 100% that Dennis should not have been ejected. Waving good bye to Kyrie is not taunting. This is like suspending THT for coming a feet onto the court. The league needs to look at these situations with some common sense.
2. The run. Have to give the Lakers credit for not folding when they lost Dennis, who had been having his best game of the year. Lots of credit goes to THT for his playmaking and running the offense but the entire team responded like they had done all game long. I’m hoping this was one of those transcendent moments on the road when this team said enough is enough.
3. Ben! It’s actually rare when a team can add a player via the buyout market who becomes a real difference maker. The Lakers were able to do that last year with Markieff Morris. This year, it looks like Rob was a magician as he appears to have landed not one but two difference makers in Dre and Ben. Every Lakers fans needs to realize we would NOT have won that game without Dre and Ben. Not taking away from the rest of the team but they were the Calvary that gave this team newfound confidence.
4. 8 players in double figures. Right on, Jamie. Balance is a bitch for teams to handle, especially teams who don’t play good defense. Lakers dominated like they were playing the Kings. The defense was great, doubling KD and forcing him into 8 turnovers and shutting down Brooklyn’s 3-point shooting to 0-15 for the second half. Message and Finals preview sent to Nets.
5. Buyout Blues. Ef the small market teams. Don ‘t they remember they were the ones who negotiated these buyouts. Want to blame somebody, blame the Cavs and Piston’s front offices. Don’t blame the Lakers. There’s enough allowing the tail to wag the dog already. Enough with the losers trying to dictate more advantages. They’re being carried enough already.
Lakers need to keep this mojo going tonight and tomorrow night. Can’t allow any letdown and blow two winnable games. Finish the road trip with a pair of blowout wins and a 5-2 record.
I think we lose to the Knicks, sorry to say. They’re right there with us defensively, have been solid all season and Randle will be motivated. It will be interesting to see how the willowy Nerlens Noel does against Dre’. If Dre can bully the Knicks frontline like he did the Nets we have a better shot but the real issue is I feel like the Knicks will really force us off the three point line with solid close outs. A matchup of two defensive titans, neither team might score over 90, lol.
In regards to the small market whiners, as you know I’m fond of saying: them’s the rules. Don’t like them? The only way it can be fair is to either add a caveat like the MLB has (toss a draft pick to the team you’re buying out from, 2nd rounder only) or simply do-away with the buyout market altogether. The small market teams are the ones that want to curtail player movement, hoard more of the CBA and tilt the playing field towards them even more than it already is. So, if the GMs of those respective teams find the job of managing the salary cap too difficult, end buyouts and see how GM’s look to structure contracts. Heck, add a “no buyout” clause or something to that effect. But once freed there should be no limits on what team a player chooses. They are now unrestricted free agents and can sign anywhere. It’s absurd.
LMAO. Admiral Ackbar just can’t keep himself from emptying the glass.
Except that it’s not: the Knicks would be the one’s falling into it and I simply don’t see that happening is all.
Jamie Sweet: “Tuesday sees the Lakers face off against the resurgent Knickerbockers and one Julius Randle. Should be a good game and if we can turn in the same effort as we did against the Nets we should be competitive. That’s all any of us can ask.”
It must be tough to be a GHE fan, always expecting the worst. The best we can hope for is a competitive game? LMAO. Come on, Jamie. Have some faith in this team.
Lakers will win by a blowout.
The Knicks are playing the second game of back to back tonight. That should spell a different kind of outcome. I am more worried about Schroeder’s tail bone injury and wether he will be able to play. Tail bone injuries take a while to go away. Curry had the same kind of injury a while back and it took a while to get over it.
“There’s enough allowing the tail to wag the dog already.” Good one, Tom.