That looked familiar. It was as if, for but a moment, we were back in the playoffs, round 1, and Dame was in a nightmare trapping scenario. Only instead of Rajon Rondo or Danny Green it was Dennis Schroder. Thus endeth the Lakers worst losing streak of the season. We did it wearing a very familiar hat: the one that has a capital D on it.
- Welcome back Dennis Schroder. We suffered on both ends of the court when Dennis went down. Schroder returned to the Lakers and not a moment too soon. His defense, competitive spirit and moxie were all on full display last night as he was instrumental in bringing flow to our half court offense, relieving some pressure on LeBron, and helping to hound Portland into several miscues during the key stretch in the 3rd when we broke the game open. I’ve been a proponent of handing more of the offense, specifically in the half court when we’re not out on the break, over to Dennis and last night he showed why that makes sense. With the ball in Schroder’s hands it allowed LeBron to either take the spot out on the arc to be a three point safety valve or let Dennis set himself or teammates up for manufactured buckets. Let the point guard do the point guard things, say I. He’ll get better at his forays under the rim a la Steve Nash and he’s no worse from three than anyone else on the team these days (which is to say pretty spotty). But his defensive intensity is a huge cog in the machine that makes this team go and we were the beneficiaries of that last night.
- Effort cures a lot of issues in sports. Play hard, push the pace, don’t let your foot off the gas. All of those tried and true sport axioms reference effort and we showed a lot more last night than in the 4 previous games. Whether you lose by one at the buzzer or it’s over midway through the 3rd you can hold your head high if you played your hardest and left it all out there on the court. Especially as role player and you don’t play for 30+ mpg. The Lakers showed a lot more hustle on defense and effort in general in the second half and as a result we busted the game wide open. In the first half Dame was splitting double teams with ease, getting into the paint, hitting shots from anywhere he wanted and picking us apart. The second half was an entirely different story. WE trapped Dame, forced others to beat us and won going away. Portland doesn’t have a dynamic inside presence or many guys who create shots by getting into the paint so once we took Lillard away it made Portland’s offense one-dimensional and easy to shut down. A lot of that came from playing with energy.
- Speaking of energy, more THT. Talen does one thing a lot of other guys don’t: push the pace when he has the ball. Horton-Tucker isn’t content to waltz up the court with the ball, he’ll go one on three or even four, get to the front of the rim and get a shot up. Now, mind you, this is not a career-long method for success in the NBA. THT needs to start to learn 4-5 lessons on both ends (leveling off the ball being numero uno) but I’ll take growing pains from THT just to get his energy on the court. Especially when LeBron sits. WE don’t have nearly the level of defensive experience and playoff/veteran savvy last season’s team had. Not even close. Something that can close the gap is energy. THT and Trezz lead the team in that stat.
- Speaking of Trezz. Another great game and I’m just about to a place where I think he should start. Anyone who cares to continue to push the theory that he opens the floor or that his positional defense is welcome to expound on your theories but I will politely, but firmly, disagree. Marc just doesn’t have it anymore, I wish he did. I am abig fan of both Gasol brothers, never thought the trade for Pau was as lopsided as most thought and had come around to hoping Marc could carve out a niche on this team. I just don’t see it happening, at least not in the starting line up, Maybe we can get him going against lesser players but in reality I think most second units are built around small ball line ups these days and will just end up running Marc off the floor. If we can’t unlock his passing more than we’ve been able to, if he can’t consistently hit from three when he’s wide open and his impact on the team defense doesn’t improve I don’t see why not starting Trezz doesn’t make more sense. I would say Morris but he’s been pretty terrible on both ends, as well.
- In closing I want to add this could have easily been our 3rd trap game dropped in a row. We did the job, we didn’t discover a miraculous cure for what ails the team. The warts are still there and plain to see. Three point shooting is an issue, points in the paint against most teams is an issue. Portland is the 2nd worse defense in the NBA, primarily a jump-shooting team and is down more key players than we are. It took a supreme effort in the second half, a playoff level effort, to win the game in the fashion that we did. We lived with the Laker switch through the overtime wins and right into the losing streak we just broke but I don’t think this has shown us anything we didn’t already know. If anything it reaffirms my belief that the type of defense the Lakers seem to want play isn’t really maintainable throughout the regular season, especially one as compressed as this one is. 5 back-to-backs and a lot of travel to the east coast. That is going to sap our strength, tax our endurance and test our resolve. 35 games to play between March 12th and May 16th. The effort and energy we need to play with is going to be harder and harder to come by as the regular season winds along. We need AD back, but we need him back right so when he gets re-evaluated in a couple weeks we have to hope there is nothing but good news from the MRI, from the way his leg responds and how he looks on the court. In my opinion he needs to be as solid as he was in last season’s playoffs for us to have a chance. Maybe even a little bit better, if I’m being honest. We need a lot more from guys like KCP (banged up again last night as he left the game with that hip pointer he took and didn’t return), Markieff Morris (that three point shot must still be in Orlando in the Bubble…) and OG Lakers Alex Caruso and Kyle Kuzma. We need those guys to be more consistent scoring threats, on this team for us to win a 7 game series we need people to perform outside of their roles more. LeBron cannot do it all on his own. We won’t have playoff Rondo. Someone else has to fill the void. Any takers?
Don’t worry, Laker faithful, it’s not all doom and gloom. We’ll see what the ASB does for us, I think we’ll go 2-1 to close out the first half of the schedule and if everything breaks as well as it can we’ll have AD back sometime between the end of March, mid-April at the worst if he has to stay off the court until he clears the docs. At worst well play a half dozen or so games post ASB without AD, at best maybe just one or two. We can withstand that if it means getting him back close to 100%.
Very good write-up, Jamie. This was a very impressive win, though it’s not going to be sustainable due to the compressed nature of the schedule through the remaining portion of the season and, of course, wear and tear. But for one night, it was good to see the Lakers dust off those cobwebs, take the driver seat, drop a hammer on the opponent and watch them disappear in the rearview mirror. That was championship basketball right there.
Dennis, having rested the past four games and coming in with fresh legs was a huge bonus. It certainly helped him to take the bull by the horn and help organize the team both offensively and defensively.
The idea of Trez starting is something I have been grappling with for quite a while now, and now you made me feel at ease with the idea. Your take on THT, as always, is the cherry on top. The energy he brings to the table is what the team needs.
As for Gasol, he seems to have lost confidence. Not sure what kind of therapy he needs, but his mojo is quickly melting away like those glaciers in the antartic ( south pole ). The same goes for Morris and Matthews but to a lesser extent. Overall, the Lakers needed a win like this to remind everyone who the boss is. Great win and great recap. Thanks, Jamie.
Yes on Trez! Gasol is so messed up he won’t hardly even shoot the 3’s.
Exactly.
Great to have a win and a return to positivity to talk about, Jamie.
1. There’s no doubt that Dennis Schroder is maybe the third most important player on the Lakers’ roster. After all, we’re now 6-1 without AD but with DS.
That raises the big question being asked on Twitter by Lakers fans, which is when will we give Dennis the extension he wants? Dennis is eligible now to get an extension up to $83 million over 4 years, starting at $18.6 million which is a 16% raise over his current $16 million per year salary.
One possible hold up is that extending Dennis would essentially prevent the Lakers from including him in a midseason trade. While Dennis will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Lakers do have his Bird rights and thus could go over the cap to re-sign him next season.
Is Dennis the best fit as the Lakers’ point guard of the future? I love his speed and ability to get to the rim and his ‘attack dog’ defense. The only concern and it is a legitimate concern is his ability to shoot the three ball. That could be managed by who the Lakers play alongside him. A volume three ball shooter and strong defender like Devonte Graham could balance Dennis’s skillset.
Bottom line, if the Lakers decide not to extend Schroder, it might be a sign that they’re keeping their trade options open. Dennis could be a valuable trading chip if the Lakers want to go after a third superstar.
2. Excellent discussion of why effort matters. Dame was killing the Lakers, even when they tried to double him. To much room between defenders allowing him to split the doubles and not enough effort to keep him in a box. Came out in second half energized to prevent him from getting free.
I thought the defensive adjustments Vogel made at halftime were also key. This game reminded me of how we played in the playoffs. Seeing what teams were doing in the first half and then countering them. We tightened the traps to prevent Dame splitting them and also trapped him higher up so there was more time and space to recover and the passes had to travel further in the air and were further away from the basket.
3. Great point on THT pushing the pace. I like him as our second point guard far more than Caruso. His threat of attacking the paint and ability to drive and dish and drive and kick are far superior to Caruso. Talen also has shown the ability to use those long arms to block shots and deflect passes. There were several times when he tipped the ball from Dame after he got past him.
There was an interesting article opining that the Lakers were showcasing THT as a possible sweetener the Lakers could use as a substitute for a high first round draft pick in a possible mega trade for a third star. Frankly, that makes a lot of sense. While it’s great to consider what THT might be when he’s 25, we’re still in a win-now mode with LeBron James and Talen may be what we need to make a deal. The more he plays, the better he gets. The better he gets, the more valuable he becomes. My guess is the Lakers may be looking for a big trade right now.
4. Yes, great game by Trezz at both ends. I love how much he’s improved as a defender and free throw shooter. And his energy is a big reason why our bench and non-LeBron minutes are so improved. Only problem is it’s almost impossible for us to keep him after this summer, which means we might be better off trading him if we can find the right deal. We’ve both talked about that. One thing I think Trezz needs to work hard on in the offseason is stretching the floor. Imagine his value if he adds a 3-point shot to his repertoire. And judging from how well he has improved from the line and midrange, it’s going to happen at some point.
I also think the time has come to consider starting Trezz instead of Gasol. A good way to start doing that might be to let Marc start games but have Trezz start the second halves, which is when we want to turn up our defense to put games away. We know Marc is a bad fit for a trapping and hedging defense whereas Trezz fits much better with his mobility and ability to draw charges. I think that may be the logical next step. It’s what Frank did with JaVale and Dwight at times in the playoffs. Time to try something new at the 5 and Trezz is the only optioon, especially with AD out.
5. I’m tired of your damn Trap Games, Jamie. LOL. Time to retire Admiral Ackbar. While I remain optimistic about the Lakers as a team, I remain firmly convinced that we need to make a trade, a big trade, for at least a third star to go with LeBron and AD if we’re going to be able to get past the Clippers, Jazz, and Nets. I’m worried about the Clippers landing a third star like Lowry to go with Kawhi and PG. I think the Lakers need a third star to repeat as champs this year and I;m hoping that’s the mindset Rob Pelinka is going to have as we head into March with the trade deadline on the 24th becoming a monster date for the Lakers.