That was a needed infusion of youthful talent. Between THT and Malik Monk the Lakers have been able to send some guys out there that are both under 30 and have some decent game. Anthony Davis set the tone and the team followed in one of the more complete games the team has played to this point in the season.
- Anthony Davis starting to assert himself in ways the team desperately needs. We can go on and on about how this role-player or that isn’t playing quite up to type or what-have-you but the truth is this Laker team is only going as far as Anthony Davis takes it at this point. LeBron has been hurt, Russell is the new guy and the team needs AD’s elite impact that only he can bring on both ends of the court. Not to minimize the contributions of any other player on the roster but Davis alone can massively change the tone of the game on either end. Last night he was dominant in the paint helping us to an (for this season) uncommon advantage in that department. He also canned 2-3 three pointers, grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds and dished 6 assists. His 34 points led all scorers and he looked like the unstoppable force inside and out that we need him to be. When AD plays with that much force, focus and intensity the Lakers are a lot tougher to beat. When he lets the game or his teammates dictate his aggression we suffer for it.
- Welcome back Talen Horton-Tucker. I’ve written a lot of words about the advanced age of this Laker team and I likely will throughout the season as long as Frank continues to rely on the over 33 players. THT made his season debut following thumb ligament surgery and he looked like he hadn’t missed a day. The Lakers and the fans might have to live with some questionable forays into the paint, passed up shots and the learning curve any player who is still trying to reach his ceiling will have. I’ll take it because Talen is probably our most accomplished slasher other than LeBron James. He uses angles better than any other Laker and he has an array of finger rolls, floaters and mini-hooks to get his shot off over (or around) defenders. While it was only one game against the rebuilding Spurs he looked decent on defense, certainly no worse than the struggling Kent Bazemore.
- Malik Monk building a case for a consistent role. Monk started the season with more questions than assumptions. Could he defend well enough to earn minutes on Vogel-coached team? Would his shooting transfer over from a mostly bench, mop-up duty role in Charlotte to a team with bonafide banner aspirations? Could he carve out a role amongst so many other more established p[layers? Monk is answering those challenges and he’s doing it pretty well. His 36.1% from three is weighed down by early season struggles and inconsistent minutes, of late he’s been shooting the ball better and is creative at getting his shot off in the paint with an array of floaters. He’s not really creating much for teammates (2 assists/game) but that’s not really his role on this team. He, like THT, are being asked to be Swiss Army Knives with a little D, some scoring and some playmaking while fitting in among HOF players. Monk has started to shine in the absence of Kendrick Nunn as one of our better young players.
- Russell Westbrook taking it to the bank. I hadn’t realized until this season how many shots off the glass Russ takes. It makes a ton of sense because Westbrook is so strong, his shot so forceful, that using the glass to soften it just plain smart. Russ will never be Ray Allen efficient but he brings a lot of other things to the table. His bank shot has been solid thus far and, like LeBron, I think he’d benefit from shooting a step or from beyond the line on his threes. Russ had a solid game against the Spurs and seems to be trying to do a little less which has taken some of the pressure off of him with LeBron out.
- Wayne Ellington making it happen. It’s been whispered and rumored of for awhile now: the Lakers are where three point shooting specialists come to die. Guys who shoot lights out on smaller market teams (or where there are coaches who devise plays specifically to get them their shots) come to LA and can’t throw it in the ocean. Wayne started his season playing that way but, of late, has started to look more like the gunner we need him to be to bolster our bench scoring. If THT is going to start that leaves it to Wayne, Malik and whomever else gets into the rotation on any given night to bring some firepower off the bench. Wayne took a few games to get his legs under him and has said that the new ball has taken some time to adjust to. That all sounds about right to me. Wayne was great in his role yesterday afternoon taking 7 threes and making 5.
It begins tonight. The easy portion of the schedule is, essentially, done. One could argue that no team in the NBA should be considered easy to beat but the truth is the Lakers didn’t do themselves many favors easing into the season (especially in regards to training camp where it feels like a lot of these questions could have been answered specifically “should DeAndre Jordan play at all?” NO! No he should not.) in the manner that they did. Sitting just 2 games over .500 with a 5 game road trip after the back-to-back tonight facing mostly eastern conference teams in the hunt for the playoffs the Lakers have some work to do to show that they’re better than their record suggests.
This road trip takes us through a struggling Milwaukee team that I’m sure would love to bring some oxygen to their season by beating us: don’t let it happen; we need to become the team that beats struggling or rebuilding teams. Don’t be the one that gives them a feather in the cap by running us out of the building. Our lone game in Boston to a similarly struggling Celtics squad gives us another chance to show we can take advantage of the issues other teams are having rather than let our own issues define the season. Can they make all this happen? I’m not so sure but tonight is a good test: the Bulls are coming off a win against the Clippers and it’s Alex Caruso’s first game against the team that cheaped out in regards to retaining his services and choosing the hopeful promise of THT over the proven defender and glue man that is Alex Caruso. While tonight will not be the end of that debate it’s sure to be fun to watch. Watch ACFresh go for 50, lol.
Go Lakers.
Aloha Jamie, not ce post. AD was a beast. I believe AD will start at the 5 moving forward. He is just so much more effective moving inside out, then when he gets the ball outside when he plays the 4. If he wants a shot at the MVP then it’s going to be at the 5. There maybe the occasional match up that starting him at the 4 makes sense but I hose are few and far between. And if we do it should be Dwight, not DJ joining him.
THT was incredible for his first game back. His offense was a little rusty in the first half but he settled down for 12 in the 2nd half. I think he will be our starting SF going forward. I would prefer him at the 2 but if we are starting AD at the 5, our options are limited. I think Melo is best off the bench so LeBron would be at the 4. What was most interesting to me was that Russ deferred to him in crunch time. That shows a lot of respect and validates all the praise that was coming from camp before the injury. THT suffers from the lack of respect because of his draft slot in the 2nd round. I looked back at his draft class and if redrafted he would be a lottery pick for sure and perhaps a top 10 pick. He was a huge steal in his he draft.
Wayne is tearing it up now. 45% from 3 and if you throw out his first 2 rust games he’s shooting 59%. And the thing that has surprised me the most is his defense has been decent. Yes he’s not a lock down defender but he makes the effort. We are basically getting better shooting and a little defense for 18mil less then if we had traded for a buddy who is shooting a very good39% from 3.
And Malik is great to have, such a creative scorer and he can make plays for others. He had 4 assists and Dwight robbed him of another by missing a bunny
What is your guess to what the starting line up will look like once everyone is back? For me i think the only question mark will be at the 2, if AD starts. We have yet to see Nunn. Would he start or would he back up Russ at PG. Avery for defense? Wayne for 3 point shooting? that may make the most sense. i think you want at least one sniper starting.
Hey Michael. I hate to say it but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of DeAndre Jordan starting. Frank has intimated as much, as well. I don’t get it, none of that entire situation/choice makes any sense to me at all, basketball or otherwise.
I think, because of how we let a lot of the vets ease through camp and then all the young guys except Monk got hurt, that we’re going to see a lot of starting five line ups again. As long as we don’t have the absurdity of last season (I think we ended up with over 20 different starting line ups if memory serves but I’d have to go double-check that…might have topped out at 19?) it’s fine.
Hard for me to say that THT will be anything other than what I’ve seen from him thus far. It was one game against a rebuilding Spurs team focused on the youth movement. There wasn’t a shot-blocking big who played, really, and THT is always really good in a handful of games. Can he do everything he did last night consistently is the bigger question and I’m sure he and Caruso will both be jazzed to show they deserve this or that tonight.
It’s too bad we don’t have Malik’s bird rights since he came over ona minimum deal, makes it very likely that he finds a more lucrative deal elsewhere next season since we can only offer him a 20% raise (or use the MLE) to retain him. I have really been surprised by the polish in his overall game. Since getting benched for not playing defense he’s been playing defense, same for Wayne who certainly does not have any kind of rep on that side of the court.
All in all, I still feel like this team is vastly underperforming and some of that is due to injuries but mostly to our mediocre defense. The good thing is that we have started to at least look a little more consistent in that AD has been playing at a pretty high level, Russ isn’t trying to win MVP in one game and the bench is contributing well-enough to keep us in games throughout the early portion of the schedule. Hopefully this team can start to really turn the season around on this upcoming 5 game road trip. If not I think we’ll be in trouble, especially if we come home from the roadie under .500. Frank’s seat ain’t secure by any means.
I have to disagree with you on THT Jamie, I think he has a very high ceiling. He looked really good in the preseason games he played before the injury. I also take what was coming out from the Lakers camp before he got hurt under consideration. You have to keep in mind that he still hasn’t turned 21 yet. I remember Kobe’s first few years. Promising but not Kobe like yet. Even in his 3rd year and first as a starter at 20 he was very good but not great yet. now I’m not remotely suggesting that THT is the next Kobe. I am saying that it take few years, with a lot of ups and downs. i look at what he already has in his tool box, his willingness to bust his butt on defense and his work ethic and see a player that very well could become a star for this team.
One more thing about THT. I went back and looked at his draft class and from what we have seen so far, there are only 5 maybe 6 guys I would have drafted ahead of him. And they are all older. Herro is the only one drafted by a contender all of the others went to bad teams, where they got to play a lot, right away. THT making the rotation for a contender like he did last year says a lot about his potential. I think he could be a Laker star for a lot of years to come. The last guy we drafted that was that young was BI. Again not saying he will be that good but BI had a bumpy first couple of years until he got traded and was able to play big minutes. By the way THT is already a better defender.
Michael and Jamie,
Great conversation, guys.
I’m pretty much in agreement with Michael that AD will start at the five and THT at the three going forward as they need to find out if he can be a starter with our three superstars, which will hinge on how much better he shoots from three. And they want to increase his trade value by showing he can be a starter at 21.
With Russ at the one, THT at the three, LeBron at the four, and AD at the five, we’re left with only one open starting spot, which is shooting guard. The top two candidates for that position are Monk and Ellington. So far, Monk is my pick because of his greater offensive versatility and proven defensive superiority so far this season.
I do think Jamie is right that we have not seen the last of DeAndre or Dwight starting at center. In fact, I think there are strong reasons right now with LeBron and Trevor out that Frank should be starting DeAndre. We’re getting killed in the paint and on the boards.
The doubling and tripling of AD has killed our inside game leaving us to hang on our 3-point shooting. Fail and we lose like last night or against Portland. Hit them and we win like against the Spurs. We need to see adjustments tonight from Vogel.