5 Things: Lakers overwhelm under-handed Raptors

The Lakers have been on the other end of some beatdowns recently so it was nice to see the team cruise (relatively speaking) to an easy win. Certainly not without drama as we saw players from both sides get tossed but a win is a win, as they say. With re-enforcements coming soon, hopefully, the Lakers just need to keep treading water, head above the waves, until the team can get healthy and back on track.

1. Marc Gasol did all the right things on the court and followed that up by saying all the right things off of it. He contributed his best all-around game as a Laker pouring in 13 points (6-9, 1-3 from three), a co-team high 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 big blocks. While he did cough it up 5 times he looked more like the player I think we all though we’d see on a regular basis. In his post-gamer he continued his excellent showing by stating unequivocally that he was all in on this Laker season. Did he mean it? Could he be fibbing? Maybe, sure, who knows but the important thing was that he is playing the right way and saying the right things and being a good teammate in the doing. Solid effort by Marc.
2. The THT/AC pairing. This hasn’t gotten much attention but I think it speaks to the coaching staff’s confidence in both players to get the job done. Slowly but surely AC and THT are getting more time as combined unit. For awhile it felt like they were staggered off of one another and it didn’t matter when LeBron was on the floor commanding attention and orchestrating like only he can. In his absence, and when Schroder goes to the bench, Vogel turns to this duo to keep us afloat. The results have been mixed but I think the combo has potential as a stabilizing force off the bench. THT can be the de facto PG and Caruso takes the lead on D. This allows for their offsetting skill sets to balance out a little more organically. We’re talking about 10 or so minutes of actual basketball action so it’s not like it needs to hold up for long. It’ll be interesting to see how the rotation settles in as we get guys back but I kind of hope this continues into the playoffs. For the night both THT and AC had solid games: THT had 17 (6-10 shooting, 3/4 from three), 4 rebounds, 6 assists. Caruso had an efficient 13 (4-7, 3/4 from three) 5 boards and 4 dimes. They both had 4 turnovers which is too many but par for this team this season.
3. Wesley Matthews Jr. contributing impact plays if not eye-popping stats. It hasn’t been the easiest of roads for Wes this season. Struggled early, got benched, got a neck injury on a scary fall into the stanchion and has seen his role fluctuate based on how other guys have begun to emerge but through it all he’s been solid on defense and that shot has come around little by little. Last night Wes led the team in +/- and played hard on both ends. We’re going to need Wes to contribute in order to have success in the playoffs so it’s been nice to see him carve out a role for himself on account of his defense and hard-nosed play.
4. Trezz standing up for his team. I mentioned this in the podcast but it bears repeating here. I can’t count the number of comments on the site, articles in the media and social media that shine a light on the notion that a lot of these guys will be moved, sign elsewhere and aren’t all in on the Lakers. Last night we saw the other side. The side where guys who play on a team bond together. Trezz id a fiery-fellow, you can see him jawing with opponents, refs and teammates through every single game. It could be as easy to misconstrue that intensity as displeasure with his situation, after all he did have to accept our bargain basement MLE, as it was to misconstrue his All Star tweet. Passion can be an intimidating thing, not always taken the right way or expressed in a socially acceptable manner. To see Trezz stand up for Dennis and then to see the comment about how he has a beef with anyone not wearing a Laker jersey makes me smile. The dude’s heart is in the right place. Still, he did get tossed and only contributed 2 whopping minutes of play. That left a Harrell-sized hole in our line up. One that was filled by none other than…
5. DEVONTAE CACOCK! The G-Leaguer, 2-way player had his best game of the year by a country mile. In 17 minutes he had 8 rebounds, hit 5-7 shots for 10 big points, and played with the kind of energy this team needs on a nightly basis. I sure hope Devontae makes the post-season roster. I’ve always loved his hustle and nose for the rebound. For a team struggling with a “next man up?” identity issue Devontae flipped the script and stepped up in a large way.

Miami is up next, gonna be a tough one. Maybe we can play the trap team for once, eh? At any rate, won’t be much of an NBA Finals rematch without AD or LeBron so maybe we can bring this same energy and feistiness and pull out another W. Keep the head a little higher above those waves.