The Lakers had another sluggish first half against the Utah Jazz last night that culminated with another injury, this one a potentially serious ankle sprain suffered by Anthony Davis. For a team that can’t seem to catch any breaks at all the good news was that, despite the apparent severity of the injury (James Worthy couldn’t watch replays) the ankle was not broken and the return time is 2-4 weeks. Frankly, it looked worse than that and I, again, would rather AD come back feeling strong on the ankle rather than tentative and maybe injuring his knee. After the half the Lakers started to slow in the 3rd then, finally, found a competitive gear and, unlike so many other late, spirited comebacks this season, managed to eke out a win.
- I thought it fitting that in his first game since passing Cap for combined points scored in the regular season and playoffs LeBron scored 33 points which is also Kareem’s number that hangs in the rafters of The Crypt. LeBron finished a pretty efficient 14-23 from the field, 3-8 from three and was pretty under control with only 3 turnovers to 6 dimes. Again I felt like LeBron earned more than 2 trips to the free throw line continuing a season-long theme. Still, we came out with the win but it’s astounding to me that James, who frequently takes it hard to the rim, doesn’t average more FTA/game.
- Russell fitting in. There’s only one way to manage Russ at this point: let him roll and hope for the best. The dude is chaos incarnate, which is certainly a blade that can cut two ways. But you’re not going to get good value for him this summer or into next season if you don’t let him loose or bench him in the 4th. You’re just going to damage your chances of trading him this summer or beyond and you’re not trusting unique talent. Russ is a fantastic rebounder (4 offensive rebounds last night) and he applies pressure to a defense that forces it to collapse. When we’re in sync he can hit trailers off a screen for lobs, kick out to shooters or (try) to score at the rim. It’s that last one that, if he can improve just that area of efficiency, we can build on.
- Reaves earning his role the right way. I love guys in the Austin Reaves mold: tough, not trying too hard to make an impression, finding shots in the flow, defending as well as they can. Austin took some critique from LeBron at one point and you could see he maybe kinda disagreed with it by watching his body language. THT often gets the same look when he funnels a guy the wrong way and one of the vets comes over and informs him of his error. Reaves didn’t let it faze his confidence as he calmly stepped into the game-sealing shot last night. While not as epic as his game winner earlier in the season this was maybe a bigger shot as it helped the team go into the break with a win hopefully setting up a resurgent end to the season.
- THT’s defense. The last few games we’ve finally started seeing the THT we all would like to see on a more consistent basis. The one that rebounds, makes plays and defends. Talen made 1 shot and missed all of his threes. He still found a way to impact the game positively which has often been a major struggle for him. Shots don’t always fall, you often don’t get the call but you can’t let those things effect you’re ability to impact the game through basic basketball. Rebounding, defending, moving the ball to the open man…none of those are elite level skills. That’s just called playing the right way. THT did that last night even if his point tally wasn’t great.
- My favorite starting five. Well, for one game we saw my preferred starting five of Davis, Johnson, James, Monk and Westbrook. While it was likely due to Avery’s injury and may not be the look we see every game from here on out I think that line up offers a great blend of defense, size and scoring. Stick with it Frank, at least once AD comes back.
Well, here comes the ASB. We need to come out of it roaring and fighting or we might fall out of the playoffs altogether. if this team misses the playin or gets booted out of it…
Good fiver, Jamie. Great effort by the team to turn what could have been a disastrous and dispirited game right before the break into what could be a breakout game to enjoy as the team gets some needed time off to recover and rededicate themselves to winning the last third of the season.
1. By the way, LeBron’s only two free throws were both technicals that he make. The lack of respect for James attacking the rim has reached epidemic proportions.
2. Russ was a big part of why we won this game. Every one of these efforts will slowly redeem this season for Russ. That’s my hope.
3. Austin Reaves should maybe start and definitely finish games.
4. Good to see Talen making plays that help. We have to give the youngsters room to great if we want to be a better team by the playoffs. Monk, Reaves, Stanley, Talen. They are key.
5. No Avery. I’m still hoping for the Russ, Reaves, Monk, LeBron, and AD lineup. but also like the Russ, Monk, Stanley, LeBron, and AD lineup too.
Great one, Jamie. Great to see the youngsters get their props. I thought the game was over when AD went down, but man did the team came out fighting. As for free throws for James, it’s very frustrating that he doesn’t get the calls. As a comparison, Ja Morant went 21/25 from the free-throw line against the Blazers on the same night. He almost had more free throw attempts than the entire Blazers team. 25 free throw attempts by one player? Come on man, that’s ridiculous.
LeBron gets no fouls called when getting hit all the time, perhaps a conspiracy? I wonder if we cannot get Westy traded, perhaps AD is the one to go. I like him, but he can’t stay healthy.
I am with you on that, DJ. Yup.