The Lakers started their end of season run off on the right foot. Winning against an under-manned and struggling in general Warriors team was as close to a must-win game as one can get with 23 games left in the season. Lose and the questions continue, the identity as a team that wilts under pressure gains continues, the overall malaise that had built up around the team continues. Instead the Lakers took the first step in changing a season-long narrative of futility and ineptitude and gained ground on some key teams in the doing.
- Off night for both LeBron and AD. There have been a couple games this season where AD or LeBron (or both) were out and the team came through with a win. none were as convincing as last night’s victory. With Davis and James combining for 8-25 shooting (25 points) and 21 rebounds the stage was set for a disappointing loss. The rest of the Lakers did an admirable job in picking up their two best players and, for a night at least, providing enough firepower to get them over the line with a W.
- Reaves’ perfect night. Austin had a perfect night from the field and a solid game overall. While he didn’t force his offense he was still stellar and helped build a big cushion in the 3rd quarter, an area we’ve struggled in for the most part this season. In his post gamer Austin estimated he had hit the weight room and played “about 110 holes of golf” which is curious because there are 18 holes on most golf courses.
- Shooter! Malik Beasley showed everyone yearning for a volume three point shooter that the place where shooters go to die won’t be claiming his soul, at least not yet. He was magnificent from beyond the arc, solid on defense with 3 steals and had a great game overall after D-Lo went down with an ankle injury. Great game from the new addition.
- Worst coaches challenge ever? Darvin Ham has been pretty solid in terms of when and on what calls to deploy the coaches challenge this season. Last night he challenged one of the most blatant fouls called on a player I’ve seen in a long time. I know LeBron went apoplectic when the foul was called, that’s what he always does. Don’t waste those and don’t get caught up in your player’s emotions. Less than 5 minutes, maybe even 3 or 2, in close games is the only time to ever use a coaches challenge. Players will whine about calls. Always. Don’t let that effect the decision to use it.
- D’Angelo goes down and then goes out. Bad timing for D-Lo when he rolled that ankle, hoping he comes back as it didn’t look too serious but would rather he get it under control now and come back strong. Injury bug came back after the break, too, unfortunately.
All in all I’m still taking this win with a small grain of salt. Warriors have had defensive and turnover issues all season long and that continued coupled with some bad shooting that wasn’t always the result of good Laker D. A healthy and hungry Dallas team looms on Sunday and that will be a solid challenge for the new squad, one that really hasn’t seen a complete, healthy and hungry team, yet. Need to keep on winning in-conference and division games, though, so this was a solid first step in the right direction.
Encouraging game. The biggest takeaway for me was that both Lebron & AD were subpar but the rest of the roster took up the slack. The win was expected (we were 8pt favorites) but the way we got there was impressive. Hopefully this was just a blip for LBJ but it’s becoming all too common for AD. Nice night all around with Portland, OKC, & Pels also all losing and taking a 2-1 lead head-to-head now against GSW.
Sidenote…we haven’t really changed our style of play yet. Took 30 shots from the arc which is right around our average but Beez was on fire (good to hear D.Ham telling him to keep shooting that thang during the game lol). Blew them away on the fast break buckets though, which has been our bread & butter all year. Felt almost like AD was deferring and trying to get everyone else involved by being a playmaker but that shouldn’t be his role. Can’t have him taking only 5 shots
Nice post Jamie,
it is great to actually get to post positive things. Watching Beasley i think he may succeed where other shooters have faild. like Steph and Klay he is constantly moving, running to differnt spots as the ball moves, making himself available. others we have brought in would park in a spot and wait. by moving like he does he allows for more volume shooting. now he is streaky so every night wont be like this one. still just having to account for him all over the court will open up others.
We won in a convincing manner but if we are to make the playoffs AD can not take 5 shots a game. he needs to dominate inside. The Warriors have held him in check two games in a row but our success is not sustainable without a larger contribution from AD. im not concerned about Lebron. he had an off night. it happens. but he got up 19 shots so, passivity is not a problem for him.
finally, Bamba was a pleasant surprise. he has not been know as a good rebounder. But he had 13 boards last night. he also has a reputation for being played off the floor by small ball line ups. but he hung in there. Hopefully we are seeing the new Mo. i would like him to develop a post game and a roll game. At 7′ tall with a 7′ 10″ wing span you would hope he could reek havoc on smaller line ups but he tends to foat around the 3 point line. i hope Handy works with on that because a 7 footer should play like one.
Thanks! Totally agree on the good game by Bamba but that he needs to add to his game. I feel like, should we get to the playoffs, he’ll be another minutes casualty.
Agreed on AD, got to the line a decent amount and as you pointed out moved the ball but if he’s not involved in the offense we won’t go far. I did think he got missed on a couple of seals and some of that will hopefully get ironed out with time on the floor. Also the only true PG we had left after D-Lo went down was Dennis who is fine but not elite at passing. Still, the foundation of your point is solid and AD needs to be better.
First of all, very encouraging to see us get a win when LeBron and AD had off nights in the same game.
What really was weird to me was to see Lonnie show up in garbage time. I have completely forgotten about him and Gabriel. I am talking about Lonnie Walker who was our third-best player before his injury.
This goes to show the depth we have with this team. It mirrors the roster we had in the bubble. I still can’t believe I have forgotten about him. And he was the one I was advocating as a keeper. So weird.
Now, my plea to coach Ham is to find a place for him on the roster. We can’t afford to waste talent like this.
I too was surprised he got moved to the end of the bench, but you can’t argue with the results so far. Only so many minutes.
Yup. There will be games where foul trouble or his athleticism are what forces him back into prime time minutes.
It’s a testament as to how bad our roster was. We had dudes playing major minutes who really shouldn’t have been. We root for them because they’re ours but….reality. You ain’t winning chit with Lonnie as your 3rd best dude.
Exactly. Wenyan is a 12th or 13th man even with his improved game.
Alotta times when these guys fall through the cracks it’s a problem with consistency. Talented, but everyone who makes an NBA roster is talented. Your work habits & preparation are often the big factor. As well as health…
Yup, Lonnie may end up a casualty of the talent influx but hopefully it forces him to raise his game and make it a problem to bench him.
I agree with all of your comments about Lonnie. So sad, but he has to learn how to live to fight another day. Talk about survival of the fittest.