5 Things: Lakers Hold Off Raptors

Winning back-to-back games at Crypto after dropping 10 out of the last 13 games was beyond essential. It derailed what looked like a disaster of a homestand in the making (now it could end up just being disappointing), and has kept the Lakers at the absolute back end of the playin picture. Lakers look like a team waiting for the other shoe to fall, even in wins, which is a bad look for a team trying to break into another level of respect.

1. Coach Darko had a lot to say about respect after the game, likely earning him a fine at some point in the next 24 hours. Coach Darko should just save his money, the league ain’t gonna do jack about the disparity that occurs in some games. Jaylen Brown will get no investigation (and the Last Two Minute report didn’t even work out in the Celtics’ favor, either, after they lost to a Haliburton-less Pacer squad) and the fact is every team has games like this where it feels like 8 on 5. At least 6 of those 4th quarter free throws were intentional by the Raptors as they tried to work the clock, guys like LeBron and Barnes make it hard to call fouls for them because of the way they initiate contact and in the end I actually thought it was a decently called game. There were some no-calls on what could have been fouls and some ticky tack fouls on both squads.
2. AD earning some big time respect. Even during this down stretch AD has been the one player who is consistently great, if not excellent, every game. His defense has been exceptional, he’s playing with as much force and decisiveness as I think I’ve ever seen, and on top of that his jumper is finally coming around which will just open up his game to whole other level. This is as much of a torch passing stretch as anything we’ll ever see as it looks like LeBron is the one slowing down a little, picking his spots more, and deferring to AD more than at any other time except for crucial possessions. That is exactly how it should be.
3. LeBron respects his old coaches..not so sure if he really respects ours. Much has been made of the effusive praise James heaped upon Ty Lue (coached him during his dream NBA Finals where they overcame a 3-1 deficit, beat the Warriors who had broken the regular season record for victories that season, had Durant, the Splash bros. and “Nutshot” Green on the team and healthy and still managed to win. His equally effusive praise for Spo and his big time money extension also drew some pearl clutching moments. Personally I’m reading less than nothing into those comments. Lue is a friend of James, has been for years (even before he was the coach of the Cavs) and they paired to make a lot of history. Broke the Cleveland champion curse, won the Cavs their first and only banner, to date, and made history in the NBA Finals by being the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to clinch the Larry-O. LeBron went to the NBA Finals every time he was in a Heat uniform and won two, one of them being his first. So, like, no-freaking-doy he’s going to say he’s happy for Spo. The bad water he left when he re-signed with the Cavs kind of out of nowhere has long been washed away. It’s rare for players, any player, to come out with full-throated support of the coach of their current team. At best you’ll get the kind of lip-service praise we heard from the Raptors following Coach Darko’s tirade, it’s rarely the kind of thing where you see a player like Jokic (who offers warm if not enthusiastic, praise for Michael malone who has a great track record of coaching big men). This goes straight to the “Uh-huh, cool, moving on now” file.
4. Reaves struggling to find his shot. Austin has been struggling over the last handful of games to score the rock, especially from deep. So, while his 7 assist to zero turnover game helped mitigate that ineffectiveness, it was funny to see him shrugging at the Basketball Gods when he finally sank a clutch three from one of his favorite spots. What was a little more surprising was that DLo didn’t play at all down the stretch as Austin kept missing. That in and of itself might be all anyone needs to see to know Reaves ain’t getting traded this season.
5. Christian Wood playing well, again. Hayes being out may have been a blessing for the Lakers but certainly a boon for Christian Wood who found his shot and what intensity he brings at the right time. While I like Hayes he’s a too prone to fouling, would do better on a young team with less expectations, and just isn’t what we need at the backup 5 with AD playing the way he is. Frankly, when AD plays like this at the 5 the need for another center when placed against our issues at both guard spots seems almost non-existent. C-Dub played his normal defensive game (mediocre) but was key hitting some timely shots to keep the offense from stagnating. That’s his role and when he plays it well and can avoid driving the ball into the defense for awkward scoop shots (like he did last night) it’s even better.

One more at home against the Suns before we head out to Utah to face the Jazz, win out from now until Sunday when we play Brooklyn at Crypto and we can start to feel better about this ship turning around. Lose to Phoenix or Utah and it’s a double whammy as they’re chasing us in the standings (and not far behind, either). We basically just replicated the woeful 2-10 start to last season by going 3-10 since the IST. Can we recover like we did last season? Will it take a trade to shake things up? Time will tell.