5 Things: Back at .500

With a convincing win over the Mavericks the Lakers got back to .500, crawled back into the last Playin spot, and honestly looked a lot like the team we all had hoped to see more of. While it helped that the 2 guys who scored 40 apiece the game before (Hardaway Jr. and KI) went stone cold, the Lakers also did a good job of dictating pace and playing to our strengths. Still, regardless of how we acquire wins, they are the tonic for what ails our season.

1. D’Angelo shines again. Since getting his second chance at starting DLo has really made the most of it. Last night he led the team in scoring and a lot of those shots came from great offensive possessions where the defense collapsed on AD and Russell was the release valve. Scoring off the pass is something we desperately need from Russell, even if his bread and butter is the pick & roll. We need to improve our catch and shoot threepoint accuracy to make up for a lack of accurate volume. Smarter threes, not always more. As we saw with the bench, volume doesn’t always solve the accuracy issues. DLo is the player best-suited to solve both issues, at this time.
2. Points in the paint dominance. Despite the Mavericks killing us in the points off of turnovers department the Lakers still came away with a +16 in paint points. AD, Reaves, and LeBron feasted on the weak interior D of the Mavs by either scoring or hitting the open man. This is and has to continue to be the blueprint with the team we have now. If the team changes then we’ll see but until such time there seems little sanity to trying to change what obviously works.
3. The ball was moving! Always nice to see multiple players with multiple assists and even better to see every Lakers (well, except Max Christie, find a teammate for a bucket. Because of our general lack of team speed, especially in the half court, it’s essential that the ball move. Transition scoring is a strength but we don’t have the type of slashing guard or forward who creates plus looks by attacking the paint in the half court. Moving the ball helps mitigate that issue a lot.
4. Vando finding his groove. After a slow start Vando looks like he’s playing a lot more freely. Maybe having Cam out has helped him get the minutes he needed to get into this rhythm, and that’s an issue for the coaches to work out, but for me I vastly prefer Vando’s all around game to Cam’s. Both have really positive things they bring but of the two Jarred is mroe apt to let the game dictate his offense rather than force it like Cam tends to do (and that’s understandable, dude is playing for his next deal and The Vandolorian is set for a few years) but his rebounding and defense were critical in controlling the tempo and keeping hot shooters cold. I like that he’s taking those open threes and trying to find his shots more. Everyone is better when they play defense well but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to score. there’s a reason why two-way players make the bigger bucks.
5. Unlocking Rui Hachimura. Maybe he’s just one of those post season guys? While his minutes are right around 20 MPG it just feels like Rui isn’t making the most of them which is what’s really opening the door for other guys to get more minutes when, in my opinion, he’s the better player. Maybe we need to just get him past the deadline so he can relax? I dunno, but if he sticks past 2/8 we need to see Rui become the best version of himself we can hope for if we’re gonna have a shot at anything.