5 THINGS

The Lakers did what was needed to control their destiny and end up as the 3rd seed. They have a date with the 6th seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s safe to say that there won’t be any easy roads to a title, especially in the loaded western conference, but facing the Timberwolves early is probably for the best. I’d rather face a young team early, before they maybe win a series or two and start playing above their heads. Defense and an efficient offense are the keys to winning in the playoffs so let’s get into it.

1. Healthy get you wealthy. The week off for a team featuring the oldest player in the league (whom we rely on extensively) is a boon from the basketball gods. LeBron, Reaves, Luka, Hayes, DFS, Rui and Vando have all missed games for maintenance over the last month and getting those players off their feet and into some treatment is huge. Especially LeBron and Luka but anyone who can maybe get over a nagging injury or a persistent bruise. Hayes in particular could stand to get over the finger injury he has which is why I suspect his free throw % has dropped off a cliff of late. Getting as many guys as right as possible is a gift the Lakers have not had in some time.
2. Time for planning. Being that it’s Coach Reddick’s maiden voyage into the playoffs it will be interesting to see how he plays the matchups, adjustments and counter-moves that often define a playoff series. Coaching takes on a new dimension in the playoffs and I’m excited to see what the coach and his staff come up with. Having not one but two generational talents to run the offense, call out coverages and slow the game down for the whole team is a luxury most coaches can only dream of. Matching up against the Timberwolves is a great first test.
3. Luke, LeBron and Reaves. Let’s not get anything twisted: we’re going exactly as far as these three players can carry us. We need for the hot shooting Luka showed the last few games to continue, we need LeBron to continue to captain the defense at an elite level, and we need Reaves to continue to assert himself and be the best 3rd option in the NBA. If these three guys are all rolling pretty consistently I like our chances against anyone.
4. X Factors. I’d say the health and impact of Mike Conley on the Timberwolves along with how Randle plays are probably the 2 biggest X Factors for the Timberwolves. For the Lakers it’s their bench. Who among Vincent, DFS, Vando, Knecht and maybe Goodwin can step up and deliver under the bright lights of the NBA playoffs? My bet is that Vincent ends up being a stabilizing force, for the most part, and that the true X Factors end up being Vando and Goodwin. If those two can combine for 10+ points and the stat stuffing they do on D we’re in good shape. I’m not expecting a huge role for Dalton, honestly. Who knows, all sorts of weird can happen in a 7 game series. Just ask Lonnie Walker IV.
5. Defense shall lead the way. The old adage proves true every postseason: defense wins championships. If the lakers can rediscover that elite, defenders on a string vibe we had post-Luka trade but pre-LeBron groin tweak I like our chances against anyone in either conference. Slip much below that and the cracks in the foundation will be showing and we’re going to be in for a tough slog. So here’s hoping we defend at an elite level and score effectively and efficiently en route to banner #18!

The Lakers won a crucial game last night as we come to the home stretch of the regular season. Sure, LeBron, Murray and The Joker all sat but Luka and Reaves continue to develop the more important chemistry (assuming Reaves is part of future team plans) and we clinched the tie-breaker over Denver for home court advantage in the playoffs. All of this is important for a team that, despite a disastrous road trip last week, is still surging in the standings.

1. Luka on fire early. Dude couldn’t miss. He’s gotten his legs under him and is moving more fluidly this week, which bodes well for the team and his efficiency. Still had a few too many turnovers, and that’s as much an adjustment of the Nuggets defense throwing different schemes and long dudes at him, but a lot of those plays won’t (or at least really shouldn’t) be attempted in the playoffs. I get what Dallas fans had to say about his complaining, while maybe not quite as bad as Devin Booker or Jayson Tatum, it is frequent and constant. Let coach do the complaining dude, and besides, you get to the line an awful lot as it is.
2. Winning when you should. In sport the hardest wins are against what are looked at as soft or depleted teams. This ignores a little something called pride. pro athletes compete man, it’s how they’re wired.
3. Nuggets chirping. Gott love Watson getting all chirpy and in Luka’s face. Dude dropped 21 on his team and he’s acting like the game was close and he was about to in it with his next hoop. Love that fight and grit, maybe just focus a little more on your defensive assignment, though lol.
4. Hayes continues to shine. I’m just as pleased as pie with how Jax has been playing of late. I have been pulling for the dude since last season, and I’m sure we’ll see 213 trade pitches dropped with an eye to replace him, but I’m down with rolling with Hayes into next season on a fair extension. If he has a breakout playoffs…that extension price may climb past what the Lakers a re comfortable with, however…
5. Bronny! Didn’t finish this until Friday morning so might as well tack on how great Mr. Bronny James played last night. When really nobody else showed up in a Milwaukee route, Bronny showed that he could have a brighter future than just about anyone who writes about sport predicted. I’ve said it before, but I think it bears repeating, the dude was and is a project. Everyone picked at 55 is a project, just how it goes. To his credit it sounds, and looks, like he’s been putting in the right work and the results are paying off. His first step is legit, he can blow by bigger defenders (and should have drawn a foul on Giannis that went uncalled). This wasn’t 48 minutes of garbage time, the lakers and Milwaukee had a vested interest in the outcome. Bronny’s stat line was full of career highs: 17 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 30 minutes played. Solid job, keep working and ignore the BS.

It’s not always 12 point cruises and bench warmers playing the last few minutes, sometimes you gotta win nasty. The Lakers showed that nasty tenacity last night in a thrilling 113-109 OT vs. the Knicks. File this one under “Ain’t Pretty” because this was an ugly game start to finish. More like a street brawl than a basketball game at times, you could tell the Knicks wanted this game and they let it slip away (a habit for them to deal with). Lot of bright points in the murk and muck so let’s dig in.

1. Reaves Rusty Return. It was great seeing Reaves back on the floor but he struggled mightily from the field. Still, it’s worth noting how he helps bend the defense when he plays with LBJ and LD. This aspect of the Lakers, three guys who can get to the rim and create in addition to hitting the three, is what will differentiate the Lakers from the rest of the Association. The Warriors are the only other team that comes close with Curry, Butler and Green and Curry is the one with the least court vision in that trio (like Reaves on ours). Other teams feature a possibly more elite shot creator (Denver has Jokic, OKC has SGA) but the multi-headed Hydra that is the Lakers is a tough foe to vanquish, even when one of them is missing shots they normally make. That three he hit in OT was as clutch as it gets.
2. Gotta keep Jaxson Hayes. There might not be a better center within our means this summer. I’m sure we’ll see 8,231,609 articles about Myles Turner, Brook Lopez and Clint Capella. From my point of view there might not be a better fit for Luka than what we already have in-house. Should he decline his player option for next season Naz Reed is certainly going to vault to the top of the list but his services, like Turner’s, are likely to come at a price too steep. We don’t have $30 million to toss at the 5 position. If we can’t work a trade for Kleber we won’t even have $10 million we can throw at the 5, not for a player on another team. We can sign Hayes, possibly for the Bi-Annual Exception. His fit is apparent and he’s blossoming into a solid player before our eyes. We’ve made the mistake of chasing names over impact and fit too many times in the past, here’s hoping we’ve learned from those lessons. Hayes played so well the Lakers couldn’t afford to go small down the stretch and that’s saying something.
3. Knecht. That buzzer-beater he hit at the end of the 3rd reminded me of an earlier game this season (don’t recall which one, like in the first 10 games…) and it was great to see a young player who has faced a lot of adversity already find the space and ability within to take and make a game-altering shot. He’s been looking more like his early season self and I couldn’t be happier that we didn’t trade him for a broken down center we never needed in the first place. No offense to Mark Williams intended, just his fit given that we already have Hayes was curious to me from the get-go.
4. L & L inc. I’m just now getting used to seeing LeBron and Luka on the same team. It’s been a blast and they kept us afloat through 3 quarters. Credit them for rowing the boat but also for trusting their team down the stretch when one could easily imagine them thinking “it has to be me”. That kind of thinking isolates and divides a team, they’re embracing theirs and the results show up in the in/loss column.
5. Great test coming up. We’re going to start facing teams that have a different set of players than what we’ve been beating up on. We’ve feasted, as any good team does, on an easier portion of the schedule and now we go back on the road. So here’s hoping the Lakers continue to commit and execute on D, keep trusting one another and keep playing hard. It’s the only true cheat code in sport, after all.