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Lakers Proud Of Defense Stifling Trail Blazers Through Two Games

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“We’re playing scrappy,” head coach Frank Vogel said after the Lakers’ win in Game 2. “We’re competing at a very high level, the care factor on the defensive side of the ball is where it should be to win the playoffs, and we have tremendous respect for the offensive firepower of the team that we’re playing.

“Just been pleased with our team’s effort and commitment on the defensive end in both games.”

The effort has led the Lakers to an absurd defensive rating of 94.5, as Portland went from averaging 126 points per game in the bubble to 94 against L.A.

This aggressive Anthony Davis is one league should fear

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For Lakers’ fans, all is right with the world again… well, at least on the basketball court. (The world is still a quarantined mess, the Lakers can’t fix that.)

Los Angeles dominated the Portland Thursday, tying their first-round series 1-1, despite the fact LeBron James had just 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Two things sparked the impressive Lakers’ win. First, Los Angeles played dominant defense (something it has done in six of the eight quarters in this series), holding the Blazers to 88 points total and way less than a point per possession on offense.

The second thing: The Anthony Davis the rest of the league fears showed up.

Davis was aggressive, attacking the rim and not settling for jumpers, and as a result he and finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and seemed to be everywhere defensively — he was the best player on the court and it wasn’t close.https://www.youtube.com/embed/mxlD_sMXWoU

Davis did a lot of his damage while playing center in this game, and while he may not want to be known as a five, the Lakers are at their best when he slides into that role.

Davis very well may be the First Team All-NBA center this season despite the fact he spent the majority of his time on the court at the four (60%), with JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard at center. He was the first-team center on my awards ballot and I know I wasn’t alone among voters. One reason for this was simply to get the five best players on the first team.

Another part of it is Davis is the best center in the league, he just doesn’t want to play there full time. Davis scored 22 of his points Thursday while playing center and the Lakers were +15 in those minutes. Davis at the five is one of those weapons coach Frank Vogel doesn’t go to first, but when he does it decimates other teams.