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One thing that jumped out at me watching these highlights is the chemistry between Schroder and Dedmon, who played together in 2017-18 for the Hawks. Love to see that on Lakers.

NBA Defensive Rating leaders in the West Playoffs so far (minimum 25 mpg):

1. Russell Westbrook, 89.5 DRTG
2. James Harden, 99.2 DRTG
3. Anthony Davis, 99.3 DRTG
4. Robert Covington, 99.6 DRTG
5. PJ Tucker, 100 DRTG

Clamp City 🗜 pic.twitter.com/d3eoGzo6Dm

— ً (@arxanii) September 5, 2020

The bigs standing at both blocks doesn’t help either, but this is an issue bigger than this one play.

Rondo is a big issue in this regard, but If Rondo becomes a scapegoat and LA runs out the same stagnant small ball “spacing” lineups just without Rondo we’ll see similar issues.

— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) September 6, 2020

Here’s the play LeBron complained about spacing.

In that left corner was Rondo.

On the right corner, receiving the same treatment, was Danny Green.

Rondo made this issue worse all game, but our small lineups received similar treatment even with Green/KCP/Morris/Kuz/Caruso. pic.twitter.com/p6Wsfr4yAT

— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) September 6, 2020

PJ Tucker is in Anthony Davis’ head💀 pic.twitter.com/3gxz9ZnAlo

— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) September 6, 2020

The weighty decisions facing Frank Vogel after another Game 1 loss – The Athletic https://t.co/6O0hX6IKmG

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 6, 2020

Will he continue to lean on big lineups after the Lakers were unable to capitalize on their size advantage? Will he continue to trust Rajon Rondo after the veteran guard’s spotty performance in his first game action in nearly six months?

Vogel has had a fairly charmed first year with the Lakers, blazing to the Western Conference’s best record behind an MVP-caliber season from James and an All-NBA campaign by Anthony Davis. For that, Vogel finished fifth in Coach of the Year voting. The nature of his arrival in Los Angeles, and the string of candidates who turned down Rob Pelinka before he offered the position to Vogel, is a distant memory.

But the spotlight burns hot in the playoffs. And the decisions Vogel makes over the next 48 hours will help determine whether Friday’s loss was a blip, akin to the Game 1 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, or a sign of real trouble.