5 THINGS

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.

50,000 points and counting. An astounding feat given that LeBron came into the league without much of a jump shot. As the years have gone by, James has added and added and arsenal of moves and redefined our preconceived notions of what age in sport means. It’s been a lot of fun to watch, too. The crazy thing is, Lebron wasn’t the only Laker to make history last night. Let’s get into it.

1. Lebron and 50,000 points. this isn’t the only Club of One LeBron has created, he’s also the exclusive member of the 40K/10K/10K Club for total points, assists and rebounds in the regular season. Coach Reddick had an astute observation that we would have celebrated this a little earlier had the NBA Cup tournament game counted as playoff points last season. All in all, I’ve run out of hyperbolic things to say about LeBron James. So I’ll leave it at this: I’ve watched Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Shaq and Gasol all excel as Lakers and make one kind of history or another. I watched Jordan in the 90s, all 3 versions. I’ve never seen anything like what LeBron is doing. MVP almost doesn’t stack up as enough of an award, the NBA needs to consider some kind of lifetime achievement award to properly recognize what we’re all watching.
2. Luka joined Lakers history last night, too. He joined the exclusive 30/15 club (points and assists) which has 3 other members: Jerry West, Magic Johnson and LeBron James. I suspect that we’ll se Luka making a lot of purple and gold history himself. FWIW Magic posted that line 19 total times. Amazing.
3. Positive Vibes. The trio of Luka (+37), Shake Milton (+30) and Jarred Vanderbilt (+27) managed to post an absurd +94 combined plus/minus rating. That group scored and defended at an extremely high level and helped put the game out of reach. Shake is an interesting dude, his jump shot is ugly as sin, he doesn’t have a great handle but he’s tough and plays hard. Vando seems like he defends two guys at once sometimes, it’s awesome to watch, There a issues with his game in terms of scoring but you can’t deny that watching him play defense is an absolute blast. Also, he’s been taking and making multiple threes from the corner in the last few games. That’s all we need from him, he’ll score plenty on back cuts, put-backs and breakaways.
4. Jaxson Hayes coulda/woulda/should had a new career high. His career high in points is 23 (as a Pelican), he matched his Laker high last night. He did all his scoring in the first half. I kinda felt for the dude because he plays so hard and so unselfishly every night, I wanted him to get to at least 20. Next time, Jax.
5. Lakers Analytical Dominance. AKA L.A.D. The L.A.D. is what’s separating them from the pack, we’re still dominating in paint points most nights but we’ve added the three ball and maintained a solid differential at the free throw line. This is what’s known as a recipe for success. Toss in an NBA leading defense and you can start to see why the mass media is starting to come around on our ability to win it all this season. not sure anyone could have predicted such a quick, seamless transition between 2 generational talents or that the defense would somehow find another level with AD on the Mavs…but there it is. impossible to ignore. Now if we could just cut down on the turnovers…

Great seeing Zion play, dude looks lean and mean which is bad news for the NBA…next season. He looks like he’s in the best shape of his life, good for him.

The Lakers look nothing like the team LeBron is quoted as saying needs to “play near-perfect” in order to win. It’s hard to imagine the team we started with weathering a rash of injuries and tough schedule so smoothly. Reaves and Hachimura out? No problem, next man up and let’s keep the good times rolling baby.

1. The man who I am quickly running out of superlatives for. Luka is rounding back into game shape and it’s going to be a problem for the Association. His line of 29 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists won’t be hung on the wall, and was offset by his 6 turnovers, but seeing Luka casually play this way when he clearly still doesn’t have his legs or wind is exciting. By the time the playoffs roll around we should see the best, current version of Luka. Like any great playmaker it’s exciting to watch him maneuver and orchestrate. Toying with defenders, probing effortlessly, and having a blast doing it. It looks like he’s settling in now and once he gets up to full speed physically watch out.
2. Lebron just missing history. 49999 combined regular season and playoff points. An astounding number and he came up 1 point shy of history. LeBron had a rough game, wasn’t hitting his threes and had a whopping 8 turnovers. The thing is, if you told me that Rui and Austin would be out and LeBron and Luka would combine for 14 turnovers themselves I’d tell you we likely lost the game. That’s the beauty of what’s happening in LA right now, it’s as much a team success thing as individual greatness colliding.
3. Dalton Knecht’s return to form. DK4 had himself a ball game. Crashing the glass, hitting threes, and generally making a positive impact. A lot of bench guys had an overall minus rating but I’m putting that on LeBron and Luka giving the ball away like a fruit cake in a white elephant gift exchange. Dalton got hot early and the Clippers adjusted their defense but that left other guys free to rebound or drive. Solid game for Dalton and here’s hoping he’s putting all the BS behind him and letting all of it help him grow and improve.
4. Vando’s best game this season. You can see The Vandolorian returning to form, his legs are springier and he’s recovering quicker. 5 of his rebounds were on the offensive glass which we desperately needed in the midst of so very many turnovers. He passed up a three or two I wish he would let fly but in general you can see what kind of look we can feature him in with Luka, LeBron, Vando, DFS and either Vincent or Reaves for a defensive, analytics juggernaut on both ends. He was the only bench player with a positive rating, mostly due to that fact that he played down the stretch in the 4th when we closed out the win.
5. Jordan Goodwin info. I had feared we missed our window to retain Jordan Goodwin on an NBA deal but, after doing some research, I believe I was wrong. We can waive one of Morris, Reddish or Len at any time prior to the playoffs (they no longer would be able to sign with another team being the issue there). We have until April 13th to decide if we want Goodwin available for the playoff roster and convert him from a two-way to a standard deal. Given his recent injury it’s good that we have more time, and I haven’t given up on Reddish being a bigger part of this, but I don’t see much of a role for either Len or Morris other than rah-rah, positive voice in the locker room. Stay tuned.

In what became a close, physical battle the Lakers prevailed by staying within themselves and trusting one another on defense. This one won’t go in the record books under “pretty” or “efficient” but it will still be in the win column and that’s all that really matters. Luka checked the “play against the Mavs” box and now just needs to check the “play the Mavs in Dallas” box later in the season. All in all, the Lakers held serve at home against a tough team.

1. LeBron dominant off the ball. In all his years, whatever team he was on, LeBron ended up dominating the ball. Whether it was D-Wade, Chris Bosh, Kyrie Irving or Anthony Davis the burden of executing and creating for the entire team generally fell on LeBron’s sizable shoulders. Those days seem numbered now, not because of age but because of Luka. The Luka/LeBron connection is real and it will only get better. I can’t recall the last time I saw LBJ score so easily off a missed shot. When he gets behind the defense or can seal the lone defender who gets back (Sorry max Christie) it’s over. With his hoops IQ and still relevant athleticism The King is scoring with more ease than I’ve ever seen him do in all my years of watching this sport. Now, some of that will eventually get scouted out, but in the here and now let’s enjoy these easy buckets.
2. Speaking of off-ball, that was honestly how the lakers closed the game. With a nifty five-out spread that saw Rui, Hayes and LeBron get behind the D or wait for a defender to focus on Luka and slip in for a quick hit layup or dunk. Great stuff that bodes well for any matchup on down the line. If the opening didn’t present itself Austin, Luka or LeBron was able to get a quality shot off. For me it’s always quality over quantity (unless it’s a high quantity of high-quality shots, who doesn’t dig that?).
3. Speaking of Jaxson Hayes, the dude continues to impress. In only 17 minutes he turned in a triple 8: 8 points, 8 rebounds for a +8 +/- rating. Add in 2 blocks and a steal and it’s easier and easier to see why the Lakers are fine with Hayes manning the 5, at least for the remainder of this season. He’s always been great at finishing the lob plays and we’re seeing him get better at using his speed and size to offset his lack of bulk. If you’re in good position, you generally create good things for the team and we’re seeing that from Hayes more and more.
4. Speaking of creating good things, Vando is rounding into form. Seeing him shoot that corner 3 without thinking is exactly what we need from him. Making 2-3 will get it done and he was the only Laker bench player to make multiple 3s with DFS, Dalton and Gabe all having subpar shooting nights. I see his minutes per game topping out around 20 and I think they’re still letting him ramp up in-game because his legs aren’t there when he jumps, yet, but the corner three has to be in his bag for his impact to translate into the playoffs.
5. Speaking of the playoffs, that’s where the Lakers defense will truly be an asset. not that it’s nothing now, but in a tight game to know we have this many solid defensive options that can also hit a three or get to the rim is going to pay off double once we get into the real season. The lakers have ironed out the transition issues that plagued them early on, have found a nice blend of switching and man while mixing in doubles, traps and a zone every so often and it’s really fun to watch. We’re currently 4th in the west which would mean at least one round of honest-to-goodness home court advantage and a couple extra rest days. Those days could be invaluable to our 2 superstars and overall team health so we need to keep defending intensely and scoring smartly. We have a chance to put some true distance between us and the mid-tier teams as we approach true contender status.

Luka Dončić had his best game as a Laker at just the right moment. In Denver against a healthy, streaking (had won 9 in a row) Denver Nuggets Luka had, for him, a really solid game. This opened up the game on offense for the rest of the team and the Lakers did something that has been elusive against the Nuggets since 2021: cruise to an easy victory. Let’s dig in.

1. The Laker defense. In a word, stellar. They ran The Joker through a gauntlet of bumps, shoves, grabs and double-teams all game long. As a result he finished with a pedestrian stat line, albeit still getting the triple-double: 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists but it was the 6 turnovers that stood out. Along with the 5 turnovers Murray had the Lakers dictated the pace and physicality in a game they led wire to wire. I give a lot of credit to the coaching staff for the game plan and the players for executing it at a high level.
2. The Laker bench dominated. This might seem odd to say given that the Nuggets bench scored 22 points to our 18 in addition to Russell Westbrook scoring 17 and no Laker bench player scoring more than 5. Because this dominance did not take the shape of buckets scored but in defensive possessions and glue plays. The Laker bench had 8 steals, 2 apiece by DFS, Goodwin and Vando (in 6 minutes of total game action). They were aggressive, even if they got called for fouling (5 by Vando, hey the man is aggressive and it sets a tone). Big shout out to Jordan Goodwin who should stick with the mask. He played great defense and, after passing up a wide open shot that led to a turnover, had the confidence and wherewithal to take and make his next 2 shots down the stretch in the 4th to help put the game on ice.
3. 101. That’s the combined points scored between Rui, Reaves, LBJ and Luka. 105 when you look at the starting 5, out of 123 points. Astounding to watch and while it may not be the blueprint for every win against every team this felt personal. Like the 3 Lakers who had been beat by this iteration of had had enough. 38-69 (53%) is gonna get it done most nights.
   
4. The playmaking trio. This is what we need out of the trio of Reaves, James and Dončić. 19 assists to only 4 turnovers will lead to success more often than not. Add in Rui’s 4 dimes to zero TOs and we’re looking at a better than 5-1 assist to turnover ratio by the starting five. Great stuff.
5. Luka and LeBron. It’s simply a joy to watch and just having Dončić and Reaves soak up a lot of the orchestrating and playmaking has breathed new life into LeBron’s game. He’s playing hard on both ends because he can see the path to something special already brewing. We’re a faster team, having Hayes at the 5 May have issues with bulky bugs but it presents its own issue in the form of killer speed and athleticism, and having all 3 guys in the floor to close quarters is a huge boon. All 3 of Reaves, Luka and LeBron are getting into the paint and create for themselves and others. They know to mix it up and toss a lob, bait for a foul, or simply score. While I certainly don’t expect it to be this easy every game, this can be the beginnings of a winning blueprint. A purple and gold Hydra of Hoops, many heads attacking as a whole. King Ghidora, if you’re into Godzilla movies.