5 THINGS

That’s pretty much all a Lakers fan needs to see to perk them and put a lil pep in their step. And so it was that, without AD, LBJ and Vando 9after he left with a serious foot injury) the Laker still managed to hand the Celtics an L. In a word: radical.

1. Woo0hoo indeed. Nothing not to like about this game except for Vando going down. We dominated in pretty much every area and we did it with heart and effort. Other than Reaves and maybe Hayes nobody even had an other-worldly game. Everyone just did what they were supposed to have been doing all season long.
2. Reaves went OFF. Career highs, clutch baskets, and everything you could hope from the guy we saw flourish this summer in the FIBA games and played spectacularly down the stretch last season. There’s no reason why he can’t be this aggressive every single game, at least no reason i can think of. Shot’s not falling? OK then but you still keep on attacking and shooting, that’s how you get out of a slump anyhow.
3. DLo’s offense did not dictate his impact. One of my main gripes regarding Russell is how he generally lets the success of his offense control his overall in-game impact. Last night that wasn’t the case as we saw Russell struggle mightily from the field but still almost came away with a triple-double and was a leader on the court. Need more of this DLo going forward.
4. Hayes turning a corner? Sounds like he’s been putting the work in with the coaches, practicing defensive techniques to bring his fouling down. We saw it all on display last night, and in his defense he got some calls that went against him early on, as well. Jax stayed ready for his number to be called and had the best game of his young NBA career.
5. Vando out for several weeks. The one gloomy thing about this game was watching the Vandolorian hobble off. X-rays coming back negative didn’t provide the usual good news as it sounds like he’s seeking further medical opinions as to why his feet are killing him. Could be done for the season right when he was playing his best ball ever.

Incredibly we can still salvage this shit-show of a road trip and come back 4-2. Had you told me that was possible after back-t-back blunders against Houston and Atlanta without AD and LBJ going into the garden i would have laughed in your face. We;;, good on you for believing (if you did) and good on the Lakers for playing with ferocity. Now keep doing just that.

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.

Cause that shit was messy. Sloppy all around, final score didn’t even indicate how much Phoenix showed us the business and the vibe around the team stinks. Everyone keeps bringing up injuries as an excuse, it’s lame and not the true issue. The real issue is a lack of internal recognition that whatever lofty ideas one had to start the season playing a certain style simply aren’t working with this group. It takes humility to admit when one is wrong and it’s best if that recognition comes early. In the case of the Lakers nothing ever happens quickly.

1. The clock is ticking on this Lakers’ season. Unfortunately trades take two to tango and it feels like most teams are waiting out January. For a multitude of reasons I don’t see a deal happening, if one does at all, until early Feb and likely at the deadline. That means another 15 games, potentially, with this underwhelming squad. 8 of those on the road, although one of those “road” games comes against the Clippers, where the Lakers are a woeful 6-13. Leading up the homestand the Lakers had done a good job of protecting Crypto. Going 2-3 and getting blown out in all three losses did nothing to relieve pressure on the coaches, front office and players. Lakers need to at least win the home games they have on this upcoming 15 game stretch that takes us past the trading deadline. Road games against the Hornets and Pistons should be winnable but with this group you just never know which version of a player you’re gonna get. The rest of the road trip is against top of the league teams that have found their stride and play with an identity, all of those games will be tough for us to win, all things considered.
2. The defensive scheme, whatever they want to call it, ain’t working. We rank dead last or near to dead last in three pointers allowed per game and since the IST we’re 28th in 3 point FG%. Given our lack of accuracy from three and the fact that we rely on basically 2 guys to generate offense means we start the game climbing a hill. The Math of the NBA can be complex at times but this math ain’t: we’re giving up the exact shots teams want to take and we’re not making ours. We leave guys open all the time, by design, and then the coach goes and says we don’t scheme to give up open shots. Really? then you’re not getting that through to your players, coach, because I’m watching a ton of wide open threes every game. Something on that front has to give. We either need to make more and bring the math closer on offense, or go back to what was working last season post-trade deadline when we were the middle of the pack on defending the three.
3. Austin Reaves and Max Christie are NOT point guards. It’s painful to watch both players gamely and try to initiate the offense. Both guys have the awful habit of driving the ball too deeply into the defense, not recognizing the collapse until it’s too late, and throwing bad passes or getting pilfered before they can do anything about it. Whatever his defensive liability may be D’Angelo Russell is and should be the starting PG. It’s as plain as the logo on the court to me. Reaves was better off the bench, DLo’s trade value ain’t getting a boost this way, and Max will be looking for a minimum deal if he keeps this up come summer.
4. Is there a dumber “streak watch” than the “LeBron has scored 10+ points in who honestly cares?” number of games. I get it, it means he’s good at what he does. It’s not indicative of winning basketball, it’s not the most incredible thing he’s ever one (personally more impressed with the sheer number of games and minutes he’s played) and it’s hilarious how the Laker announcers, and even the TNT folks last night, make a point of saying “LeBron has 10 points to keep that incredible and amazing streak alive!”. It’s neither, it’s actually feeling more and more mediocre as time goes on. or maybe I’m still just pissed with how he and AD half-assed last night’s game.
5. Frank’s first W since getting scape goated. Coach Vogel finally got that W he’d been looking for against the Lakers. It wasn’t surprising to me to hear LeBron talking about how the Suns were ready for them on defense. Like, no doy man. That’s Frank’s calling card and het made guys like Reaves and Christie try to play hero ball rather than letting AD get easy post position and LBJ get on a roll.

Quick away game against the Jazz and back home before the epic roadie. No time like the present to turn this ship around.

Winning back-to-back games at Crypto after dropping 10 out of the last 13 games was beyond essential. It derailed what looked like a disaster of a homestand in the making (now it could end up just being disappointing), and has kept the Lakers at the absolute back end of the playin picture. Lakers look like a team waiting for the other shoe to fall, even in wins, which is a bad look for a team trying to break into another level of respect.

1. Coach Darko had a lot to say about respect after the game, likely earning him a fine at some point in the next 24 hours. Coach Darko should just save his money, the league ain’t gonna do jack about the disparity that occurs in some games. Jaylen Brown will get no investigation (and the Last Two Minute report didn’t even work out in the Celtics’ favor, either, after they lost to a Haliburton-less Pacer squad) and the fact is every team has games like this where it feels like 8 on 5. At least 6 of those 4th quarter free throws were intentional by the Raptors as they tried to work the clock, guys like LeBron and Barnes make it hard to call fouls for them because of the way they initiate contact and in the end I actually thought it was a decently called game. There were some no-calls on what could have been fouls and some ticky tack fouls on both squads.
2. AD earning some big time respect. Even during this down stretch AD has been the one player who is consistently great, if not excellent, every game. His defense has been exceptional, he’s playing with as much force and decisiveness as I think I’ve ever seen, and on top of that his jumper is finally coming around which will just open up his game to whole other level. This is as much of a torch passing stretch as anything we’ll ever see as it looks like LeBron is the one slowing down a little, picking his spots more, and deferring to AD more than at any other time except for crucial possessions. That is exactly how it should be.
3. LeBron respects his old coaches..not so sure if he really respects ours. Much has been made of the effusive praise James heaped upon Ty Lue (coached him during his dream NBA Finals where they overcame a 3-1 deficit, beat the Warriors who had broken the regular season record for victories that season, had Durant, the Splash bros. and “Nutshot” Green on the team and healthy and still managed to win. His equally effusive praise for Spo and his big time money extension also drew some pearl clutching moments. Personally I’m reading less than nothing into those comments. Lue is a friend of James, has been for years (even before he was the coach of the Cavs) and they paired to make a lot of history. Broke the Cleveland champion curse, won the Cavs their first and only banner, to date, and made history in the NBA Finals by being the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit to clinch the Larry-O. LeBron went to the NBA Finals every time he was in a Heat uniform and won two, one of them being his first. So, like, no-freaking-doy he’s going to say he’s happy for Spo. The bad water he left when he re-signed with the Cavs kind of out of nowhere has long been washed away. It’s rare for players, any player, to come out with full-throated support of the coach of their current team. At best you’ll get the kind of lip-service praise we heard from the Raptors following Coach Darko’s tirade, it’s rarely the kind of thing where you see a player like Jokic (who offers warm if not enthusiastic, praise for Michael malone who has a great track record of coaching big men). This goes straight to the “Uh-huh, cool, moving on now” file.
4. Reaves struggling to find his shot. Austin has been struggling over the last handful of games to score the rock, especially from deep. So, while his 7 assist to zero turnover game helped mitigate that ineffectiveness, it was funny to see him shrugging at the Basketball Gods when he finally sank a clutch three from one of his favorite spots. What was a little more surprising was that DLo didn’t play at all down the stretch as Austin kept missing. That in and of itself might be all anyone needs to see to know Reaves ain’t getting traded this season.
5. Christian Wood playing well, again. Hayes being out may have been a blessing for the Lakers but certainly a boon for Christian Wood who found his shot and what intensity he brings at the right time. While I like Hayes he’s a too prone to fouling, would do better on a young team with less expectations, and just isn’t what we need at the backup 5 with AD playing the way he is. Frankly, when AD plays like this at the 5 the need for another center when placed against our issues at both guard spots seems almost non-existent. C-Dub played his normal defensive game (mediocre) but was key hitting some timely shots to keep the offense from stagnating. That’s his role and when he plays it well and can avoid driving the ball into the defense for awkward scoop shots (like he did last night) it’s even better.

One more at home against the Suns before we head out to Utah to face the Jazz, win out from now until Sunday when we play Brooklyn at Crypto and we can start to feel better about this ship turning around. Lose to Phoenix or Utah and it’s a double whammy as they’re chasing us in the standings (and not far behind, either). We basically just replicated the woeful 2-10 start to last season by going 3-10 since the IST. Can we recover like we did last season? Will it take a trade to shake things up? Time will tell.