I vividly recall the Christmas Day game where LeBron injured his groin and feeling like the season was a balloon slowly deflating before my very eyes. Fweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeephlphlphlppp… While there were very specific differences between that injury and this one (X-Mas was a noncontact injury, Solomon Hill toppled into James’ ankle) the timing of this injury, given the nature of the season and what’s at stake, feels about as damaging. Feels like the season is hanging by a thread.

1. The high-ankle sprain. Six to eight weeks feels like a best case scenario. Let’s say that LeBron exceeds all expectations and beats that by a week or so. That still sounds like over a month and with an already hobbled Anthony Davis who really wants to see LeBron do something that reaggravates an injury like this? A healthy LeBron and Anthony are the only things that make the Lakers an elite team, make no mistake, so having them ready to go in the playoffs is the highest priority. 5 weeks would mean a return on the road against Orlando which would likely mean a push back to April 30th, an at home against Sacramento. A few weeks before season’s end. If it falls within the normal range for the injury, 6-8, that means an at best return against Dame Time and Portland on May 7th. If it moves into the 8 week, or longer, range that essentially means the playoffs.
2. What does this mean for the playoffs? The Lakers are 28-14, 3rd in the west and a game and a half ahead of the Clippers. There are 30 games to go. The last play-in spot is currently held by Memphis (19-20), they’re 10 games behind us. While I don’t see the Lakers tumbling out of playoff contention the possibility must be entertained. This was already a brutal season schedule-wise given our team’s short turnaround due to the NBA Finals. Injuries to our superstar duo and some COVID issues have added even more obstacles to the quest to repeat. The Lakers are going to need improved contributions from across the board to mitigate the loss of LeBron although, if one is honest, there is no replacing the moxie and gravitas the King brings to the hardwood every night.
3. Who is going to step up? Well…there’s a Laker rumored to be looking for a deal in the 20+ million dollar range or more. He has the added benefit of having the ball in his hands a lot, and has wanted to assert himself to a greater level in the NBA. Dennis Schroder is my vote. Kyle Kuzma is a close second but he’s not looking for a new contract and isn’t the starting PG. Montrezl Harrell seems best suited to come off the bench and continue that role, KCP…uhm, yeeeaaahhh that ain’t happening. Talen Horton-Tucker? I mean, that would be cool, right? great story for the team, should he make a jump it’d also pretty much price him right off the team while simultaneously denying us one of our prime trading prospects. Marc Gasol?
4. What kind of trade could we pull off to stabilize us, add a 3rd superstar or something like that? The NBA rules on roster size are clear, here’s a link to an article that explains it in detail: https://www.slamonline.com/nba/cba-explained-nba-roster-size-limits/
   When we waived Quinn Cook we dropped to a roster of 14 active players. That’s the minimum roster an NBA team can carry although there is a rule that allows us a team to carry 13 for up to 2 weeks. The Lakers are also hard-capped with a roster salary of $136, 921, 446. For teams that are hard-capped this season they cannot exceed $138,928,000 total roster salary and cannot drop the roster voluntarily below 13. When we waived Quinn Cook we freed up the cap space that dropped us a little further under the hard cap apron (which is about 6m more than the normal cap apron…I think…) but also limited us to bringing back as many players as we trade out. The NBA will veto a trade that drops the Lakers roster to 13 and puts us up to the hard cap apron (which we cannot go over). Once we hit that apron we cannot add another cent in salary, no matter the need. There are a lot more than 2 weeks in the season. An odd quirk of the current CBA is that there are a lot fewer roster rules that apply to the postseason. Unfortunately the trade deadline is days away and the postseason over a month. I don’t see a trade that we can make that ships out the same number of players and brings back a talent that would come close to making a dent in the needs we face finishing the regular season without James and Davis.
5. So…what do we do? We compete. Waiving Cook was almost certainly a move designed to free up the roster space and cap space to offer a player like Drummond or even Isaiah Thomas the veteran minimum. I know the topic du jour with the deadline 69ish hours away (as of this sentence being written) is what big name can we land to improve our title fortunes. I’ve never really believed that was possible and once I dug into cap rules I find it nigh impossible we can do anything more than minor roster tweaks (as in THT for Devontae Graham or Marc Gasol for Dwight Howard or, well, you get the idea). Is it possible I’m misinterpreting the NBA hard cap rules? Sure, people who are paid to report on this topic often bungle the obscurities of it all. But the roster size isn’t confusing. 13 for 2 weeks, 14 otherwise. Health doesn’t matter, just that they’re on the payroll. The best solution is for the simplest one: dig down deep, compete at a higher level, and earn that million dollar paycheck regardless of how many millions it is. The alternative is depressing indeed.

Get well soon Mr. James, you will be sorely missed on the court.

The Timberwolves came in to STAPLES having beaten one of the NBA elites and feeling good. A young team riding high can be a dangerous thing in the regular season. Teams like the Lakers are built for the more structured and evenly paced style of the playoffs whereas the T’wolves want to run and gun, play loose and fast. It took a few quarters but the Lakers found the formula that allowed them to beat Minnesota. In so doing the Lakers remained unbeaten since the All Star break.

1. The King and Monstrezzl pick and roll. That’s not a typo, BTW, Trezz has been a monster of late hence the moniker. That pick and roll looks like it could be the new unstoppable Laker weapon, at least against defenses that don’t understand how to level Trezz off and stop him from hitting the paint in stride. Similar to how James and Caruso ran PnR last season, when they’re playing smart and the defense isn’t keyed into it there’s no stopping it. That play should be good for at least one bucket per game and one misdirection to the trigger man in the corner which also happened the last time they ran it. Wes missed the three but the play is a good one and bears repeating especially in our fairly one-dimensional offense.
2. Wes Matthews getting it done on D. With Caruso out we’ve been out one of our best defenders and it’s been really nice seeing Wes Matthews contributing on that end. he also canned a couple threes but it was his defense that helped stymie the Timberwolves, especially in the second half. Wes has not had a great season, had a scary collision early with Karl-Anthony Towns, but shook all that off to contribute to a gritty Laker win. Assuming the Lakers don’t make a big splashy move it’s imperative that we unlock some of our under-performing players. Seeing Wes contribute within the role he was brought here to perform was great to see.
3. Laker bench finding an identity. Injuries in the NBA happen, it’s just one of those things that every team has to overcome. The Lakers had really struggled with their identity since AD went down and especially when Schroder was out. The Laker bench rotation went through several iterations before landing on this current one where Morris replaces AD in the line up and everyone else pretty much sticks to their role. Bringing in Damien Jones further solidified that look once we lost Gasol. Wes has stepped into Caruso’s role well enough and the result has been a more balanced Laker attack post ASB. I’m sure getting in an actual practice helped as well (based on a recent ESPN article the Lakers have practiced 5 times since camp broke. 5. Let that sink in. Not sure if that reflected any work done over the break but, at best, that would make it 6 or 7 practices in total.) The bench has become a major stabilizer behind the stellar play of Trezz and Kuzma along with the emergence of THT.
4. Speaking of Talen Horton-Tucker… Kid was balling again last night. Stu Lantz has been pretty spot-on with his game-to-game analysis of THT and being pretty fair in his judgement of both his growth and areas he still needs work on. Defense is the biggest thing and that’s understandable, this is for all intents and purposes THT’s rookie season and he’s shouldering a large chunk of responsibility as the season goes along. He’s impressing his coaches and LeBron James, no small feat, and you can see the game slowing down for him on offense. The work he needs to put in on defense is legit but I think that he’s on the perfect team to get better on that end. My only critique of Talen on offense is to not always drive the ball to the rim. That is predictable and teams will start to bait him into it. Take those open threes a little more frequently, live with the results if they come organically and the floor will open up even more.
5. Speaking of three pointers… The Lakers made a bunch of them last night (13-26 good for exactly 50%). The Lakers, by design, are not going to be among the elite three point shooting teams in the NBA, we lack the personnel and the offense isn’t really designed to create those looks. They happen more organically off the quite traditional and old school inside-out methodology. In this case usually off of Schroder, James or THT collapsing the defense and kicking it out. We weren’t letting those shots fly early on but it feels like we’ve turned the corner on that issue and are taking the open three more consistently. Given the talent of our squad, when healthy, that ought to be enough. I don’t have a hard number I’m fixated on in terms of how many threes is appropriate for us to take per game. Let success by your guide and if they’re falling for you…well, shoot more. If they are not keep moving the ball and finding the open man. Old school hoops still has a place in the game. Even moreso when the playoffs role around.

All in all a decent win. Could have been a trap game but, since I didn’t call it (you’re welcome, Gerald) it would appear we didn’t fall in. LaMelo Ball returns to LA on Thursday, should be fun. The Rookie of the Year debate is essentially between LaMelo and Anthony Edwards so we’ll get to see both back-to-back. Good stuff.

With everything that has gone down in Laker Land lately, the injuries, the heavy load on LeBron, the sluggish looking team vibe, there was ample cause for concern coming into last night’s game. The Warriors, inconsistent as they are, beat us with a stellar effort a few weeks ago. Steph is looking great and any number of his teammates can go off and make life hard. Last night Steph went off but e kept the rest of the Warriors under wraps. That and a monster of a game by Trezz was all it took for a comfortable win.

1. Monstrezzl Harrel. That was epic. After getting T’d up for swinging his arm in a derogatory way at one of the officials Trezz took out his anger on the hapless Warriors. They didn’t have an answer. Like Godzilla rampaging through Tokyo Harrell annihilated whatever defense came his way. His activity on both ends created easy buckets for himself and the team, he shot 11-14, got to the line 6 times (making 5) and led a dominant Laker bench attack that Golden State had zero answer for. Game ball to Trezz.
2. Kuzma continues to do it all. You can find seasons where Kuzma scored more or shot better, his rookie season being among his best. This is better. Not because he’s pouring in points but because he’s fitting in perfectly with everything the Lakers are doing on the court on both ends. He’s learned the difficult to master skill of fitting in alongside LeBron James. He starts when asked, and now is playing with that same intensity he brought as a starter off the bench. His rebounding and defense are what is setting him apart this season. Had it not been fir Trezz’s monster Kuzma would be walking away with the game ball.
3. Oh yeah, LeBron had a triple-double. Which was actually big because we needed a little more from the King on a night Schroder never got out of first gear. The best stat in this triple-double? 30, thirty minutes played to secure the win and get a little down time on the bench.
4. KCP surfaces! Like a blue whale breaching Caldwell-Pope turned in a good game! Kentavious had some extra energy on D, canned a lot of his threes and in general more resembled the player we all would like to see on a more consistent basis. The defensive intensity has been my biggest issue. He’s not a sink hole or a matador but he just hasn’t been as…pesky. Last night I thought he played with a more recognizable feistiness and here’s hoping it’s here to stay.
5. THT getting some major burn. It’s been an up and down season role-wise for Talen. He broke onto the scene in “preseason”, saw a big role taken away altogether and then has had scant minutes more often than not since getting a more steady presence on the court. He scored at will in the paint, going 7-10 overall, but it was his playmaking that stood out to me. A career high 10 dimes paced the bench and helped blow the game wide open. Impressive considering how much LeBron and Dennis control the ball on most possessions.

No rest for the weary and it was good we won in the fashion we did: we got another one tonight. Go Lakers.

We’ll take ’em any way we can get ’em. W’s. The NBA’s favored mode of currency. Without AD these have been hard to come by nd the one’s we do come up with have been quite the struggle indeed. The Lakers are down multiple players, more after last night. But they still managed to kick off the season’s second half on the good foot.

1. Kyle’s big game. The Lakers looked stuck in second gear throughout most of the game, Down by as many as 12 well into the 3rd the Lakers turned to the last of the much-hyped but generally underwhelming (at least as Lakers) Young Laker Core. Kyle poured in 15 game-saving points in the 4th quarter helping the Lakers pull ahead and hold onto the lead down the stretch. Per usual he did that while grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds. Kyle could be in some serious 6th man of the year consideration if he keeps this up through the end of the season. Averaging double-digit rebounds is likely out of reach but he’s among the best rebounders and scorers off the bench in the league.
2. The injury bug. With the news that AD is out at least 2 more weeks without him seeing the court in 5-on-5 scenarios or full practices, Gasol out for H&SP (along with two-way player Kostas Antetokounmpo) losing Alex Caruso to a head injury 7 minutes into his playing time was another serious blow to the roster. The Lakers are struggling with the injury bug a lot more this season than in last and it’s showing in the record and in the standings. Where it’s showing the most is the constant flux of coach Vogel’s line up. Unlike last season where there was a groove to the team as a whole this season has seen multiple bench players moved in and out of the starting five. Hopefully that sort of flux won’t give us issues in the playoffs.
3. Wes Matthews where have you gone? I had high hopes that the break was going to allow some guys to reset and come back looking…well…better than before. The much maligned trio of Morris, Matthews and Kentavious combined for a total of 18 points on 12 FGA (not bad), 12 rebounds (not bad), 3 assists, 2 steals and a block to 3 turnovers and 4 fouls. Between three guys that’s OK. With AD out we need more. One of those three, if outside help is not riding over the hill, needs to step up every night and hit the double-digit mark, at least. Some of it is hesitation (each of those guys passed up open shots as they have been doing all season long which is the biggest issue, IMO) and had brain dead turnovers. This was highlighted by Wes Matthews literally passing the ball between LeBron’s legs without much pressure being applied to either player. That has to stop and it has to stop now.
4. If you had hoped that the break would allow the coaches to put together some practices and help the players lower their absurdly high turnover rate (for the type of team we have now, only one young player who isn’t the issue when it comes to the turnovers) you came away last night shaking your head like me. 15 turnovers allowed the Pacers 12 more FGA attempts which was mitigated by the gift the refs gave us in the absurd free throw differential we compiled. A lot of that was driving the rock into the extreme on-ball pressure Indy brings, an adjustment the Pacer coaches would be wise to make once the refs establish what is going to send someone to the line or not. Also Indy went cool from three or this game could have been a route nobody in purple and gold would have wanted to see.
5. If you listened to the post-gamer LakerTom, Gerald and myself dropped you will have heard Tom proclaim, multiple times, that this was a great win because it shows that the problems are still problems. We still give up a ton of paint points, we turn the ball over too often, and we can’t rely on anyone to hit from three. WHile it would be nice to say the solution lies solely in getting KCP going (we’ve seen several games where they force-feed him shots with nary to show for it), get Kuzma more involved (my favorite idea but I’m not sure it’s enough) or running more offense through player X (anyone of Schroder, Gasol or Kuzma) the truth is the Lakers need help in the paint. As such, in my opinion, we need to make a move for a center and the center that fits our style and could have instant impact would be the same one we just faced: Myles Turner. The Lakers should aggressively and annoyingly pursue Turner. The Pacers are clinging to the final play-in spot and trending in the wrong direction. They have a decent prospect at the 5 in Bitadze and with Caris LaVert coming over the hill in the next week or so we could see the minutes for guys like McConnel or McDermott vanish, as well. AN equitable trade (one Gerald has proposed awhile back) for some solid rotation-ready players feels like it could be made. While the Pacers hold Bird, or early Bird, rights on both Doug and TJ they’ll be hard-pressed to keep both, especially McDermott. The Lakers and Pacers could both use players on the opposite team. A deal of KCP, THT, Trezz and Jared Dudley gets it done for Turner and McDermott. Losing Trezz would hurt but you slide Kuzma into his minutes and maybe give Cacock or Kostas some spot minutes at the 4 (or in Kostas’ case the 3 or 4). Whether a trade like that one happens or not it’s hard to see the Lakers being content to stand pat with the team as is currently constructed. The help we need might have been the players we just saw.

At least we got the win, although this one won’t make many scrap books or highlight reels. As currently constructed the Lakers won’t go too far in the playoffs, especially if we don’t get something resembling a 100% ready to contribute Anthony Davis who, even prior to the leg injuries, was not producing to expectation on either end. While I am not the proponent of the three ball some are I also realize it is an essential part of the modern game. We have to close the three point gap and giv up fewer points in the paint. However that happens is cool with me.

(Whew) We made it… The All Star break is upon us and not a moment too soon. This game was cast into immediate “could totally lose” status the moment LBJ was listed as not making the trip and I didn’t mind that at all. Nor did I particularly mind the loss. But when you’re 2 best players are out it shouldn’t come as a surprise that major elements of our game were off. In the end we had a chance to win it (twice) but came up short both times. Seems to be a theme.

1. Big games from expected sources. The three Lakers one would have hoped would step up to fill the void left by Davis, James and Caruso were the ones that did, at least in my book. Huge offensive showings from Schroeder, Kuzma and Harrell kept this game competitive throughout. The trio combined to score 79 points on 34-62 shooting (54.8%), 6-15 from three, 26 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks to 8 turnovers. It might not have been enough to pull out the W but it was a lot of fun watching these guys get a chance to truly shine as brightly as their talent and work can allow them to do when not constrained by a role that better assists the team.
2. Decent games from unexpected sources. Since the role guys were thrust into starring roles that left the scraps for others to fight over. Decent games by Markeiff Morris, KCP and Alfonzo McKinnie were also on the docket which was also fun to watch. In particular I enjoyed McKinnie’s breakout performance as a Laker as I had hope in the off season that he would contribute more than he has been asked to. Morris seems to thrive as a starter and, should we not make a move to replace Gasol with a better player outside the team I would like to see ‘Kieff get some reps as a starter. KCP was perfect from the floor which was nice to see. We’re going to need solid input from both guys if we want to reach the ultimate goal.
3. Biggest positive: no injuries and guys who were injured played. Except for Alex Caruso who was listed as out every player listed as questionable or doubtful played. The last thing we needed was another injury just before the break. Now we can get some guys back on the healthier side of the coin and gear up for the stretch run.
4. Damien Jones might have played his last game for the purple and gold. While it’s safe to say he didn’t get much of an audition it won’t surprise me if the Lakers don’t offer him another 10 day deal. It also won’t surprise me if they do simply because they got such a scant look at what he can bring to this team. While he won’t be asked to do more than provide some spot contributions his athleticism is one of the things this team lacks at the 5 spot.
5. Nice to see Luke. I’m a Luke Walton fan, always have been since he cracked the super team rotation in his rookie year simply because he was a solid passer and made the smart play in front of him. Luke had very kind words for both Kuzma and Caruso I kinda hope the Kings at least qualify for the playin and that he gets a shot at keeping his job. I always hope to see ex-Lakers succeed, except when they play the Lakers, of course.

All in all, this game, like the last few, will not define this team. Anything that happens without LeBron James is relegated to instant footnote status, at best. The same goes for AD on the defensive end. They both are such huge parts of what we do that to measure the success or failure of this team without them is futile. So enjoy the ASB, Lakerholics and we’ll see you on the other side.

As the Lakers limp into the break with concerns on multiple fronts. I wouldn’t read too much into this loss. These teams were both trending in opposite directions: the Suns have been hot and the Lakers, well, not. Once again the three point differential loomed large and further revealed the cracks in the defensive scheme the Lakers have adopted this season, at least for the regular season. The trapping scheme expends tons of energy and as short-handed as we were it’s small surprise the Lakers were spread thin on the perimeter.

1. What more can you ask of LeBron James? Nothing. Not one thing, the King is giving a supreme effort night in and night out. Does he miss a defensive assignment or choose not to contest some drives into the lane? Sure, he’s earned that right, in my opinion. He does so very much to make this team go. The man took the scoring onus on himself last night showing aggression in the paint the likes of which we haven’t often seen this season. His 38 points were accrued quite efficiently (he needed only 24 shots) and he still found time to involve his teammates (many of whom could not throw it in the ocean, more on that later). I welcomed the news James is taking the SacTown game off. Get some extra treatment, spend some time with Bronny post-surgery. Ease into the ASB.
2. The walking wounded. With Kuzma out (heel), AD out (Calf), and Gasol out (H&SP) the Lakers turned to their seemingly ever-thinning bench and started Trezz at the 5. This did not go very well. Maybe he started at the 4, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. I think Harrell is locked in coming off the bench, he looked a little lost (and certainly wasn’t a great matchup for the Suns Ayton) starting. While that’s not necessarily an opinion with much empirical evidence I have many concerns if we end up going to Harrell as the starting 5. We sorely missed Kuzma on both ends last night so here’s hoping he’s ready for the Kings. We may be without Caruso (neck spasms), as well.
3. KCP and Wes Matthews aka Laurel and Hardy. These guys both look utterly lost on the court. Kentavious has a good game then pulls a full turtle and goes back into his shell. A shell likely constructed entirely of the bricks he has been throwing up from all over the court. Feels like the team is trying to get him going but it is just not happening. I don’t think there’s a player on the team that needs this break more than Caldwell-Pope does. WEs has been a bad all season but less is expected. He and KCP combined to go 1-9 (0-6 from three) for a grand total of 4 whole points. That doesn’t cut it when your role is to provide spacing with your perimeter shooting and defense. These are our three and D guys and they’re getting the D alright, a D minus in shooting. KCP and Wes’s play this season is my biggest reason for hoping the Lakers make a move over the break.
4. Defense not fouling. When you’re giving up the three point game (as we will most nights), allowing the other team to be competitive in the paint (as they have been most nights) and you have a propensity for committing 15+ turnovers per game (as we do most nights) you need to defend without fouling. The Lakers have not been the beneficiaries of many whistles this season (we average 17.7 trips to the stripe/game and allow 17.9, we need to create an advantage there) and it’s made the tough games even harder to win.
5. This isn’t broken. All of the issues our team has can be mended with better health, some improved contributions from guys we all expected to do better (specifically KCP) and a rededication to playing with effort. We may need to make a chance to the starting five, I still would like to see THT start over KCP as an example. Rob has plenty of reasons to measure trades as several Lakers are either under-performing, will be difficult to re-sign this summer and a combo of those players may be enough to land a quality player whom we either retain under contract past the off season or can extend without hard-capping ourselves.

That was a very fun game to watch. Over after the first quarter, some LeBron James “LakerTom style” load management (i.e. resting in the 4th) and solid contributions across the board from pretty much everyone who played. The sweetest part was the revenge, sweet, sweet revenge for the last second loss the Dubs dealt us awhile back.

1. 24. The # of minutes LeBron James was on the basketball court competing. That is a wonderful number to see these days and is a vast improvement over his 40+ mpg we’ve been accustomed to seeing since AD went out. The rest of LeBron’s numbers were, as expected, also pretty good: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists. To top it off, despite not playing in the 4th quarter, The King still led the team in scoring. Nice, tidy game. Fun fact: last night LeBron became the 23rd player in NBA history to appear in at least 1,300 regular-season games. Cool synchronicity, that.
2. Happy birthday Alex Caruso. @acfresh21 turned a big old 27 yesterday and put in a solid all around effort, per usual. Alex is generally a great barometer for this team in that if he scores in double-digits, has some assists and rebounds he’ll generally be among the team leaders in +/- and the team will often times be sporting another ‘W’ for his troubles. Check, check, and check. He also played only 21 minutes producing 13 points, 4 boards and 4 dimes along with his usual stout D.
3. Welcome to the Lakers Damien Jones. DJ hammered home his first points as a Laker on a play we’ve been missing the entire season: a lob from a teammate, in this case Dennis Schroder. Jones was an efficient 3-3 before exiting with what looked like back tightness. Not a great sign and a mildly auspicious way to start off his 10 day contract. Another obstacle being that his deal ends mid ASB, not sure how bright a P&G future DJ has but we’ll see.
4. Lakers still struggling from three. Despite a fast start in which we came out nova hot from deep (6-9 in the first quarter) the Lakers made only 5 more in 22 attempts thereafter. Schroder and the bench were the big culprits in this game, Dennis going 0-3 and the bench going a combined 3-13 (Kuzma and Caruso were the only guys off the pine to can a trey). While this didn’t loom large last night (much like the 20 turnovers were also overcome…) it’s an issue for a team with banner aspirations. One can only hope that when AD gets back we’ll be manufacturing cleaner looks and Davis will help up our makes/game.
5. 2 more to go. The biggest goal, in my opinion, for the next two games? Stay healthy. No more injuries. Health will be the biggest factor in our quest to repeat as NBA champs and we haven’t had the best of luck in that area this season. We may win out, go 1-2 or drop both but if we come out of this home stretch in as good a health as possible and get some guys a little better over the break we’ll be doing pretty well for ourselves. Of course, Injury Watch 2021 centers around AD and his calf/Achilles strain. If he comes back on 3/14, great. If it takes longer, so be it. We need him right for the playoffs.

Tomorrow night should, should mind you be our hardest remaining game of the first half of the regular season. Phoenix is playing great, they’re right on our heels in the standings, are on a 2 game winning streak of their own and are 8-2 in their last 10. With Utah creating some separation in the standings from the rest of the conference it’s imperative that we keep pace with the Clippers and Suns so as to stay a top 4 team. If I was a betting man (not generally speaking…but sometimes!) I’d wager there will be fans in the stands for the playoffs, that the seeding matters in regards to what teams we play and when, and that it would be best to face Utah in the western conference finals, not round 2. 1 game separates us, the Clippers and the Suns. I’d like to stay at #2 (where we currently reside in the standings) and put some pressure on Utah and challenge for #1.

That looked familiar. It was as if, for but a moment, we were back in the playoffs, round 1, and Dame was in a nightmare trapping scenario. Only instead of Rajon Rondo or Danny Green it was Dennis Schroder. Thus endeth the Lakers worst losing streak of the season. We did it wearing a very familiar hat: the one that has a capital D on it.

1. Welcome back Dennis Schroder. We suffered on both ends of the court when Dennis went down. Schroder returned to the Lakers and not a moment too soon. His defense, competitive spirit and moxie were all on full display last night as he was instrumental in bringing flow to our half court offense, relieving some pressure on LeBron, and helping to hound Portland into several miscues during the key stretch in the 3rd when we broke the game open. I’ve been a proponent of handing more of the offense, specifically in the half court when we’re not out on the break, over to Dennis and last night he showed why that makes sense. With the ball in Schroder’s hands it allowed LeBron to either take the spot out on the arc to be a three point safety valve or let Dennis set himself or teammates up for manufactured buckets. Let the point guard do the point guard things, say I. He’ll get better at his forays under the rim a la Steve Nash and he’s no worse from three than anyone else on the team these days (which is to say pretty spotty). But his defensive intensity is a huge cog in the machine that makes this team go and we were the beneficiaries of that last night.
2. Effort cures a lot of issues in sports. Play hard, push the pace, don’t let your foot off the gas. All of those tried and true sport axioms reference effort and we showed a lot more last night than in the 4 previous games. Whether you lose by one at the buzzer or it’s over midway through the 3rd you can hold your head high if you played your hardest and left it all out there on the court. Especially as role player and you don’t play for 30+ mpg. The Lakers showed a lot more hustle on defense and effort in general in the second half and as a result we busted the game wide open. In the first half Dame was splitting double teams with ease, getting into the paint, hitting shots from anywhere he wanted and picking us apart. The second half was an entirely different story. WE trapped Dame, forced others to beat us and won going away. Portland doesn’t have a dynamic inside presence or many guys who create shots by getting into the paint so once we took Lillard away it made Portland’s offense one-dimensional and easy to shut down. A lot of that came from playing with energy.
3. Speaking of energy, more THT. Talen does one thing a lot of other guys don’t: push the pace when he has the ball. Horton-Tucker isn’t content to waltz up the court with the ball, he’ll go one on three or even four, get to the front of the rim and get a shot up. Now, mind you, this is not a career-long method for success in the NBA. THT needs to start to learn 4-5 lessons on both ends (leveling off the ball being numero uno) but I’ll take growing pains from THT just to get his energy on the court. Especially when LeBron sits. WE don’t have nearly the level of defensive experience and playoff/veteran savvy last season’s team had. Not even close. Something that can close the gap is energy. THT and Trezz lead the team in that stat.
4. Speaking of Trezz. Another great game and I’m just about to a place where I think he should start. Anyone who cares to continue to push the theory that he opens the floor or that his positional defense is welcome to expound on your theories but I will politely, but firmly, disagree. Marc just doesn’t have it anymore, I wish he did. I am abig fan of both Gasol brothers, never thought the trade for Pau was as lopsided as most thought and had come around to hoping Marc could carve out a niche on this team. I just don’t see it happening, at least not in the starting line up, Maybe we can get him going against lesser players but in reality I think most second units are built around small ball line ups these days and will just end up running Marc off the floor. If we can’t unlock his passing more than we’ve been able to, if he can’t consistently hit from three when he’s wide open and his impact on the team defense doesn’t improve I don’t see why not starting Trezz doesn’t make more sense. I would say Morris but he’s been pretty terrible on both ends, as well.
5. In closing I want to add this could have easily been our 3rd trap game dropped in a row. We did the job, we didn’t discover a miraculous cure for what ails the team. The warts are still there and plain to see. Three point shooting is an issue, points in the paint against most teams is an issue. Portland is the 2nd worse defense in the NBA, primarily a jump-shooting team and is down more key players than we are. It took a supreme effort in the second half, a playoff level effort, to win the game in the fashion that we did. We lived with the Laker switch through the overtime wins and right into the losing streak we just broke but I don’t think this has shown us anything we didn’t already know. If anything it reaffirms my belief that the type of defense the Lakers seem to want play isn’t really maintainable throughout the regular season, especially one as compressed as this one is. 5 back-to-backs and a lot of travel to the east coast. That is going to sap our strength, tax our endurance and test our resolve. 35 games to play between March 12th and May 16th. The effort and energy we need to play with is going to be harder and harder to come by as the regular season winds along. We need AD back, but we need him back right so when he gets re-evaluated in a couple weeks we have to hope there is nothing but good news from the MRI, from the way his leg responds and how he looks on the court. In my opinion he needs to be as solid as he was in last season’s playoffs for us to have a chance. Maybe even a little bit better, if I’m being honest. We need a lot more from guys like KCP (banged up again last night as he left the game with that hip pointer he took and didn’t return), Markieff Morris (that three point shot must still be in Orlando in the Bubble…) and OG Lakers Alex Caruso and Kyle Kuzma. We need those guys to be more consistent scoring threats, on this team for us to win a 7 game series we need people to perform outside of their roles more. LeBron cannot do it all on his own. We won’t have playoff Rondo. Someone else has to fill the void. Any takers?

Don’t worry, Laker faithful, it’s not all doom and gloom. We’ll see what the ASB does for us, I think we’ll go 2-1 to close out the first half of the schedule and if everything breaks as well as it can we’ll have AD back sometime between the end of March, mid-April at the worst if he has to stay off the court until he clears the docs. At worst well play a half dozen or so games post ASB without AD, at best maybe just one or two. We can withstand that if it means getting him back close to 100%.