Aloha,
Ah, there is nothing more entertaining then watching your favorite team come out with zero energy. Display no transition defense, spot the opponent 21 points in the first half, make a huge comeback, take control of the game, only to miss 6 out 7 free throws, have the game go into over time before finally pulling it out. Whew…must see TV, anyway a few thoughts.
The Knicks are not a good team. If we come out this way against the Bucks we will lose by 25.
Barrett had 36, a career night. I wonder if records are kept for players that have career nights against the Lakers. Seems like there is a new guy every game that has a career game against the Lakers.
I bet the Knicks are on the phone right now trying to work a trade for Russ to come and energize their team. 😂
Russ is not a good player right now. Russ deserved to be benched. When Nunn comes back would Frank dare to bring Russ off the bench? At least cut his minutes down until he works through whatever it is he is going through.
Now the good. We may have a big 3. LeBron, AD and Monk were sensational. It was a great move starting Monk at the 2. This is 3rd star level play. We may miss his offense with the 2nd unit but it’s with proper rotations he can get some time with the 2nd unit.
Currently AD is the best center in the NBA. 28 points, 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 steals. If he can sustain this level of play we always have a chance.
LeBron isn’t human. Coming in after missing 5 games and dominates. He continues to amaze.
THT has taken a lot of heat lately. While he didn’t contribute much on offense, he played great defense and had a team high +22 to show for it. He was especially effective in OT.
Trevor, another player who had been maligned also stepped up nicely with some solid D. This is the 2nd game in a row that he has looked decent on D. Hopefully he is finally finding his legs and getting back into game shape.
The Lakers are now only 3 games out of the 6th spot, and 4 1/2 out of the 5th spot. There is still time to make a move out of the play in round. But if we don’t come out with the proper energy, it will be hard to achieve. Hopefully playing the Bucks will light a fire under them and we come out swinging.
Aloha, Michael,
Great post and great job balancing the continuing issues with the things were the silver linings in last night’s big win. This game was an absolute microcosm of the Lakers’ season. They played maybe their worst half of the season followed by maybe their best half of the season, ignoring the last 2 minutes they choked. At any rate, some gems to be happy about.
1. Two stars for Frank Vogel. First, finally pulling Bradley out of the starting lineup and reducing his minutes and second, pulling Russ out of the lineup for OT, sending a clear message to Russ that subpar play, missing critical free-throws, and playing lackadaisical defense will not fly. I was screaming at the TV for Frank to bench Russ in OT and thank God, Frank actually did exactly that. Thank you, Frank.
2. Time to trade Russ. Frank made a huge gamble by replacing Russ with THT, who had the best plus/minus for regulation. If THT had not played well and the Lakers lost, it might have been Frank who was in trouble last night. But THT played excellent defense in OT and the Lakers dominated and finally looked like a team. Russ must go. Addition by Subtraction. Give up that first. Better now than waiting for summer.
3. The new Lakers Big Three. Everything we do this midseason and next summer has to be aimed at re-signing Malik Monk, who is clearly a better fit as the Lakers’ third start. Malik may not have Kyrie’s amazing handle, but he’s a legitimate three-level NBA scorer and the the Lakers top priority has to be moving Russ to they can keep Malik. Without Russ, Lakers can give Malik 3-years and $30M. If they keep Russ, Monk is gone.
4. Bubble LeBron and AD. If anything is critical to the Lakers’ chances of winning #18 this season, it’s having a healthy, thriving, and rested LeBron James and Anthony Davis. If we have that, we always will have a legitimate shot at winning everything. Lebron 29/13/10 and AD 28/17/3. When LeBron and AD play like that, the Lakers will be hard to beat
5. Kendrick Nunn point guard? Hoping the news that Nunn may soon be ready to play could be important. Nows the time to see if Nunn can be the difference maker we were hoping for and maybe a way to delute the negativity that seems hang over this team with Russ in the lineup. I like your idea of Russ coming off the bench if he can’t be a starter but think the Lakers need to cut the chord right now. Use the pick, addition by subtraction.
6. Everybody but Westbrook, Jordan, Bradley, and Johnson had positive plus/minus ratings for the game. Lakers need to somehow get another starter (Gordon, Turner, Williams?), hopefully by trading THT and the pick. Time to move Jordan, Bazemore, Howard, and Bradley and add players who still can impact the game and give us consistency.
7. Zero free throws for LeBron. The anti-Lakers refereeing has become prevalent. The league needs to do something about how LeBron is being disrespected by the zebras while guys like Harden and Embiid get 10 free throws per night regularly to pump up their points per game. LeBron attacks the rim more than any other player in the league and has the lowest free throw rate. Where is the justice here?
Yep, career nights!