Lakers

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.