The Lakers did everything right and closed out the Rockets in their own floor, no small feat. The defense was on point, our offense played great, and a solid team effort brought us to our Date with Annihilation! Kidding (kinda) there is a chance we can take out OKC.
1) Ayton has been a force. I mentioned it in my last post and he played even better last night despite barely scoring. His defense and rebounding were key, he took the challenge of shutting down Sengun and slayed. This version of Ayton may not be his dream for himself, but it’s what we need going forward to have a shot at a title.
2) Jake LaRavia huge off the bench. With Kennard being the focus of so much defensive attention we needed someone else to score some points off the bench. The bell rang and Jake answered. Not that he scored big or took a ton of shots or had many stats to speak of. He was solid in moments we needed him to be and, as a result, he gets his flowers.
3) Father Time who?! LeBron continues to amaze. This might be his playoffs ever, all things considered. Had he carried Miami while D-Wade and Bosh were out or Cleveland…welll, honestly that Cleveland team was similar to what we trotted out in this series. LeBron was relegated to 3rd option, answered his own bell, and put together an incredible performance to close it out. The dude still had it.
4) Amen Thompson’s cheap shots. First he threw Reaves to the floor (later upgraded to a Flagrant 1 by the league) then dive into Kennard’s legs. Don’t take much in the NBA to get then”dirty player” label. He might have already done enough by being a sore loser. Weak behavior from a rising star.
5) Coach pushing the right buttons. Whether it was leaving Ayton on Sengun solo or getting our guys to close out on three point shooters, Coach got the defense back on track. Winning in the first round likely means Redick comes back next season (was hard for me to see him coming back if we lost after going up 3-0). Really admire the positive steps coach has taken in his journey, whether it be keeping his composure better or being malleable enough to switch up his defense mid-series, it’s those kind of small moves that separate coaches from assistants.
The mountain in front of us is large, OKC is a rabid mutant ninja assassin. We need to be poised, forceful and purposeful. Turnovers and offensive rebounds will lead to certain doom. If you’re number is called…be ready.
Great fiver, Jamie.
1. As we discussed on Saturday’s podcast, Deandre may not be the perfect fit for the Lakers because he is not an elite rim protector or 3-point shooting floor stretcher, but he can be an elite defender, rebounder, and lob threat when he has his head on straight. His defense on Sengun and rebounding the last two games has been championship caliber.
The big thing about Deandre is that he is clearly showing he is worth a lot more than $8M per year, which means he is for sure going to opt out of his player option this summer, which is great for the Lakers because that frees them up from having to bring him back. Instead, we may even see the Lakers sign-and-trade Ayton in a deal to trade for a better fitting center like Myles Turner, who can protect the rim and shoot the three.
2. Jake has had some confidence issues with his shot but he generally has been working hard on defense and rebounding. I think he has great potential as a 2-way role player but the fact that he is young and under contract probably means he could be traded if we end up adding talent via a trade because we do not have many players who are tradable.
3. LeBron is kicking Father Times ass! Other good news is LeBron and Bronny will be back next season and maybe beyond. People do not realize how much it means to LeBron to play with his son. In the end, that’s what’s going to keep LeBron going for more years.
4. Amen Thompson should have been kicked out of the game. He could have seriously injured both Austin and Luke. Poor sport and loser. He’s an asshole but a great player. If we had a shot at getting guys like Thompson or Dort, I would support it. Sometimes, it’s the will to win that makes great players assholes. On the Lakers, I would ask them to cool it.
5. Glad to see your newfound support for the job JJ Redick has done with this team. I loved seeing him learn and improve on the job and eliminate some of the rookie mistakes he made. I still love his willingness to do what he thinks is the right thing regardless of critics. Notice that until the last 3 minutes, he played just 8 guys despite the criticism for not trusting his bench last playoffs. This time, it worked perfectly as Lakers had their best game of the playoffs to eliminate the Rockets.