Ben was huge factor. After going 04 to start the game, he suddenly got sizzling hot starting on a pass to the corner that he had to jump to grab, landed and immediately jumped again and drained a key corner three.
We were leading by 12 but struggling to stretch the lead and that corner three by Ben was the shote put the Lakers up by 15 at the end of three. That 15 point lead got the Lakers feeling confident they could really pull this thing off. That was the play that turned the corner for the Lakers. It gave the Lakers that last jolt of confidence they needed to win the fourth and turn the game into a blowout.
Ben proceeded to score 14 of his 17 points in the 4th quarter, hitting 4 out of 4 threes and finishing 6-12 from the field and 5-10 from deep.
He proved to be exactly what we have desperately needed: a high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter able and willing to shoot every time he touches the ball.
Tonight, finally, the Lakers have a player who turn a close game into a blowout by raining threes. I mean, how many times have we seen that happen to the Lakers by opponents? And how often have we seen elite shooters join the Lakers and shoot 6-10 points less than their career? Not tonight, baby. Tonight, Ben McLemore turned out the lights for the Lakers.
Outstanding article by Bill Oram and Joe Vardon. Ty didn’t want to lose money he was due from Cavs and Rob didn’t want to appear to be forced to hire LeBron’s coach. Give Ty credit for telling Frank on the call to take the Lakers job.
Great article by Bill and Joe. What impressed me is how adept Pelinka was in pivoting to a new plan when forced into a corner. How he switched to Vogel when the situation seemed to force Lue upon him reminded me of how he turned lemons into lemonade after Kawhi spurned Lakers.