5 THINGS

That was a needed infusion of youthful talent. Between THT and Malik Monk the Lakers have been able to send some guys out there that are both under 30 and have some decent game. Anthony Davis set the tone and the team followed in one of the more complete games the team has played to this point in the season.

1. Anthony Davis starting to assert himself in ways the team desperately needs. We can go on and on about how this role-player or that isn’t playing quite up to type or what-have-you but the truth is this Laker team is only going as far as Anthony Davis takes it at this point. LeBron has been hurt, Russell is the new guy and the team needs AD’s elite impact that only he can bring on both ends of the court. Not to minimize the contributions of any other player on the roster but Davis alone can massively change the tone of the game on either end. Last night he was dominant in the paint helping us to an (for this season) uncommon advantage in that department. He also canned 2-3 three pointers, grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds and dished 6 assists. His 34 points led all scorers and he looked like the unstoppable force inside and out that we need him to be. When AD plays with that much force, focus and intensity the Lakers are a lot tougher to beat. When he lets the game or his teammates dictate his aggression we suffer for it.
2. Welcome back Talen Horton-Tucker. I’ve written a lot of words about the advanced age of this Laker team and I likely will throughout the season as long as Frank continues to rely on the over 33 players. THT made his season debut following thumb ligament surgery and he looked like he hadn’t missed a day. The Lakers and the fans might have to live with some questionable forays into the paint, passed up shots and the learning curve any player who is still trying to reach his ceiling will have. I’ll take it because Talen is probably our most accomplished slasher other than LeBron James. He uses angles better than any other Laker and he has an array of finger rolls, floaters and mini-hooks to get his shot off over (or around) defenders. While it was only one game against the rebuilding Spurs he looked decent on defense, certainly no worse than the struggling Kent Bazemore.
3. Malik Monk building a case for a consistent role. Monk started the season with more questions than assumptions. Could he defend well enough to earn minutes on Vogel-coached team? Would his shooting transfer over from a mostly bench, mop-up duty role in Charlotte to a team with bonafide banner aspirations? Could he carve out a role amongst so many other more established p[layers? Monk is answering those challenges and he’s doing it pretty well. His 36.1% from three is weighed down by early season struggles and inconsistent minutes, of late he’s been shooting the ball better and is creative at getting his shot off in the paint with an array of floaters. He’s not really creating much for teammates (2 assists/game) but that’s not really his role on this team. He, like THT, are being asked to be Swiss Army Knives with a little D, some scoring and some playmaking while fitting in among HOF players. Monk has started to shine in the absence of Kendrick Nunn as one of our better young players.
4. Russell Westbrook taking it to the bank. I hadn’t realized until this season how many shots off the glass Russ takes. It makes a ton of sense because Westbrook is so strong, his shot so forceful, that using the glass to soften it just plain smart. Russ will never be Ray Allen efficient but he brings a lot of other things to the table. His bank shot has been solid thus far and, like LeBron, I think he’d benefit from shooting a step or from beyond the line on his threes. Russ had a solid game against the Spurs and seems to be trying to do a little less which has taken some of the pressure off of him with LeBron out.
5. Wayne Ellington making it happen. It’s been whispered and rumored of for awhile now: the Lakers are where three point shooting specialists come to die. Guys who shoot lights out on smaller market teams (or where there are coaches who devise plays specifically to get them their shots) come to LA and can’t throw it in the ocean. Wayne started his season playing that way but, of late, has started to look more like the gunner we need him to be to bolster our bench scoring. If THT is going to start that leaves it to Wayne, Malik and whomever else gets into the rotation on any given night to bring some firepower off the bench. Wayne took a few games to get his legs under him and has said that the new ball has taken some time to adjust to. That all sounds about right to me. Wayne was great in his role yesterday afternoon taking 7 threes and making 5.

It begins tonight. The easy portion of the schedule is, essentially, done. One could argue that no team in the NBA should be considered easy to beat but the truth is the Lakers didn’t do themselves many favors easing into the season (especially in regards to training camp where it feels like a lot of these questions could have been answered specifically “should DeAndre Jordan play at all?” NO! No he should not.) in the manner that they did. Sitting just 2 games over .500 with a 5 game road trip after the back-to-back tonight facing mostly eastern conference teams in the hunt for the playoffs the Lakers have some work to do to show that they’re better than their record suggests.

This road trip takes us through a struggling Milwaukee team that I’m sure would love to bring some oxygen to their season by beating us: don’t let it happen; we need to become the team that beats struggling or rebuilding teams. Don’t be the one that gives them a feather in the cap by running us out of the building. Our lone game in Boston to a similarly struggling Celtics squad gives us another chance to show we can take advantage of the issues other teams are having rather than let our own issues define the season. Can they make all this happen? I’m not so sure but tonight is a good test: the Bulls are coming off a win against the Clippers and it’s Alex Caruso’s first game against the team that cheaped out in regards to retaining his services and choosing the hopeful promise of THT over the proven defender and glue man that is Alex Caruso. While tonight will not be the end of that debate it’s sure to be fun to watch. Watch ACFresh go for 50, lol.

Go Lakers.

That was pathetic. Let’s get this over with.

1. 83 points, to date. That’s the amount the Lakers have been outscored in the 3rd quarter by the opposition to this point in the season. We come out of the half like the game is in the bag. It’s a bad habit that started in preseason and has been consistently displayed throughout the season.
2. Lazy basketball. In the 3rd quarter, after the Timberwolves had run out to a double-digit lead in a not double-digit minute span, the Lakers fell back on the laziest shot in basketball: the early shot clock three pointer. Most of those came within a Mike D’Antoni-esque 7 seconds or less in regards to the shot clock. The five out sets mean there are no rebounders for these lazy shots and it allowed Minnesota to get out on the break since we also chose not to really get back on defense after bad shots like we took in the 3rd.
3. No pride shown. This got so embarrassing so fast I was surprised the starters played as much as they did in the second half. If you’re not going to compete, if you’re just gonna jack up lazy shots (everyone, no one player did a good job of trying to make a basketball play, throwing inane passes out of bounds under little to no pressure, and basically choose not to show up then do the fans who shelled out over $100/ticket a favor and just leave your ass at home. Nobody wants to watch NBA level talent play lazy and silly. Nobody.
4. This Laker team is soft. Like Charmin soft. We get out-rebounded consistently. We play defense without moving our feet consistently. We settle for bad shots consistently. Those are the defining characteristics of this team, I don’t care what name is on the back of the jersey. We rarely work inside out, almost never run a set play unless it’s an inbounds (and even there it’s iffy) and have shown that we are more than willing to play down to lesser competition. Weak.
5. Kiss that banner good bye. AD called out the team in his post-game but even that, in my opinion, fell short of what this team needs which is a swift kick in the butt. We’re coming up on the 20 game mark which is generally a barometer for the kind of team you have. That being the case, welcome to the 2021-22 version of the Los Angeles Lakers: a collection of names, not playing cohesively, showing up for 2/3s of every game and trying to get by on talent alone. If I were the coach I’d bench every player who isn’t getting back, who grabs instead of moves and shoots a three with 14+ seconds left on the clock. Be better or go this will become one of the biggest collection of losers with HOF credentials ever assembled in any sport.
   
   This glass is full, 100% full of reality people. I’m sure this post could be considered more arm-waving and hand-wringing but we’re almost done with what was considered the easy part of our schedule and it’s only going to get harder. That doesn’t bode well for the LA Lambs, er, Lakers

Three overtimes of late, three wins. We may not be where we want to be as a team, yet, but we’re finding ways to win while we learn. That’s huge in a loaded western conference that features several teams leaking out ahead of us in the seeding race. While there were many things that almost derailed the win we overcame them and that’s a step forward for this team in this moment.

1. Malik Monk’s huge game. We needed every one of those points Monk poured in to bring home the win. Malik has a unique skillset on this team. Like THT he can get his own shot, get into the paint to create and is possessed of youthful vim and vigor. Unlike THT he has a killer jump shot. If we can unlock something like this version of Malik on a nightly basis we can live with the occasional defensive lapse or two. We need someone to provide scoring off the bench other than Melo and if it can be Monk that’s cool with me.
2. Melo continues his Sixth man of the year campaign. He may not have been raining threes but Melo knows how to apply pressure on a defense from anywhere on the floor. Anthony has also been playing with a nice amount of vinegar since becoming a Laker. You can see him engaging with AD about defensive concepts in stoppages (and even after the game last night) and he finds ways to win like superstars tend to do. While he is definitely removed from his “alpha” days in the NBA he is still a respected force that creates his own, unique gravity on the floor that forces a defense to react.
3. Russell’s triple-double. This is life with Westbrook and you might as well buckle up and enjoy the ride, bumps and all. Intense is the word I have landed on to describe Westbrook’s game. Applied with as much force as skill, always ramped up to 100 MPH all with the audacity of a swashbuckler Russ is gonna drive the team forward. This time without LeBron has been good for Russ. It’s not that he’s changed his game or unlocked a heretofore unseen skillset it’s that he’s been free to be himself. If anyone is going to see where he fits in amongst the budding rapport between Russ and AD it’s The King. So letting Russ run wild for a few games has had it’s benefits and warts but that’s the package we bought when we traded for O.
4. Avery Bradley should stick as a starter. I don’t buy into the idea that Avery doesn’t have the right skillset, mentality or ability to be a starter on this team. In fact I happen to think he’s the perfect compliment to Russ at the 2 to kick things off. He’s yin to Westbrook’s yang: where Russ is always playing in 5th gear, Avery has a control and pace to his game that allows him to speed up his game when called for. He shoots the three well enough and his defense is sorely needed in a starting unit that will seemingly end up featuring DeAndre Jordan on most nights. I’m not sure Kent is the long-term answer at the three, I have no doubt in my mind that AB should start at the 2.
5. The free throw disparity issue. OK, this has gotten absurd. Once again it was a more than 2-1 disparity in free throws attempted. While some of this is on us and our defensive lapses, it’s not like the Lakers a re a jump shooting team. Frank needs to pick up a T, challenge some calls, something to start to bring this thing back into a manageable realm because this isn’t a winning formula. It took ridiculous games from role players, hitting nearly 50% from three and a series of out of character misses late from the Heat to pull this out. We have to play better defense, yes, but the Lakers also need to start getting some calls going their way. I’m sure this will start to even out…eventually.

We ought to win against Minny. Here’s hoping we do. Go Lakers.

I have been saying that before. Having AD and Russ figure out things while LeBron waits is the first step in developing a synergy among the three of them. So LeBron out for some time might help in a big way while it hurts. Chemistry takes different forms to materialize.

The Trailblazer’s game was garbage. Terrible effort on every front, got played off the floor by the better team and the biggest issue is this is happening when we face what are considered to be bottom-feeding teams. The Lakers have an age problem in that we are an old team. Our superstars are old, our role-players are old and all but 1 of the young guys signed over the summer and a rookie are injured. On top of that we are counting on guys who put their bodies through a lot just to feel healthy. As soon as they get dinged up a little, it seems to mean they get dinged up a lot. Pro sports are a younger person’s affair, for the most part, and this ain’t golf or baseball.

1. LeBron’s injury-riddled time in Los Angeles. However you care to quantify this it’s becoming an unavoidable topic of debate: LeBron is getting older and it’s showing in his shot selection and his availability. LA got vintage LeBron, a finely aged player still capable of putting up quality performances. Then came the groin injury and a mostly lost season. 2019 will always be looked at through the lens of LeBron turning back the clock in the playoffs and helping bring banner 17 to the rafters. However, that also has to come with a big “But” in the form of a 3 month break midseason as planet Earth grappled with COVID-19. Then came the following season where LeBron was playing at a high level, again. Until Solomon Hill accidentally took him out with a high ankle sprain. Since his, at times shaky, return from that injury one thing has stood out: LeBron now shoots a lot of threes. Now he’s out with another ankle injury, one that some say could take as long as a month to heal. At 36, with the mileage that body has accumulated, it makes sense for the Lakers to be as cautious as they can afford to be given the impact James’ health has on our title chances.
2. Anthony Davis aka The Man Who Falls Down A Lot. I love AD and the way he plays the game. He really does play in the style of a throwback power forward a la Bob McAdoo but with better range (“Doo” would have been a beast in the modern game, btw). If you listen to Bill & Stu on the Spectrum broadcasts you’ll there’s a running joke about AD hitting the floor and how many times he picks himself up off of it. It will not surprise me if, at some point, we see AD attempt a FG from said floor. The dude is elite, no doubt, but he also gets nicked up easier and quicker than a lot of other elite players. I’m not questioning his heart, the world of pro sport is littered with guys who had the talent and the heart but their bodies simply did not cooperate for them to have the kind of careers many expected. AD, like LeBron, benefitted greatly from the COVID time off when he turned in a playoff performance for the ages. That is not something that will be replicated and so the question facing him now is: can you do it within the confines of a true, 82 game NBA season? I believe he can. I am of the opinion that, if the roster is relatively healthy and LeBron is at something like 80% we can win a 7 game series against any other team, east or west. That will depend, as it always does, on a modicum of luck. But good health, especially to your superstars, is a must for any team that wants to do more than place SHOW.
3. The Russell Westbrook puzzle. I’m not too proud to admit that I might have been wrong. That Mr. Sean Grice and Mr. Gerald Glassford may have been correct when they said that Russ was not a good fit on the Lakers. I still believe they will all figure out some way to make it work, though that way has certainly not yet been discovered. Westbrook had a golden opportunity against Portland to impose his will on the game. Instead he turned in the worst performance I have personally seen from him, ever. Toss in that the bench we normally deploy gave us nada and the route we all yearn to forget went down. It’s almost impossible for me to conceive a world where the Lakers entertain trading Russell Westbrook, it feels like it would take Dame specifically telling Portland “trade me to the Lakers” and that Russ would be the one to swap. We would also have to still be at, or below, .500 for that to happen. I just can’t see that happening…yet. Even I, of the realistic and pragmatic approach (as opposed to those with glasses of rose), really have a hard time seeing what lead the Lakers to such a dismal conclusion to the Russell Westbrook as a Laker saga. But it is starting to take shape in my mind, which is not a good thing. Because if I can kinda see it now then there are people within the Laker organization that saw back in the summer and likely submitted a memo or bent Rob’s ear for a hot minute only to be over-ruled. I still believe that the Lakers, as constructed now, have enough to win a banner. They suffer from Brooklyn-itis right now: too many pieces that have specific needs that really haven’t played together much. If we can cure that, we got a great chance.
4. The rest of the team. It is certainly no secret that, as a result of having three max contracts on the books, the rest of the roster is essentially filler. Composed of a lot of aged vets on minimum deals, Malik Monk on a minimum deal, Nunn for the MLE and THT on his extension with a dash of “hey look at Austin Reaves go!” that’s the Laker bench. This is another area where the age of the roster is an obstacle to overcome, especially in the regular season. All of the guys we play in support roles with either the starting five or off the bench are over 30 except for Monk and Reaves since both THT and Nunn have been out since camp. Carmelo is going to come and go, but like any aged gunslinger he’s only good until the bullets run dry in any one gunfight. Dwight hasn’t been able to recreate his 2.0 Laker magic, DeAndre Jordan looks as washed up as he did at the end of his tenure with the Clippers, Ariza has been hurt and Bazemore and Bradley are decent support, at best. There is no young blood who has the skill and talent to impact the game in a winning way that i available. To be honest, I don’t really see that in him, to begin with. Whatever the impact they can make, we need some of the younger guys to get back competing and see what they can do to help turn this around.
5. All things filter from the top down. Rob built this team. Yes, it was with a nod of acquiescence from AD and LBJ but it was his hand that put it together. It’s now Frank’s team to coach. I wondered before camp if Frank had the gravity and voice in order to bring these disparate identities, skill sets and egos into a cohesive force that could consistently win basketball games. I still have many, many doubts in this regard. It’s not Frank’s fault that he was given a roster of either old guys who have defensive reps or young guys who do not but that is in essence the team he was provided with this season. His rep as a defensive coach has been put to what I would imagine is the biggest test it has faced, yet. The Lakers suffered a pretty significant brain drain on the coaching staff, the team is not built for the style the coach likes to play, and many of the key pieces have yet to play significant minutes with each other. In an of themselves, none of these are enough to sink a team’s season. Taken as a whole and at at the same time and this looks more and more like an iceberg in the ocean…waiting…waiting…

I still believe we can overcome all of the above. The question is when more than if. This team was always built with the playoffs in mind, even with Westbrook. While not as much as in the past there is generally more time between games, you’re facing the same team and we got guys who know how to perform under pressure of all kinds. I don’t think too many teams will be trying to position themselves to face the Lakers in the playoffs, so long as we’re relatively healthy. Time, however, is a major factor. We want to be assured of a seeding, not fight for a play in. We want to make what we have work as is, not add more time to what is already a lengthy process of discovering fit, building chemistry and figuring things out. We want the coach we have to do his job right and stick around for awhile because Frank’s a funny guy, helped us win a banner, and if you bring in another coach (even one off the bench) you’re still going to have to re-adjust on the fly. None of that is desirable. So, in the interest of title #18 here’s hoping this group can push through this time of difficulty and figure out a way to win now. Go Lakers.