5 THINGS

LOL, Dave. We may be the only ones on the blog who actually saw Bob Petit play.

Aaaaaaand that folks is why we don’t award things based on hype or expectation. One would imagine just about every human on Earth calling this one a loss before the game but as we saw there’s a reason they play the games. The Lakers got some great contributions from up and down the roster in what ended up being a testy affair and a really fun game to watch.

1. The ejection. The game was a tightly fought, back and forth affair. Just prior to the ejection we saw the Nets briefly take a lead on us. Then Schroder and Kyrie Irving got into it after what seemed to be a fairly mundane personal foul call. I don’t pretend to understand what motivates Mr. Irving but the fact that he has now taken the next game off for personal reason, to me, means it was more about his desire not to keep playing basketball and get some time to himself. he left his teammates to explain what transpired so we may never really hear what went down. Schroder, for his part, seemed confused as to why he was assessed the second tech (the official explanation was his little wave to Irving as he departed the floor, that feels silly, players do that all the time). Regardless of what occurred between the two grown men the incident sparked the Lakers to a 57-33 run that ended when garbage time commenced and the Lakers comfortably ahead.
2. How we went on The Run. It can be weird, the thing that sparks a team to realize what they can do when short-handed, in the case of the Lakers who were already without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, Kyle Kuzma and Wesley Matthews Jr it was seeing Dennis Schroder depart the court after his 2nd tech. That seemed to free up the remaining Lakers and they started playing fast and loose on offense while getting even scrappier on defense. Whether it was Talen Horton-Tucker finding teammates for a game-high 11 assists, Alonzo McKinnie grabbing 9 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench, Andre’ Drummond powering his way through the Net defense for a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds or contributions from up and down the roster the Lakers seemed to make all the right moves in the third quarter and into the 4th.
3. Welcome to the Los Angeles Lakers Ben McLemore. He had started fairly quietly in his first game playing only 17 minutes and taking only 3 shots. That was not the case last night as he played 23 minutes canning 6-12 shots, 5-10 from three point land bestowing upon the Lakers the kind of shot-taker (and maker) that Laker Tim has been pining for all season. McLemore led a solid attack from beyond the arc that saw the Lakers shoot 19-35 (55.9%) but it was Ben who helped fuel the run that out the Lakers comfortably ahead in the third. It started with a nifty shot off a bounce to catch a pass from Caruso. McLemore’s feet barely hit the floor before he got into his shooting motion and canned the first of his three pointers. To their credit the Lakers fed him a steady diet of threes or ran screens to free him up. Like Frank says: go with the hot hand.
4. Double-figure boogie. The balance the team had in it’s scoring meant that there was no single player Brooklyn could key in on to stop. Every starter scored in double-figures. Off the bench everyone who played during the meaningful minutes except Alex Caruso hit double-figures, as well. That kind of balance is difficult for teams to handle and it assuredly is the way for this team to be competitive without it’s stars. We don’t need every player to score in double-figures but there needs to be contributions in some form or another from everyone.
5. Buyout Blues. There have been some recent reports from various media outlets from small market teams and GMs that they aren’t happy with how the NBA buyout system is working. Well if that isn’t sour grapes I don’t know what is. The basis of the issue is that small market teams feel they’re getting railroaded into buyouts by power agents who rep high profile talents who want to play for teams who are in a better position to compete in the here and now. The gist of theses gripes are that they’re not getting compensated in the form of talent or picks when they choose to make these players available. I don’t get it. These teams sign or trade for players on high dollar contracts then choose to sit them in favor of younger talent. These players are often not on expiring contracts (like Blake Griffin was, for instance) and will be a drag on said small-market team’s ability to offer high dollar contracts in the coming off-season. The buyout is a way for them to free up space to re-sign or extend the younger talent they are choosing to build around. They make the choice to sit the current high-dollar contract they have, they save millions of dollars and get salary cap relief and yet…they want more. While it’s unfortunate that not all teams can play in large markets. It’s not enough that the player gives up money out of their pocket, the fact that draft picks or young talent is flowing their way is, somehow, the league’s fault. That’s absurd. You shouldn’t have signed Blake Griffin to a max deal or traded for him when he was early into that max deal. You don’t HAVE to buyout player X, you’re the one who wants the cap space freed up and for the player to be off your roster. If you can’t find a trading partner you don’t have to buy them out. Play the game back at the agents. Small market teams, they want the Sun, the Moon and the stars and they don’t want to work to get it. Here’s another idea: sell your team and get into a business you better understand and can compete at. You expect your players to try their hardest, give their best and sacrifice limb and life for you but don’t want to do the same yourself. That’s absurd.

Tuesday sees the Lakers face off against the resurgent Knickerbockers and one Julius Randle. Should be a good game and if we can turn in the same effort as we did against the Nets we should be competitive. That’s all any of us can ask.

In what was likely conceived as an NBA Finals rematch game the Heat beat the Lakers without the main culprits of their Finals demise on the court. No AD and no LeBron James coupled with the late scratches of Kyle Kuzma (calf) and Talen Horton-Tucker (suspension) meant the Lakers had even steeper climb. They should have hired a Sherpa or gotten a helicopter ride because the Heat were just a touch too much for the remaining players clad in purple and gold.

1. Don’t diss the Heat. Laker fans seem to want to denigrate the Heat’s accomplishment in making it to the NBA Finals. I, personally, find that notion absurd. There’s a reason things aren’t awarded on hype or expectations. The teams have to play, one team has to win so many games and that team moves on. Seems simple, one team ends up being better than the other. So, for those fans who crow they don’t fear Miami this one was for you. The basketball Gods always listen…always. Also, wishing Victor Oladipo all the best and a speedy recovery. Guess it’s a good thing we didn’t trade Kuzma and KCP and ahhhh why not, throw in Alex Caruso for Vic, eh?
2. Free throw parade. Was I the only one who thought it was ludicrous how often Miami got sent to the line for simply crashing into some Laker or another in the first quarter? I didn’t think I was…
3. That contract for Dennis is getting smaller every game. Mark my words, that man is going to fire his agent after this summer when he does not get his $20+ million dollar deal from anyone at all. A player that’s worth that sum of money can lead a team in more than the turnover department, doesn’t fall to the ground and leave his team one man down on the break, and does more than just play defense. Schroder is showing that last season was essentially a fluke, that playing alongside superstar talent like CP3 or LeBron is the only way he can shine. Sorry Dennis, I love your moxie, the cut of your jib and your peskiness on defense but you cannot be relied upon to score consistently. We got plenty of guys who make far less than $20 mil who can do just that.
4. Hey it’s KCP. Par for the course this season KCP breached for a game and looked like he wanted to play basketball. I don’t really expect it to carry over as it really hasn’t for most of the season. One good game followed by 3 or 4 terrible ones. Not much more useful than Dennis Schroder these days. You need to do this a lot more consistently to make me believe again, Kentavious. I want to but just can’t find it in me to look past the landslide of my new label DP-BDNSU (Dis Play-But Did Not Show Up).
5. Hey Andre’ Drummond finished the game! Which is about all we can say about that. Drummond was never going to save this season, he’s a good to above-average player on bad teams because…they’re bad, they don’t have a lot of good guys. He can do simple NBA center things well enough although the free throw shooting is certainly a concern for a team that often goes through major free throw line funks. I love his energy on the glass and his active hands on defense. I have hope he’ll be better at not holding the ball and looking around while the team tries to get a break going. There were more than a few times where it cost him precious seconds to find an open Laker but he’s getting acclimated. Those issues are correctable. I expect to see Gasol play in the 2nd night of back-to-backs in the regular season, maybe get some time of Drummond is in foul trouble. But he was in foul trouble last night and no Marc so…we’ll see how the three-headed center monster we’ve Frankensteined pans out.

Also, bonus point, welcome to the Lakers Ben McLemore. We’ll see how he grows into a role on this team in the handful of games left but this very much reminds me of the Dion Waiters signing. Might have a regular season impact but he may struggle to find a playoff role if he can’t defend at a decent level. The Lakers don’t cover for bad defenders just because they can shoot, that’s Frank Vogel 101 people.

Lastly, bonus BONUS point: a banner hanging ceremony agaaaaaaaaainst…the Houston Rockets (wah, wah, wah). Fishing for a win on banner night is fine but I think the real reason they chose that game is that there is a high likelihood that LBJ and AD could both be on the floor by then. Not certain, of course (tweets or what have you aside) but I feel like that’s very reasonable. That may not be the timeline Laker fans get excited about but it feels like Jeannie et al wouldn’t want to risk a blow out on banner night and that, if at all possible, have James and Davis play in the game.

Last thing: just a friendly reminder that this team is not, repeat, not designed to win without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Not a player on the roster replicates the skills, talent or gravity both of those men create on a basketball court. So don’t overly-fret these losses save for the fact we’re freefalling through the standings. Might end up rocking a play-in game, might s well start getting used to the idea.

The Lakers have been on the other end of some beatdowns recently so it was nice to see the team cruise (relatively speaking) to an easy win. Certainly not without drama as we saw players from both sides get tossed but a win is a win, as they say. With re-enforcements coming soon, hopefully, the Lakers just need to keep treading water, head above the waves, until the team can get healthy and back on track.

1. Marc Gasol did all the right things on the court and followed that up by saying all the right things off of it. He contributed his best all-around game as a Laker pouring in 13 points (6-9, 1-3 from three), a co-team high 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 big blocks. While he did cough it up 5 times he looked more like the player I think we all though we’d see on a regular basis. In his post-gamer he continued his excellent showing by stating unequivocally that he was all in on this Laker season. Did he mean it? Could he be fibbing? Maybe, sure, who knows but the important thing was that he is playing the right way and saying the right things and being a good teammate in the doing. Solid effort by Marc.
2. The THT/AC pairing. This hasn’t gotten much attention but I think it speaks to the coaching staff’s confidence in both players to get the job done. Slowly but surely AC and THT are getting more time as combined unit. For awhile it felt like they were staggered off of one another and it didn’t matter when LeBron was on the floor commanding attention and orchestrating like only he can. In his absence, and when Schroder goes to the bench, Vogel turns to this duo to keep us afloat. The results have been mixed but I think the combo has potential as a stabilizing force off the bench. THT can be the de facto PG and Caruso takes the lead on D. This allows for their offsetting skill sets to balance out a little more organically. We’re talking about 10 or so minutes of actual basketball action so it’s not like it needs to hold up for long. It’ll be interesting to see how the rotation settles in as we get guys back but I kind of hope this continues into the playoffs. For the night both THT and AC had solid games: THT had 17 (6-10 shooting, 3/4 from three), 4 rebounds, 6 assists. Caruso had an efficient 13 (4-7, 3/4 from three) 5 boards and 4 dimes. They both had 4 turnovers which is too many but par for this team this season.
3. Wesley Matthews Jr. contributing impact plays if not eye-popping stats. It hasn’t been the easiest of roads for Wes this season. Struggled early, got benched, got a neck injury on a scary fall into the stanchion and has seen his role fluctuate based on how other guys have begun to emerge but through it all he’s been solid on defense and that shot has come around little by little. Last night Wes led the team in +/- and played hard on both ends. We’re going to need Wes to contribute in order to have success in the playoffs so it’s been nice to see him carve out a role for himself on account of his defense and hard-nosed play.
4. Trezz standing up for his team. I mentioned this in the podcast but it bears repeating here. I can’t count the number of comments on the site, articles in the media and social media that shine a light on the notion that a lot of these guys will be moved, sign elsewhere and aren’t all in on the Lakers. Last night we saw the other side. The side where guys who play on a team bond together. Trezz id a fiery-fellow, you can see him jawing with opponents, refs and teammates through every single game. It could be as easy to misconstrue that intensity as displeasure with his situation, after all he did have to accept our bargain basement MLE, as it was to misconstrue his All Star tweet. Passion can be an intimidating thing, not always taken the right way or expressed in a socially acceptable manner. To see Trezz stand up for Dennis and then to see the comment about how he has a beef with anyone not wearing a Laker jersey makes me smile. The dude’s heart is in the right place. Still, he did get tossed and only contributed 2 whopping minutes of play. That left a Harrell-sized hole in our line up. One that was filled by none other than…
5. DEVONTAE CACOCK! The G-Leaguer, 2-way player had his best game of the year by a country mile. In 17 minutes he had 8 rebounds, hit 5-7 shots for 10 big points, and played with the kind of energy this team needs on a nightly basis. I sure hope Devontae makes the post-season roster. I’ve always loved his hustle and nose for the rebound. For a team struggling with a “next man up?” identity issue Devontae flipped the script and stepped up in a large way.

Miami is up next, gonna be a tough one. Maybe we can play the trap team for once, eh? At any rate, won’t be much of an NBA Finals rematch without AD or LeBron so maybe we can bring this same energy and feistiness and pull out another W. Keep the head a little higher above those waves.

That was a beatdown of epic proportions. The Lakers never led, never seriously threatened and struggled to make shots. The Clippers on the other hand looked solid despite being without key players themselves. Of course the biggest difference was that the Clipper superstar duo played and ours did not.

1. The name of the game is scoring the basketball. The Lakers never figured that out against the Clippers. They couldn’t hit open shots, couldn’t hit contested shots, couldn’t hit from the outside and often missed inside. We had a season-low 38 points in the first half. The Lakers just couldn’t couldn’t throw it in the ocean as a team. 40% from the field, 30% from three but, hey, 75% from the free throw line.
2. The defense showed up. The Lakers defense retained it’s elite status in the face of yet another loss without AD and LBJ. We held the Clippers to 104 points, they only shot 9 free throws, and we forced 20 turnovers. Where we failed was in converting those into points of any kind. 15 points off of 20 turnovers ain’t great. Certainly did not get it done on the break with 8 whopping transition points. Allowing the Clippers to rain threes essentially sealed the loss.
3. The mental game. It’s become obvious that the guys who should be stepping up (Kuzma, KCP, Schroder) aren’t. Whether they can or not has become a sort of moot point: we’re already falling in the standings, not showing up for big stretches of winnable games and in short not acting like professional sportsmen. Harrell is doing his job, guys on the bench have generally had a decent, if not totally positive, impact. But those three guys are starters right now, they all have the ball in their hands and are bucket-getters or, in theory, creators. This team has z-e-r-o chance of winning against anyone when they don’t play with the right mentality, don’t come prepared, and if they cannot make shots. We know they can but since they are not one has to assume it’s in their heads.
4. Adjustments? Please, feel free to enlighten me, perhaps I’ve missed something but I don’t think I have. What adjustments has the team made on offense since James went down? To my count it would appear to be none. We run the same, silly sets we run when LeBron James is playing. But there isn’t a single player that replicates the gravity James brings to the court along with the skillset to maximize that gravity. I get it, there hasn’t been much practice time but we’re talking about a team that semi-overhauled it’s defensive identity mid-playoffs. Surely they can adapt to a life on offense without LeBron James for a few games. The answer, apparently, is no.
5. The return of Drummond. The Big Penguin could be back on Tuesday and that’s a good thing. It’s one of the games I have slated as ‘winnable’ and Toronto by way of Tampa Bay isn’t killing it with size this season. So, if he gets the green light, let’s hope for better showing than in game 1 of his Laker career and get this one off right.

5 more games on this road trip. If I let the pessimist in me rule the day I say we go 1-4 and further take a tumble in the standings. But the realist (I don’t have an inner optimist) says we go 2-3. We win the bun games and lose the cheese, patty and lettuce games. So if this Laker burger can be even tastier and we end up winning some of those middle games I like our chances of getting AD back after the road trip, or soon thereafter. Although I also won’t be surprised if both sit until the playoffs.