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Fun game and it was good for the Lakers to get a win against a team with a winning record (an elusive feat of late. Plenty to get into so let’s not dally. The WordPress editor is acting funky so it’s a short one one on the Blog.

1) Rui Hachimura’s first-ever buzzer beater. For someone who seems content to lurk in the background, Rui Hachimura was placed front and center last night when he caught a pass from a driving LeBron James and smoothly canned a three pointer over the leaping arm of Brandon Ingram. It was his first buzzer beater and it helped the Lakers remain undefeated in the clutch, not lose back-to-back games and ended LeBron’s streak of scoring 10 points in a game.

2) LeBron’s streak of scoring 10 points in a game ended. LeBron took it like one should: -12 fucks given. Look, it’s a cool streak and one that’s unlikely to be replicated any time soon…but it’s just not that important to me. I thought it was mildly silly when Redick put him back in during the blowout to Phoenix just to get it. This was a nice way for it to end.

3) Reaves putting the team on his shoulders. The luxury of having Reaves and Luka reveals itself all the time. Having 2 guys that can orchestrate an offense for themselves and others at a a high level while efficiently scoring is an amazing thing to have on an NBA team. Reaves had another great game last night and he did it without really forcing his offense. He knew when he needed to score to keep it close, he didn’t just call his number every time down and we won because of that nuanced difference between he and a lot of players.

4) Nick Smith Jr. The staff needs to figure out a way to get this guy some minutes. He could be the off the bench scorer this team desperately needs. His 12 points in 14 minutes on 7 shots (2-3 from three) were monumental last night. Love how the kid stays ready in the face of multiple DNP-CD.

5) Development for the future. One of the reasons I was excited about Redick becoming the coach was his seeming focus on developing our younger players. Turns out it was mostly lip service being played as none of our younger players seem to get minutes anymore…until last night when we finally saw the return of Thiero (a whopping 10 minutes) and Smith Jr. (14 minutes) to the rotation. Not sure why we play Maxi Kleber at this point. I’m sure he’s a nice guy and he seems to have decent instincts but he’s gun shy, doesn’t rebound, and is a mediocre defender who is slow of foot. There’s not a team that wants or needs him out there, he’ll likely retire from the NBA and play in Germany next season. There’s no world where he’s a part of the Lakers future (and you can honestly say the same about Gabe Vincent and Marcus Smart but at least one of them can shoot…kinda and the other one can defend…when he’s healthy enough to play) so why not give his minutes to our first round pick and see what he can do? Same goes for Nick Smith Jr. who seems capable of lighting it up in a small allotment of minutes. In a league that is trending younger and faster, the Lakers and Redick seem stuck in the old way of giving the vets enough rope to hang themselves three times. I don’t count Vando as a young player, although he’s on the cusp, because I feel like he is what he is. In the right defensive system he’s an elite defender. In ours he’s just the first guy to get switched off so that ball handler can attack Reaves or LeBron. And while he’s shooting a better % from three than Marcus Smart, currently, it’s not his strong suit and he still isn’t finishing well. If he cleaned up either one of those areas I think his situation on this team would be different. If we didn’t play a very predictable brand of defense he would be more valuable. Until one of those things change, he’s not able to be the best version of what he is on this team.

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LEBRON SACRIFICED 10-PT STREAK FOR GAME WINNER 🤯😱

if getting Giannis means we have to trade Austin Reaves…GIANNIS CAN GO TO HELL!!!