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That was puh-reeeeeetty ugly folks. It’s a good thing we have LBJ and AD and that they are playing near enough to peak form because we could have easily lost both games in Memphis based on our overall team play. With no star player to speak of (sorry but Kyle Anderson does not count) the under-manned and especially under-talented Grizzlies put up a lot of fight but still came up empty behind too much AD and too much LBJ.

1. Anthony Davis and LeBron James will often be just enough. They’re that good. Two guys can, essentially, beat a entire team. Only one other Laker (Schroder) scored over 10 points (12…on 15 shots). Overall our two superstars are in pretty decent shape considering how quick the turnaround was and how much of the load on both ends they shoulder.
2. Dennis Schroder trying too hard. Some games it looks like Dennis has been playing with AD and the King for years and then there are games like last night when his early shots aren’t falling and he forces the action too much. Dennis is a superlative talent, likely an All Star someday, and is a solid two-way player but he had a pretty terrible game last night. Here’s hoping he brings it hard in the back-to-back.
3. THT defensive sieve. The Laker are surrendering points at a pretty alarming clip when Talen is on the floor. That’s not all on him, he is generally not the primary ball-handler, can only guard one part of the floor and was on the floor for only 22 minutes last night. However, the team gave up a point a minute in his on-court time for a team-leading -22. If you want to stick in the NBA you’re going to have to learn to play better team defense, I’m not talking about a steal or two per game or blocking shots but how you can work with others to stymie an offense. THT isn’t there yet but these are valuable minutes for him to be learning those skills. If Kuzma can do it just about anyone can.
4. Turning it over like the ball was electric. The Lakers are sloppy as a team right now. Too many home run plays being forced early in games when it’s not needed. The King was the team leader in turnovers, again, which isn’t surprising because of his role but he needs to reign in those lofty lobs and length of court hail mary’s to AD when he’s in coverage. This ain’t the NFL.
5. The Gasol/Morris equation. This will be an on-going, season-long debate: should we play Gasol or Morris more? We’re faster and more athletic when ‘Kieff is on the floor but seem to have better flow on offense when Gasol plays. Gasol is also by far the better defender. “Kieff is the better three ball shooter. They play about split minutes right now. I don’t have answer though I tend to lean towards marc because of everything else he brings (size, play-making, etc.) Going to be interesting to see how this one unfolds.

All in all a win is a win. So we move on to Chicago but we can’t keep sleepwalking through 3/4s of the game and expect to flip a switch in the 4th. That’s a recipe for losing games against better teams. The staff will get the ship righted and eventually we’ll be better on D. Or so I hope. Go Lakers.