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In the 18 minutes that LeBron and AD shared the floor in game 2, the Lakers had an ORtg of 145.9 and a DRtg of 76.3, and were a +25 in the boxscore.

— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) August 21, 2020

Portland made 1 shot for the final 5 minutes and 50 seconds of the second quarter.

Half a quarter, 1 made shot.

This Laker defense is something else.

— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) August 21, 2020

Danny Green still can't make a shot, going 0-for-5 from the field, 0-for-3 from 3s in the first half.

— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) August 21, 2020

Lakers tip-off vs. Portland in less than an hour. Here’s my thoughts on game 2: https://t.co/2SFfIPUs08

— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) August 21, 2020

On this same note, it’s nearly time for Vogel to make a starting lineup change. In fact, some would convincingly argue that time has passed. In last year’s Finals, Nick Nurse decided he was going to replace Danny Green in the starting lineup in each 2nd half with Fred VanVleet. FVV was his best primary defender on Steph Curry and his offensive shot creation was valuable against a switching Warriors defense. That move paid off wonderfully and Nurse rode VanVleet to heavy minutes in each of the final 5 games to help win a championship.

Vogel is likely facing a similar decision with one of KCP, JaVale, or both. Caruso is the Lakers best primary defender vs. Dame while Kuzma is a more versatile defender whose shot-making and floor spacing can help open the floor for Bron and Davis. Both Caruso and Kuz played heavy minutes in game 1, but more minutes with Bron and AD would be beneficial to the Lakers. Vogel would be wise to keep a very close eye on how his starters perform and be ready to make a change. It’s hard to continue to dig yourself out of the hole in a playoff.