5 THINGS

LeBron James did something few thought possible. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA All-Time Scoring list and now stands alone atop a pile of some of the best buvket-getters to ever lace them up. What this accomplishments means is something best left to the scholars. For myself, I did get a bit emotional not just because of what it must mean to a person to break a record like that but also because Kareem has always been my favorite player. I like that he’s brusque, focused on things more off the court than on and he had an unstoppable shot nobody has been able to replicate. Like many things of his era Cap was one of a kind.

1. Kareem’s legacy is one of repetitive excellence conducted amongst swirling chaos around him. But his space that he occupies is both controlled and fluid. He rarely scored quickly, always measured. His game was forged from his time spent at UCLA under Coach Wooden, his sparring sessions with the legendary Bruce Lee, and a lifetime of fighting against racial and religious stereotypes. He alienated many on his journey, something that many believe is why he’s not more celebrated. I think it’s simpler: he was too good at what he did and if you can’t copy greatness it’s not celebrated to the same degree. Take Edie Van Halen, his way of playing guitar was once unique but then was able to be replicated to a large degree by many others. Same with Michael “Air” Jordan. While he made his name dunking the ball from the free throw line he became a legend because of his fade away jump shot. Lots of players use the same move to create space to this day. LeBron broke the record using that shot. Nobody can shoot the Skyhook and few try. So it will will one day pass from all knowledge and existence save for clips some media producer chooses to show on TV or the internet.
2. LeBron’s legacy is one built on power, ferocity and a sustained level of efficiency rare for a modern NBA player. LeBron came into the league with more expectations than perhaps any player in NBA history up to that point. This will likely be surpassed this summer when Victor Wembanyana dons a cap from one team or another when he’s selected first. LeBron’s game came with holes at the beginning. He always was a willing passer but had to grow as both a defender and scorer. He made his early living punishing people in the paint by simply jumping over them. He made a career by adding to his game over time like all the greats have done. He also had the benefit of modern sport medicine and so on to aid in extending his career. The same could be said for any player in any era several years removed from the last time a record was broken and it still takes the dedication of time and energy to go through the process. At any rate, I got emotional seeing the awkward exchange being The Captain and The King, two men who have some differences of opinion but share an appreciation for each other’s skill and accomplishment.
3. Coach Ham needs to cut down on his learning process and fast. We had bad match ups far too often last night playing our older, smaller guys too much (Schroder in particular was devastatingly bad last night just giving the ball away a few times and missing all 5 of his three pointers, he looked slow most of the game except a couple of times he used a burst of speed to shake loose for layups). Coach Ham evidently doesn’t believe in extending the game in order to win because he left two time outs in the chamber when we needed to lengthen the game by a few seconds to even have a shot. Despite the make up of OKC (long, athletic, fast) we didn’t play Wenyan Gabriel or Max Christie a single minute and barely played Reaves (the latter making his first appearance after a lengthy stint on the IL). I can understand not playing Austin too much, he didn’t have much of anything going in his 7 minutes, but we needed someone to counter the length of OKC but we stayed with our small ball line up. Again.
4. Too many turnovers. 20 with Russ leading the way with 6 but every starter had at least two and both our starting guards (who are PGs by trade) had 3. LeBron wasn’t far behind Russ with 4. Still, the Lakers were the better team in capitalizing points off turnovers the costliest TO was Dennis when he basically just let Shai take the ball away from him while he dithered on the perimeter.
5. Anthony Davis has to defend and rebound if he isn’t going to score. AD was an after thought in this game and that can’t happen. 9 shots (made 6) and 8 boards along with a steal and a block all look OK. My issue was his overall lack of aggression, he just kind of floated from one end to the other, wasn’t assertive and didn’t do much to alter the outcome of the game.

Wasting history seems to be the Laker M.O. these days. The crowd was amped, we were playing a team we need to pass, and we kind of showed up. That is absolutely unacceptable. LeBron showed up, Russ showed up, PatBev showed up as much as he is able (which isn’t enough to justify $13 mil, IMO) and Rui showed up. That’s not a team that’s most of a line up. Guys made baskets but didn’t defend the three point line at all. The defense has fallen off a cliff since the calendar turned to 2023. Not winning anything with anyone that way.

The Lakers got back on the good foot last night against a surging Knicks team and snapped a 4 game OT losing streak in the process. While not the prettiest of victories, it was one a sagging Lakers desperately needed in order to have a shot at pulling off a winning road trip. Plenty of good play all around with some puzzling miscues.

1. LeBron James passed Mark Jackson and Steve Nash on the All Time Assists list. All of these records speak to two astounding facts: LeBron James is really good at basketball and he’s been good for a very long time. Assists are a finnicky stat because they require a buddy to get one. Can’t pass a dime to yourself, that’s travelling. Passing NBA luminaries like Jackson and Nash has become common place with LeBron in the purple and gold. Fortunately, this milestone also came with a win.
2. Schroder’s half court heave. I’ve never seen a player more despondent after making a shot like that than Dennis, who was pissed at himself for a couple bad plays on both ends in the first half. Quickley was more excited about the shot than Dennis was, who didn’t even watch as it went in.
3. Rui Hachimura looking like a solid addition. Considering what we were getting out of Kendrick Nunn on a consistent basis this is a lifeline. Wearing #28 in honor of Kobe and Gigi Rui has already earned a starting look and a place in the closing line up. He hasn’t disappointed with steady all-around play, timely shooting and better than advertised defense encapsulated by the longest goal-tending review in league history (they decided he blocked Brunson’s shot at the apex in OT which really helped seal the win). If he continues to supplement the offense and defense like he has been you can expect Rui’s value to raise prior to the summer but, all in all, this looks like a gold star worthy addition by the front office.
4. Max Christie going to school, taking lessons. Max had a learning game last night and it’s one I hope serves him well. He took and made the open shots (including a ridiculous three off a Westbrook pass with a second or so on the shot clock that he drilled) and played pretty solid defense. He got eaten alive by Brunson’s quickness and stop/start game he deploys so very well. he also struggled to match the physical guys he got switched onto a few times to the tune of 5 fouls in 13 minutes. He didn’t really hang his head, he’s soaking up some valuable lessons and likely will still get minutes until Austin Reaves comes back.
5. Russell’s late dominance. I was just reading how it took over a year for Miami’s Big Three (James, Wade, Bosh) to gel and play within an acceptable hierarchy between each other. It reminded me very much of the growing pains Russ, James and AD have been going through. Last night we needed Russ in OT to create a couple easy looks for Davis (who struggled with multiple coverages all game long). Westbrook had three assists and nifty bank shot in OT after we had the lead with a couple minutes to go in the 4th and let that slip away in a hail of bad shots, missed free throws and poor overall execution on both ends. A game after being benched in the 4th (but summoned for juice in OT) Russ got a chance to show everyone what he can do when he plays with a higher level of focus and channels all that raw energy into the game.

Indy and NOLA will finish off this trip and both are winnable games. Barring an astounding explosive offensive burst LeBron will likely pass Kareem at home against either OKC or Milwaukee. Whether the team around him looks the same is, as yet, TBD, but one thing is certain: it’ll be a pretty big let down if he passes Cap in a loss so here’s hoping the best version of his teammates shows up on that night.

The Lakers gave up another mammoth first half to the opposing team…this time to the tune of 75 first half points to our cross hall rivals The Clippers. There would be no epic comeback in this one, however. Yes, the Lakers got themselves to within ten but never seriously threatened the Clippers in the second half as we failed to put in the proper focus or attitude on the defensive end of the court. This has been a problem for some time.

1. One man against the world. I do feel for LeBron, I felt similarly for Kobe when, as his career wound down a lot of his historical accomplishments came against the backdrop of a loss. Still, he’s had as much of a hand in this situation unfolding like it has as anyone else not named Rob Pelinka. James was, again, masterful checking the “Have I scored 40 against you?” box against the Clippers. That box has now been checked for every team in the Association. Everybody has given up 40 to The King at least once. His three point shot was on, and has been of late, which is an encouraging sign from a health and conditioning standpoint. All in all, James just needed more help. Although too late for last night’s history-making game, it does sound like help is on the horizon.
2. The Clipper bench kicked our asses. Whether it was defensive plays by Batum or uncanny accuracy from all over the floor the Clipper bench had it’s way with any line up we put out there. Not surprising as the Clippers are an extremely deep team as they have been for several seasons now. Ballmer spends but they also sign and draft wisely. They only pay two elite salaries. They don’t let homegrown talent walk for nothing. They make better use of players discarded by franchises like us who think they need to make absurd “win now” moves like trading Zubac for Muscala. It’s safe to say that, at this exact moment in time, the Clippers are the better run franchise but it’s not solely because of over-spending. They also do things wisely.
3. 6th Man of the Year race. FWIW we saw a battle of two of the top 6th men of the year candidates (Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis being up there, as well). Last night Powell out-played his rival for the award and continues to be my personal pick, at this time, to hold that trophy up come season’s end. Russ had a pretty off game and was unable to make the kind of impact we need him to do in order to win.
4. Kids get some burn. It was nice to see Jones, Pippen Jr., Swider and Christie play for a few minutes. Unfortunate that it came in a blowout loss.
5. Help is on the way. With the news that Rui and AD are questionable for tonight’s game and Lonnie and Austin are progressing in their individual rehabs the walking wounded team called the Lakers is about to get some much needed bodies back. Here’s hoping we avoid serious injuries for the rest of the season. We don’t have a chance if we don’t.

Lost in the shuffle, likely because it doesn’t fit into the global media world view that the Lakers have but one choice, was Rob re-iterating that he has no intention of trading the 2 available FRPs for players that don’t vault us into title contention. Cross any Spur, Toronto or Indy trade now. Those teams are looking for a fleece job, Rob won’t have it. To that I say “well done Mr. Pelinka. You’re finally doing your job correctly.” Might we see a smaller move? Sure, I could still see a Cam for Lonnie deal, I guess, but honestly I think we already have the better player in that scenario. Why then make the trade? Simply to shuffle deck chairs? Smart teams don’t make trades to make trades because…hey maybe it’ll be, like, way better and stuff? They make trades they borderline know will make them better. Not many of those out there this season and not at the price we can really afford to pay. Personally, I’m pleased with the Hachimura trade because we traded older for younger and smaller for bigger. That’s what made the trade good to great, IMO. If Rui finds his All Rookie team self in the doing and helps lead us to the playoffs it’ll certifiably be a great trade.

I had wanted for Austin Reaves (who wisely wanted to disassociate his old nickname, AR-15, from his NBA career) to take on the moniker ‘True Grit’ last summer. Turns out that phrase has the potential to define this Laker season. This game was a tale of 2 quarters, the second and the third. The Lakers displayed a lot of poise and focus coming back to win an arena we famously do quite poorly at.

1. The second quarter. This quarter had everything for the Laker Doubter: a meaningless (at the time) PatBev technical foul) a defense that seemed not to care and poor one offensive possession after another. Dame hit a nigh half court three, burned Beverley at every opportunity and we had no answer for Grant. Going into the locker room at halftime we had given up 71 points based mostly on a 45 point second quarter. Most teams fold in that scenario.
2. The (not really) halftime speech. According to the players Ham walked in, said “You guys figure this shit out” and walked out. Then, and this is the sole reason I can see why we keep him on the team this year, into the void stepped one Patrick Beverley and encouraged his teammates to play with Swag. There are few players that want to step into those voids and there are even fewer that can do it true impact. PatBev did both and this was a fantastic example of how he brings more to the team than will ever be tracked by a stat sheet.
3. The 3rd quarter. The one where we scored 40 points and held Portland to 21 all but erasing the deficit. It took execution, heart and will to make that comeback…on the road…in an arena the Lakers (and LeBron) play as poorly at as any other in the Association. With the win LeBron pulled to .500 (10-10) at the Rose Garden (sorry Modal, you just don’t deserve the naming rights). The Lakers are an abysmal 46-72 in Portland. This game was a loss at halftime just waiting to happen. The Lakers would sputter out, Portland would right the ship and pull away a little bit in the standings and so on. All we had to do was lay down and quit. We did not.
4. Off night for the Lakers bench. They’ve generally been a source of strength, and with injuries pressing many of our bench players into the starting line up this isn’t wholly surprising, but the Lakers bench had a rough go last night. Russ was driving but not getting the whistle and not making shots, Wenyan had more turnovers and fouls (6 total) than points (4) and JTA didn’t get much burn. Max Christie did have a highlight worthy block in the second quarter. I’m not sure Nunn has much of a place in Ham’s schemes, he ought to be traded because, in theory, you could get something for him.
5. Thomas Bryant’s return to form. After a stretch of three mediocre games where he didn’t score in double-digits or rebound the ball very well Thomas Bryant continued his return to NBA relevance with a rousing 12-15 (4-5 from three) showing for 31 points. He showed that he can be a monster on the glass, as well, grabbing 4 offensive rebounds en route to 14 boards overall. Topping my list of “gotta keep after this season” is Thomas Bryant. There are few players with his size and speed that can score and rebound as well as he can…when he sets his mind to it. Like many young players he is prone to having lapses in that department.

Well, well, well, Rob Pelinka made an in-season trade!!!! With the breaking news that we have swapped Kendrick Nunn and three second round picks for Rui Hachimura we have solved one aspect of our line up issues by moving a shooting guard for a small forward and adding some much needed size. While it remains to be seen how much he plays with us I think that, on first glance, this trade makes a ton of sense. Nunn was often the odd man out, had only mildly griped about his role here, but just never really found a niche on the Lakers. The Bone Bruise That Would Not Heal certainly affected his tenure here and we wish him well on his next team.