And so it goes. The Lakers started the second part of this NBA season on an even worse foot than how we started. AT least when we started the season we got beat by the Warriors. The second half kicked off with a loss to the lowly Kings. Standby traditional excuses, everyone get in position to repeat the company line that this is still going to take time, cue sound aaaaaaaaaand action! Time has ceased to be a luxury the Lakers should feel entitled to. They are running out of it and fast as they have now sunk back down to the 8 seed after dropping the last 2 games and lead the Timber Wolves by a scant half game. Not sure what can be done at this point, Westbrook’s trade value probably could only go lower if he seriously injured himself or was caught pulling off a high society jewel heist.

1. The Russell Westbrook situation. I would give up on Russ except for that I generally refrain from disbelieving that the great players can overcome the obstacles placed in front of them. It’s not his effort but his execution that is failing him over the course of the last four games. His shot has gone MIA and doesn’t seem like it’s due back any time soon. The fact that this is happening around the trade deadline only further complicates any trade scenarios one can concoct involving #0. I have faith that this stretch will end for him but it’s not looking like this is working the way any of us hoped and has actually managed to find ways to look worse than I though possible. Vogel and Co. need to figure out a way to get Russ going on offense because if we can get that right he’s otherwise playing decently. Not great, but at this point I’ll settle for good to pretty good.
2. LeBron getting fed up. I think this was a game LeBron was hoping for some help on. Missed a lot of threes and didn’t consistently attack the paint like he had been doing. He’s not going to be in full blown attack mode every game and we need to be able to do a better job covering for that. He also is going to wear himself down completely if he keeps playing this much center. I like him at center, I think in most match ups it’s the way to go, but we need to better recognize when the defense needs size and use Dwight. That’s just a reality of a player who is 37 and not accustomed to banging down low all game, every game. Acknowledge the truth and work with it, not against it.
3. Reaves looked solid. Love him coming off the bench and would like to see us get him involved with Russ in some P&R more. They run it really well and Reaves can shoot from the outside or roll and finish. For a rookie he’s done a good job not coughing up turnovers and keeps himself in the play. His role should all but be etched in stone and he could be one of the things we have to use to grease the wheels of a trade. If you ask me, I think we should hold onto him, though.
4. THT’s short leash. I thought that, in part due to foul trouble but also due to turnovers and porous defense (and in that he was certainly not alone), Talen had a pretty short leash last night. This is the guy we need to figure out how to feature if we want his value to increase. We just saw the Hawks move Reddish for a player struggling to find a role, you telling me THT couldn’t have been a piece the Hawks would want? While it was more likely the draft pick that was the Knicks target we have to figure out if we’re keeping Talen or not and we need him to play well one way or the other.
5. Ariza still looks really slow. This was my fear before camp, when people were singling out Trevor Ariza to be the one that could make the defense work because he can play 3 or 4. While he has the size to play the 4, he doesn’t have the strength or speed to compete well right now. he might still be getting into game shape but I think it’s as much the last few seasons worth of injuries to various parts of the body and age that is the true culprit. That’s why I think Frank made the call to start him over Stanley, to see if he could warm up and go rather than warm up and sit then go. AT least for last night it didn’t work out very well as Trevor was basically a non-factor. He’s 8 games into the season so I expect him to get a little better with reps and time but not to the degree that he can massively swing the fortunes of the team.

More and more I feel like this is the year Rob finally does it. I don’t see us ending the season with the team we started and a buyout candidate is unlikely to tip the scales in our favor a whole lot more. This could be the season Rob makes his first in-season trade. While I still think it unlikely we shake up the roster by moving Westbrook I do expect the Lakers to start getting more aggressive. Less smoke, per usual, and more fire. THT, Nunn, Monk, Reaves are all likely players to be moved in various deals. Not sure what the return on that will be but we need to do something because this team isn’t playing well and there’s no guarantee there will be a sea change when AD gets back.

There are clearly two packs of teams hunting for playoff seeding and as we enter the second half of the NBA season tonight it’s important to remember that the Lakers have clearly entrenched themselves in the lesser pack. We might be considered the lead dog in the west to push through into the upper echelon but, to date, the Lakers have proven that they are one thing: mediocre. With three superstars and a collection of parts assembled by Dr. Frankenstein (Vogelstien? Dr. Frankenlinka?) the Lakers are surely in need of something to kickstart the second half of the season. We need a little bump.

You can choose to place the blame on a variety of fronts. Injuries, sure we’ve had ’em. So has every other team. Kyrie Irving only recently started playing for Brooklyn after they reversed course on him being a part-time player. They’ve been challenging for the top record in the east all season long. The Denver Nuggets have had almost their entire projected starting line up decimated by serious injury and Murray has yet to play and we’re tied with them in the standings. Injuries are a part of the game and don’t represent a true reason not to show up with a competitive attitude which we fail to do on any sort of consistent basis.

COVID ravaged our team. Yeah, and the rest of the NBA, too. Next. The issues plaguing the Lakers have less to do with who isn’t on the court and rather the attitude and demeanor of who is. Of all our young players Monk has grabbed the bull by the horns the best but only recently. THT this year has looked exactly like THT of every other year: wildly inconsistent in his energy and impact and generally with a decent amount of minutes played to boot. Reaves is a rookie and finding his way on many fronts. Of all our young guys I would actually argue Reave’s been the most consistent in his energy and approach.

I think the thing that will define the Lakers this season was undertaking a three superstar team while choosing not to fill out the roster around them correctly. After watching Westbrook’s post game interview from after the Grizzly blowout I came to the conclusion that the organization never truly embraced Westbrook. The Dinner that this was all born of was one where the three players said they would sacrifice. Thus far it has been Russell doing most of the sacrificing and you can see it starting to get on his nerves. He’s assuredly the second option to LeBron, and honestly he should be. LeBron is better.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be figuring out how to maximize Russ’s other talents to their fullest potential or making sure he has the right tools when he’s on the court sans LeBron to be as effective as possible. That might mean giving him a big man to run P&R action with and guys who don’t defend like Frank wants them to. He called Ariza to get him on the team, let him play more with Trevor. It was a mistake to not get an athletic big man to help play solid defense but give him the best we got. Throw Dwight and Trevor in the 5 and 4 slots and Wayne at the 2 or 3 and either Monk, Reaves or THT in the final spot and see if they can space the floor and let Russ go to work. I would choose Reaves whom Russ seems to have a rapport with.

It’ll be a shame if the Lakers pull the plug on the Westbrook experiment for failures the front office made. Not retaining Caruso and not signing one of the bevy of better centers that were still on the open market when we signed Jordan were cataclysmic failures that should force the ownership to question Rob’s ability to build a competitive roster. Between taking more and more of the tools Frank liked to use in his defensive schemes and filling out the roster with too old and too limited of skillset players it’s easy to use Russ as the scapegoat for the mistakes the Lakers themselves made.

Swapping Ben Simmons for Russ or Grant for THT and Nunn might fix this but I really don’t think it will. Turner is honestly the only player that makes sense to me. He plays the defense we need, doesn’t need the ball to be effective and stretches the floor well enough. The Lakers keep trying to bring in guys who take the ball out of LeBron’s hands and with Russ they’ve done that to the degree that it will happen. We have guys who are catch and shoot three point specialists and we need the coaches to figure out how to unlock the ones we have and stop the endless carousel of “not THAT three point shooter THIS three point shooter” we’ve been on for three seasons now. We’re actually just going back through the same list. Heck, let’s bring Wesley Matthews back…again… We need players who better augment our superstars, not emulate them on a lesser level.

So, to that, as we move up to the day we can trade THT (which I am of the opinion will happen) I hope the Lakers front office looks at their own process as much as what they see unfolding on the court. It’s a problem of their own doing in many ways and like Dr. Frankenstein feeling the urge to destroy the incredible creation he brought to life they need to make the environment right and not destroy that which they may see as an unfixable monster. Give the monster the tools it needs to live and thrive.

Go Lakers.

“I am an unfortunate and deserted creature, I look around and I have no relation or friend upon earth. These amiable people to whom I go have never seen me and know little of me. I am full of fears, for if I fail there, I am an outcast in the world forever.”

—

“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”

– Mary Shelley

The Lakers have now entered unfamiliar territory for this season: a winning streak longer than 3 games. The plucky Hawks did their best but the combined efforts of the newly guaranteed Bradley, Monk and of course LeBron James were too much for Atlanta. We’re also a season-high 2 games over .500 and a re looking to sweep the 5 game homestand tomorrow. Riding a smoother looking offense, some added youthful size and a healthier team overall the Lakers have come into 2022 looking like a different team than the one that started the season off.

1. Malik Monk’s emergence. Monk had a huge game, especially in the first half. Monk was NBA JAM style on fire. He hit shots from inside and out, moved the ball and didn’t force his offense, and played seem really solid defense. His highlight of the night was the soaring dunk he jammed home off an offensive rebound that brought the house down and got the bench up. Inserting Monk into the starting line up has added a lot of scoring, better defense than advertised, and enough playmaking to alleviate that burden for Russ and LBJ. Monk has entrenched himself on my list of “gotta figure out how to keep” players. It’s why that, barring an NBA championship run, I see us making a Russell Westbrook trade this summer.
2. The Guaranteed Man. Not Reaves but Bradley. It was an afterthought for many when we picked up AB off the waiver wire after we started the season with all our young guys hurt. It didn’t take long for Bradley to show what we had missed out on when we didn’t retain his services after the Bubble. His on ball defense is still on point and he takes the open shot when he finds his way. Like Monk he brings a dash of playmaking that helps keep the ball moving and, frankly, I’ve always felt like he left some unfinished business behind after he (for good reasons) opted not to come into the Bubble. I’ve always been a fan of his game and I’m glad we’re keeping him around. He may find himself on the bench a little more when Nunn returns (whenever that may be) but it’s never a bad thing to have a plus defender who’s not afraid to take the shot on the bench.
3. THT getting his legs back. I want to believe that Talen was suffering from his COVID symptoms prior to the homestand, that the travel and wind he lost battling the disease sapped him of his energy and left his shot looking short on almost every attempt. Regardless of the reasons THT looks like the guy we hoped he would. Filling in here and there as needed, a swiss army player who can score inside and out, defend at a decent level and make a play or two. I’ve never seen “superstar” or even All Star in Horton-Tucker’s future and there is nothing wrong with that. Not every player is and many have been solid to above average contributors to champion- level teams. THT had another really well-rounded game and here’s hoping that’s what we get from here on out.
4. Russ doing it all. Russ is on a rebounding tear right now. He was the best rebounder on the floor along with the larger and more focused on the task Clint Capella, boxing out, finding seams and tipping the ball to himself to ignite breaks and find his guys in their spots. While he didn’t have his best outing scoring wise and fouled out (on a nonsense call that Danillo created by falling down all on his own) I like where Russ is at right now. He followed up his 0 turnover game with a modest 3 turnovers. So, when you count the 9, 0, and 3 that’s an average of 4 per game which is just about what he’s averaging (4.6 for the season to date). When you have a hurricane on the team you’re going to get a high degree of intensity and results. Those are things I can live with as long as everything continues to improve, which it has and many of the improvements honestly aren’t on Russ. Health of his teammates, the overall cohesion on defense, and shot making from the rest of the team aren’t really things Russ has the power to alter other than his own effort and involvement. While he may not have a long Laker career (as mentioned above I think only a title keeps him around next season) he’s on the team now and he’s playing the best he has all season. i expect that to continue to trend upwards.
5. The new look offense. LeBron at center, or power forward if you want to believe that Stanley Johnson is now the starting center, has been the balm our mediocre offense needed when AD went down. I think we’ll see LBJ slide over to the 3 or 4 again when Davis returns but we haven’t seen the end of the King as a center this season and maybe ever. At least with this roster it’s a necessity because as much as I like the big man game we don’t have enough good big men to deploy. Dwight hasn’t looked anything like himself post-COVID and DeAndre Jordan has continued to be a mystery as to why he’s still on the roster. We needed help from somewhere it turned out it was a future HOFer already on the roster. I’m intrigued to see what we can do once AD gets back but this tool is certainly a useful one in the right situations.

It would be great to sweep the homestand as that, to me, would signal that the team has turned a corner. They’re playing with more energy and focus, we’re getting guys back, and we’re not falling apart in any one quarter and digging a hole to deep to climb out of. Those trends need to continue all the way into June. We’re in the 20 win club now and it would be great to get to 30 wins before we get to 22 losses, that would mean going at least 9-3 over the next 12. Sunday also marks the halfway point and I don’t think anyone would debate that the team at the 1/4 point has vastly improved over the team we’ve seen in the second quarter of the season. If we continue to put together little things we improve on, build a defense out of the guys we have, and keep guys healthy and returning this team might just find it’s groove in the sweet spot of the season. I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again: this was always a question of when and not if the team would figure out how to play at a high level. While there are questions about how we’ll play when fully healthy, where Nunn fits into the rotation and can Monk sustain his current hot streak I think we have the pieces in-house to do some serious damage in the playoffs.

For the first time this season the Lakers beat an in-division rival on their homecourt, regardless of the corporate sponsorship. They also remained unbeaten in 2022. Riding hot finishes from James and Monk along with a zero turnover performance from Westbrook the Lakers held off a 4th quarter rally from Sacramento to move 1 game above .500.

1. The motherf@#$ing problem that is LeBron James. The 30 point streak ended against the Wolves and through 3 quarters it looked like it would stay that way. But when the Kings came out swinging to start the 4th LeBron had been trying to answer with threes. They made an adjustment after an early timeout and LeBron started driving to the rim and the Kings were really slow to re-adjust and play him to drive and not shoot. LeBron got himself going on his drives to the rim slipping past the King “defense” for pretty easy buckets along with earning a couple trips to the line, as well.
2. Malik Monk earning his next big payday…wherever that may end up being. If I’m Rob I’m penciling in whatever amount we can off Malik via the MLE come the offseason. It’s highly likely he could earn more elsewhere but, seeing as we gave him a shot at PT, he may be open to a one season deal and then re-upping long term once we have his early Bird rights. Regardless to what goes down after this season Monk is straight hooping right now. His defense is a lot better than advertised, he’s able to get his own shot, create for others and he can get white hot form three. His game is already expanded beyond my expectations this season. Love me some Monk and I hope we figure out a way to keep for a good long while.
3. THT plays up to his hype. Talen ended his long, multi-game 0-fer streak from three, looked a lot more confident in everything he was doing and in general played like the player we all hope he can become more consistently. He created a lot of shots for others, scored efficiently, and played solid defense. I’ll forever want THT to rebound better, I think, but all in all hard to find fault in such a positive game for the young man who is still going through his NBA growing pains.
4. Dwight Howard’s season high night. Dwight hadn’t yet scored 14 points this season as last night was his season high. Not sure why that surprised me so much but it did. Dwight was the force on the glass that we so desperately needed grabbing a game high 14 rebounds with a 50/50 split between offensive and defensive rebounds. We may or may not start Dwight ever again and it doesn’t matter. The dude puts on his yellow hard hat and goes to work when called upon. We only need one, though, and between DAJ and himself Dwight is, by far, the superior player. Time to let DeAndre loose into the wild and see where his true home is.
5. Alvin was right to be so pissed off. That rule is insane and how it hasn’t been abused by some random clock keeper to OH MY GOSH DID I JUST FORCE A JUMP BALL?!?!?! an NBA game is kind of astounding. I read it as “If the clock starts before a player has touched the ball off of a missed free throw the teams must jump center” which, in theory, makes sense. The thing was, in this case, everyone had left Fox to grab the rebound on his own. He was, basically, the only one going for the board for whatever reason. So it REALLY set the Kings back a possession late in the game when they had already secured the rebound, clock being right or not. Odd rule that certainly needs some revisiting.

For a hot minute I thought we had poo-poohed this game away and the Lakers came back and took it from the Kings, odd rule or no. We did a great job maximizing our possessions by valuing the ball and getting way more FGAs than the Kings did. We need to keep that mentality and score better and we’ll hold the fort until AD gets back just fine.

The short-handed Timberwolves fell to the not quite as short-handed, but definitely short, Lakers on Sunday evening. While proving that they’re record isn’t s fluke by giving LA a real run for it’s money up until the closing seconds the team from Minnesota also revealed another thing about the Lakers and their current style of play. The small ball Lakers can’t rebound for doodley squat.

1. Lakers got walloped on the glass. 56-28 good for a 2-1 Timberwolves advantage for the game. They grabbed 20 offensive boards which was only 8 below our rebound total for the game. If there’s a major drawback to LeBron at the 5 it’s this: rebounding. The younger, more athletic and energetic T’wolves crashed the glass all game long and that led to a 17 shot advantage (luckily for the Lakers the FGM was closer, only +5 for Minny). Against a young team minus two star players that wasn’t enough to turn the game into another disappointing loss. Against better competition it likely would have been worse. The kryptonite to LBJ at the 5 is the utter lack of rebounding.
2. It’s hard to pin the massive discrepancy in points in the paint scoring on LBJ at the five. That’s been an issue all season long. 58-32 which was a result of more transition buckets for the Wolves and the offensive rebounds they gathered. While the Lakers have been giving up big numbers in the paint all season it’s also impossible to argue that having LeBron man the 5 improves that area. Like the rebounding issue, against the team the Wolves trotted out, it wasn’t quite enough to swing the W to an L but against better and/or healthier teams it almost certainly would.
3. Russ playing really free. Too free? He almost had a double-double with his turnovers. A couple of those weren’t on Russ. Bradley fumbled a catchable pass out of bounds, a couple of times he was led by pass into an offensive foul and those things will happen. But there were a good 4 preventable turnovers that you can see drive Westbrook bonkers. They drive me bonkers, too! I no longer really expect this issue to magically disappear or resolve itself. This is all a part of The Russell Westbrook Experience so buckle up and enjoy the good, hope that the bad isn’t too bad and that we reduce the ugly to a minimum.
4. Bradley, Monk and Melo saved the game. LeBron wasn’t stroking the three ball like he had been and his point total reflected that. For once he got a few foul calls go his way and so he was able to boost his output with some makes at the stripe (a decent 9-12 for the King) but overall this was a game that LeBron looked pretty gassed throughout. It’s not too surprising given his overall level of responsibility to drive the team to wins, that he’s playing the most MPG he ever has as a Laker (37.0, currently) and playing more 5 than ever which means more banging in the post than he’d been accustomed to. All of this means that we needed some of our other guys to step up. Melo was Melo hitting 2-3 midrange jumpers to keep the scoring moving when we needed it and hitting 3-7 three pointers. Monk was solid all game and Bradley hit the three that sealed the win to go along with a superb defensive effort. The contributions of all three were vital to keeping us in the winning column.
5. Decisions, decisions, decisions. With the fate of Bradley, Johnson and Collison coming to a head over the next 6 days it’ll be interesting to see how each is used and the impact they have. Darren didn’t play last night and Stanley had a subpar game in that he didn’t make a shot but managed a point on a free throw. I’m hopeful we keep Stanley and let Collison walk as I believe Bradley is a better defender and is already on board with what the Lakers are doing. Regardless a choice on Bradley’s deal has to be made by Friday and Johnson and Collison will be released unless an offer is extended on Monday. With two games (Kings and Hawks) between then there isn’t much to go on. If it’s my choice I keep Bradley and Johnson and if you really value what Darren brings then you wave DAJ. Other than that, Collison is my odd man out as things stand today. If Ariza didn’t look like the mummy out there in terms of his fluidity and overall speed I could be convinced that keeping Collison was the smarter move on the basis of raw talent. But we need size and defense, Stanley has both.

Another game we ought to win tonight against the hapless Kings. Still, we need to show up with good effort and intensity. Likely another LBJ at the 5 for the most part although I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Dwight in there or even DAJ in a “show me what you got dude” kind of thing since we’re coming up on some major roster choices. Normally the end of the bench guys don’t warrant this much haranguing but with the sheer volume of games missed due to COVID and injuries it’s led to the last guys on the pine getting more chances to shine.

There really are no more words that can be said. We are, again, witnessing a kind of greatness you can kind of imagine happening but when you see it on a nightly basis you realize that there is nothing to do but sit back and appreciate it. I’m in many ways reminded of the Kobe era betwixt Shaq and Pau. When it was Kobe and the nobodies. When he outscored Dallas on his own over 3 quarters, 81 points but no rings to show for it or even an MVP. While not quite as lofty in terms of raw scoring output LeBron is defying his age and the expectations that come with it. We should all enjoy this ride.

1. LeBron is cooking with gas. If he doesn’t win Western Conference Player of the Month for December the accolade is worthless. Truth be told, it is. But the games LeBron has strung together have not been. Most of them, unfortunately, have been losses. That’s not on James, it’s on the state of the NBA due to COVID (I am of the opinion the league should have shut down for December) and the teammates who have been MIA. Most of that has been due to the ravages the Omnicron variant is wreaking on society, the NBA and many of the Lakers. There will always be those that seek to denigrate the greatness that comes from hard work, dedication and modicum of epic talent. I am not one and quite happy to say that early season LeBron (the one I called done) was merely a function of preparation. We don’t need to get into the specifics of how well Lebron played last night. The dude is on fire.
2. Russell Westbrook driving the train. It’s easy to forget, or forcibly overlook, how well Russ has been playing in December, as well. Like any player, there will be misses and some of those have come at critical junctures. The great ones fail. That’s a condition of them being human beings. What separates the great from the good and mediocre is that they never allow a failure to define them. They find a way to improve, rise above, and persevere. I have been, and still am, of the opinion that Westbrook and the Lakers will work at an elite level that it was only a matter of how long the merging would take. Russ is playing with the same level of aggression and passion he always does, it’s just that he has a teammate better than he’s had in some time. Russ and LeBron are having the same issue AD and Russ did: trying to win with a cast of ill-fitting parts assembled on the cheap. Until we see what the trio of Russ, LeBron and AD can do, with whatever coupla dudes can manage to make an impact, we haven’t seen the true potential of this Laker team. 113 minutes, that’s what we’ve seen.
3. When Melo has it going this team can be special. It’s no secret that Melo has had an up and down season. We need for Carmelo to find a consistency to his game which I think he’s searching for in the midrange. That’s cool by me, I also like the defense he’s been flashing on occasion. We need Carmelo to be the scoring threat he’s been his whole career, just to a lesser degree. I think he’s up to it. Midrange, inside or from three Anthony is the one Laker on the bench I trust taking any shot that comes his way.
4. The Stanley Johnson effect. Everyone is going ga-ga over Johnson’s impact, which is assuredly tangible. In fact he’s been such a force on defense it’s easy to overlook the rate at which he picks up fouls. We desperately need him to stay in the floor because he can defend 4, maybe 5 positions when the game goes small. We also need him to keep shooting the open shots Russ and LeBron create. We don’t need him to score like we need Melo to do in order to create space but you at least want to keep the defense honest with the threat of making the open shot. That doesn’t happen if you don’t shoot so it’s been nice to see him shooting those shots. If he can reduce his rate of fouls it’ll be even better.
5. Too many rebounding issues. This is why I personally don’t see LeBron at the 5 as the be all end of all of ways the Lakers can play. When he’s the center we are getting murdered on the glass, even when the other team goes small. It’s because he cannot do everything that we will need Howard and AD for large stretches of any game. That or we need guys who have never been box out candidates to figure out how to box out. Rebounding will likely be the thorn in this team’s side, we just don’t have a lotta gritty dudes who put a body on the opposition and fight for the board. Russ, AD, LeBron are all weak side rebounders, they’re not like a Howard or even, theoretically, DeAndre Jordan battling it out among multiple defenders and securing the board. They let someone else do the battling and use their athleticism to grab the rebound. That will need to be addressed but until we get Davis back there are going to be long stretches where LeBron handles the center position just to get some more offense on the floor around him and Russ.

Sunday kicks off a 5 game homestand that we could really stand to win most of. Sweeping the next 5 games would go a long way towards separating ourselves from the pack of the mediocre teams in the western conference. If we keep on treading water around .500 we’re going to end up as a playin. We have to handle our business and soon as we’ve been lucky the west hasn’t been as strong as it has in last seasons. That luck will run out eventually and it would be better for all involved to be in a position of strength rather than wishing we had won a game here or there we dropped in a silly fashion.

The more I thought about it the more annoyed I got. 3, one of them a tech for defensive three seconds. That was the number of free throws Russ and LeBron shot…combined. Now, lest ye think I’m laying the loss at the feet of the referees, there were many other areas of egregious play on the Lakers part last night. But if someone were to tell me that Russell Westbrook and LeBron James would combine for only 3 FTA (all by James, by the by) and the other team (in this case the youthful Grizzlies who started off as one of the worst defensive teams in the Association) shot 29 I would say you were watching a game one of the refs had some cash invested in.

1. 29 to 8. That was the difference in free throw attempts between the Grizzlies and Lakers. That is an absurd differential given that Russ basically attacks the basket all game, every game. Russ missed another late game shot at the rim, had 5 turnovers and otherwise had an efficient game (by Westbrookian standards) but to imagine him not getting hit on any shot, that the young Grizzlies are just that good at defense, that they only committed 11 fouls to our 25 is basically absurd. I call BS.
2. Ok, but for reals, we lost the game all on our own. The defense after the first half basically stayed in the locker room. Not sure what Fizzy’s calling card is as a coach but it ain’t halftime adjustments and it ain’t defensive chops. We never found an answer for Ja Morant who got what he wanted, where he wanted, and when he wanted it all game long. The only that slowed him down was a hard foul on Westbrook that resulted in a shoulder stinger late in the game and we couldn’t even capitalize on that. Gone was the late game execution, as well. Not gonna lie, kind of can’t wait for Frank to get back.
3. The Laker bench was awful. Starting with Melo and wandering down the box score not one Laker player off the bench showed up. Too much BBQ ribs, I guess. A game later from their inspired play against the woebegone Rockets the Grizzly bench thoroughly outplayed ours which was the biggest difference in the game.
4. The birthday boy ran outta gas. LeBron was superlative through 2/3s of the basketball game and then came his 3rd quarter rest which was also when Fizdale chose to put Russ and 4 guys who can’t shoot out there and watched the lead slip away. All the momentum swung Memphis’ way and that was that. The King tied his career high for three pointer’s made with 8, scored from everywhere and flirted with a triple-double. It was all for naught.
5. Russ is not the problem. Gerald and I went back and forth on this topic and likely will for as long as Westbrook is on the team. The degree of variance you get from Russ is high, his intensity, pace and frenetic style of play lend themselves to miscues and missed shots due to mostly the force in which he puts the shot up with. But Russ isn’t the one trotting out absurd lineups like Westbrook, Collison, THT, Stanley and Bradley for long stretches as we saw last night. On the second night game of a back-to-back Coach Dave went with a really short 9 man rotation which didn’t get the job done. Ellington didn’t play and we signed 2 guys to hardship deals only to leave them in warm ups to this point. When you need energy, as we desperately did throughout the 4th, you have to wonder what the coach was thinking putting his star guard into a position like that.

Friday kicks off a 5 game home stand, this is basically the end of our “games we can burn in the name of learning” stage of the season. The standings are taking shape and they’re not including a Laker team in any spot near the top. We’re fighting for a 5 seed like the rest of the lackluster west is behind the Grizz, Jazz, Suns and GS. We need to avoid the playin because we’re old, although an argument could be made this team also needs more time together. Come March and April we’ll look back at the number of league-leading ten point games we blew and wonder what could have been. There is a lot that needs to change between now and then. The bench needs to get steadier, we need to explore what we can get for the thus far underwhelming and yet to play THT and Nunn and I’m sure the noise around a Russ trade will only grow until it either happens or the deadline passes. The team needs to tune all that jazz out and focus on the in-house solutions available to them.

The Lakers ended their longest losing streak of the season in convincing fashion against the rebuilding Rockets who still made a game of it up until the closing moments when some inspired execution sealed the win for LA. Driving the Laker train to victory were the usual cast of accomplished NBA vets on the roster and the young player who has best distinguished himself this season, one Malik Monk. Defense was borderline non-existent but, for at least one night, we scored the ball well enough to win.

1. LeBron as the starting big man. For the first time in his entire basketball life (according to his own personal recollections) LeBron James started a basketball game at the center position. Against the all-small-ball-all-the-time Rockets it worked brilliantly. His triple-eleven (11 FG’s made, 11 rebounds and 11 assists) resulted in 32 points, a steal and a block along with a much needed win. As basically a de facto point center for much of the game LeBron really did it all. He and Russ teamed for 4 big offensive rebounds, he only turned the ball over 3 times and had a great two-man game working with Westbrook to close out the game for the win. There will be matchups LeBron at center doesn’t make much sense but there will also be matchups where it makes a lotta sense to put LeBron at the 5 and let the game flow around him like it did last night. His triple-double with a fellow teammate was the first since he and Lonzo Ball did it prior to the AD trade.
2. Russell Westbrook’s big game. Russ had a really solid efficient and impactful game, as well. He managed one more rebound than LeBron to, again, lead both teams in rebounding for a second straight game. He and LeBron greatly benefitted from the first on-court practice the team had on Monday as he picked his spots better, developed a powerful two-man vibe with The King and was his energetic best. The way Russ plays the game of basketball is not without risk, but the reward can be quite high. Yes, he had 7 turnovers. Between he and LeBron we need them to stay at 10 combined TO’s which was where they ended up. I am of the opinion the Lakers can win with Russ et al on the roster. For m it’s still a question of when and not if.
3. The ever-shrinking role of THT. Things are not good over at the THT Fan Club HQ. His shot has left him, his defense remains spotty and for the most part he hasn’t lived up to his deal he inked over the summer. While being a trade piece of literally every single Laker trade idea floated THT’s overall quality of play has steadily declined over the course of the season. He and journeyman and freshly arrived Stanley Johnson were the only Lakers to post a negative +/- (granted only minus 2 for Talen) and he picked up 5 quick fouls which meant he never really found any kind of groove. I want to believe in Horton-Tucker but there’s a lot of things you just can’t fix on one summer. If I’m his agent I would encourage THT to focus on defense, defense, defense. The league is full of guys who score in one fashion or another but rugged defenders that can get to the rim are in short supply. THT too often shies away from contact as he tries to loop the ball around shot blockers with his long arms rather than take it up strong. I’m sure that worked well enough coming up to the NBA level but it’s not a great recipe for success at the highest level. While I don’t see him as a bust, he’s not a future star, either. He isn’t really a needle-mover, yet and may never be. His deal is manageable which is why a trade for another ill-fitting player on another team seems the most likely outcome of a THT trade. He’s not the guy you blow up a team for, just like Kuzma before him.
4. Carmelo as the back up center? Hey, if it works for LeBron it should work fir a guy who he came into the league with, right? Well, for one night, it did. Seeing his majority of minutes come at positions he used to balk at playing (the 4 and 5) Melo came up big in the scoring department and grabbed 9 rebounds of his own and blocking 2 shots. We need Melo to show up like this a little more often as his play play has been pretty uneven over the last couple weeks. His scoring has come in spurts and we need to find someone other than Malik Monk who can get buckets off the bench consistently.
5. Malik Monk distinguishing himself. It’s going to be hard to keep this dude on the roster. Any trade scenario one might care to cook up should include Monk as the sweetener and THT as the ballast because that’s the reality thus far. Monk had a stellar game in a starting role (one I am of the opinion he should given full time) and paired well with very Bradley defensively in the back court to start the game. He was aggressive when we needed it getting to the line 8 times and blocking 2 shots of his own. While Monk has been one of the better young Lakers thus far it’s also easy to see him having to be included in a trade based solely on the small raise (20% of his vet minimum deal he signed or an MLE) we can offer him this summer. It’s hard to see him choosing the Lakers over more money, you only get so many chances to snag a decent contract as a role-player.

Another game tonight against Memphis with an early start time. The Grizzlies are rolling and have joined the 20+ win club along with the Jazz, Suns and Warriors. We need to bring the same execution and smart basketball we displayed late in the game last night if we want to win. Here’s hoping we can start another streak in the opposite direction (by that I mean a winning streak of any kind). Go Lakers.

O. For 0-fer, old and over the hill. That describes the majority of the Lakers roster at this point. Only one man seems capable of continuing to defy Father Time and that would be one LeBron James. The King continued to pour in points, give forth supreme effort and all in a loss. Another Christmas day game, another loss this one to the equally short handed Nets. Hopefully Santa treated the rest of your holidays with more grace.

1. All hail The King. There aren’t enough superlatives.. The man is bionic, amazing and nigh unstoppable. If we had half a team around him we’d be doing better. We don’t. LeBron James outdueled James Harden in terms of points scored but the Nets walked away with the W for reasons we’ll get into down yonder. LBJ had a monster line although I don’t quite get how Harden got to the line 17 times and James only 9. That Nets defense I guess…couldn’t be the Captain of the Flop getting his way by whining on literally every single possession. Oh, Harden gave THT what maybe should have been a Flagrant 2 groin shot, as well. Keep it classy, James.
2. Russell Westbrook’s effort if not results. I have to agree with LeBron, that Russ isn’t the problem. He’s putting forth the right kind of effort and no Laker fan should have mistaken Russ for Dame in terms fo scoring output. Russ led both teams in every rebounding category possible. He grabbed 5 offensive rebounds on his own. He led both teams in assists which means he’s making the right plays while only turning it over 3 times. The problem was Russ often played when LeBron sat and our starting five got obliterated. SO, to put the whole loss at Westbrook’s feet is, to me, an improper placing of blame. Yes, the rim blocked his dunk in his 37th minute of play but he’s also been one of a few Lakers available for every single game to date. While Russ may not be the player we want, or even need, he is doing what he can. It’s not Westbrook’s fault Rob chose aged players in doling out minimum deals last summer, not Westbrook’s fault THT is playing like a G-Leaguer or that we’re now relying on G-Leaguers to win NBA games. That’s just the situation he finds himself in. The missed dunk was infuriating, though. I doubt anyone was as pissed at him as he was at himself.
3. We need THT to return to something resembling what we believe he can be. Again, I don’t need him to be the second coming of anyone at all, just to be the THT we’ve seen in flashes. Play adequate defense, take it to the rim with purpose and not to avoid contact and get the shot off. As the 4th highest paid Laker, albeit with some distance between the sums of the top 3, we need more. The same can of course be said of Russel Westbrook but THT was chosen over another guy who we know makes a nightly impact and that, fair or not, is the barometer by which he will be measured. The problem is what he’s shown us he’s capable of. Like Kuzma before him if you our in 30 points and hit shots from everywhere fans will get frustrated when you don’t show that consistently. They get stuck on what you did a handful of times as opposed to being content with effort. In THT’s case, though, he still seems to blame his teammates for many of his defensive miscues. I though the intent of his groin shot from Harden should have resulted in an F2 ejection. Wasn’t a basketball move, you see James extend the arm deliberately and make contact. But, being the NBA poster boy for ref love has it’s advantages I guess.
4. Speaking of the NBA referee’s union poster boy for love and care. The running stiff arm Harden uses feels like an offensive foul to me. If LeBron played like that and bowled guys over all over the court like Harden, CP3 and Trae Young do he’d be ejected most games for 6 fouls or flagrant fouls. That is an illegal clearing out of space, in my opinion. Evidently the NBA thinks it’s really great for the game, though.
5. Stanley Johnson’s big game. Stan made a pretty solid Laker debut and I sure hope we keep him past the 10 day mark. There are few Lakers on the roster with his speed and size and we desperately need more of them. All it would take is to waive human log man DeAndre Jordan. But since we know that won’t be happening we’ll likely see Stan snagged by another team this season because Rob is such a genius GM…

This is likely going to get worse before it gets better. Luckily we play in the western conference, which is a mess this season, so we’re still in the playoff picture. A loss by Dallas last night means we’re sitting at 7th place only one spot below the play-in threshold and with the news that Paul George will be out for an extended time due to a torn UCL we’re still alive and kicking. I do believe that, even with DeAndre Jordan on the roster, we have the pieces to contend purely on the play of LeBron James and this cast of old, slow players. The playoffs a re geared towards a slower pace of play, we have battle-tested vets, and the best player in the game today. Just need to get healthy and find a groove of any kind. Go Lakers.

Ugly. Ain’t no other way to describe it. If excuses are your thing this is the Laker season for you. We got plenty to spare. The similarities to this season and last are striking both in their similarities and differences. The similarities stem from multiple injuries to key players, games missed for various reasons and a multitude of line up and rotation changes as a result. The difference is last season, without LeBron and Westbrook, that team bothered to show up to play. This team? Right now this team is just plain ugly.

1. The Good. LeBron and Russell look ever more comfortable together when sharing the court. That’s a really good thing going forward. Since I personally don’t see a Westbrook trade happening in-season it’s imperative to any title hopes we might still have, which are still valid hopes in my opinion, that LeBron and Russ co-exist on a high level. I’d say combining for 66 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists qualifies, even in a loss. Russ kept the turnovers to five which is my benchmark for both players to stay at or under. They put pressure on the defense and found the open man. It’s after the pass that generally resulted in futility. Also, the Lakers as a team have done a good job not wasting possessions. Westbrook and James are likely going to average around 10 turnovers/game as result of their usage and on-ball dominance. It’s great when the rest of the team doesn’t cough it up a lot.
2. The Bad. The three point shooting of this team is pretty awful in general. Sure, once and awhile player X catches fire and makes a bunch. Sometimes it’s Melo, other times it’s Wayne, or even THT. Rarely do we shoot well as a team and rarely do multiple guys make more than a couple. This is not a byproduct of personnel as the Lakers have now auditioned a “Who’s who?” of low-cost three point marksmen for a few seasons now. Since our cap is tied up in three players that isn’t likely to change, especially not midseason where the most we can expect is a THT or maybe Nunn trade or maybe seeing Jordan getting waived and picking up someone on the buyout market. That won’t be a Buddy or Seth level shooter, it’ll be another “I do one thing kinda OK” guy. The Lakers need to get back to what worked in the season they won the title and focus more on the defensive end by surrounding the stars with players who can truly play on both ends of the court. Defense wins championships. Three pointers do not. They help, sure, sometimes a lot in a game or three. They are a tool that has uses, like any offensive weapon. Sometimes shots fall, sometimes they don’t. But if you have a good defense it’s generally always there and keeps you in the game.
3. The Ugly. Nothing is more irksome to me than a bunch of millionaires half-assing their way through a game. A. Game. Show up and have some goldurn pride in yourself. I’m not even talking Laker pride. IT wants to stick in the league? Cool bro, prove you should stick. G-Leaguer wants to show they should play at the big boy level? Put on some big boy pants and play like a man who cares. What transpired last night is plain unacceptable and I don’t care one single iota that we had players out. The players that did play, other than Westbrook, LeBron and Dwight (of whom not much is asked to be honest) didn’t do squat. Not many of the Lakers showed me they deserve more of anything except time on the bench. To a man they defended poorly, missed open shots and generally looked like they would rather be doing something else.
4. Team Oxygen is back! Career high for Kata Bates-Diop of 30 points on a perfect 11-11 shooting. This from a dude who’s previous career high was…10 and averages 3.8 ppg. This was indicative of how poorly the Laker bench competed last night but also our total indifference to playing anything resembling defense. Had we managed to keep the lid on Diop like the rest of the league has figured how to do this might have actually been a ga-well, no actually lots of other Spurs had great nights against the matador Lakers. We did manage to keep Dejounte “I average a triple-double against LA” Murray in check. Whee.
5. No more excuses. It’s getting really, really sad how many excuses the Lakers now trot out in the post game interviews. AD is out? So sad, Kyrie has yet to suit up for the Nets and they’re leading the eastern conference. The Warriors have yet to see Klay play and are similarly challenging for the best record in the west. New roster? Aw gee, the Bulls had the second most roster turnover to us and are a top team in the association. Injuries? You poor dears, look at Miami who has lost Bam, Butler and seen Duncan Robinson totally regress and is 4th in the east and have won over 60% of their games. Excuses are like the hole where the poop falls out boys and I’ve had enough of yours. Throw your little pity party at home and show up to work for crying out loud. We all have been during the pandemic, your lofty job title of NBA player doesn’t exclude you from trying hard.

Last night marked the first time this season in which a streak of either kind has moved beyond the 3 game mark. We have yet to win more than 3 games in a row and are now facing the quite likely prospect of hitting a 5 game losing streak as early as tomorrow. While I do think the Lakers have the personnel in-house and on-team to win it all I also question their ability to grow together. I blame that on the front office and the coaching staff. We aren’t using the pieces we have very well and the front office has consistently taken the best tools away from it’s coach and drifted further and further away from the blueprint that won it all. So, if anyone truly needs to step up it’s Frank and his staff who really need to figure out how to unlock the mystery and secret of the three point shot. We have too many guys who were specifically brought in to use that tool for it to be as useless as it is for us. Rob will, likely, have to wait until the summer to redeem himself. Westbrook is nigh impossible to move midseason as he is not on Philly’s list of desired talent in a Ben Simmons trade and Russ’ deal becomes an expiring one once the season ends.

Last thing, if you’re having a sense of deja vu it’s understandable as the Spurs beat us at the Forum’s final game, too. Only difference was that was in the playoffs. The bright side was we subsequently went on to win the NBA Finals in year 1 of STAPLES so here’s hoping the name change has been weighing on the team and once they play in The Crypt the effort, heart and execution follow. If not this season is doomed.