Afternoon games in STAPLES are always a modest affair. Los Angeleninos are already laid back and if they haven’t gotten in three mochacinos and lunch they can be a sleepy bunch. When the Lakers put in 2/3 to 1/4 of effort for an entire NBA playoff game they don’t get up for that. As a result the Lakers looked lifeless for most of the game, lost to the Suns, and allowed the series to get tied at two.

1. Lakers didn’t show up with an aggressive attitude or looking to put their foot down on the Suns. Attitude is a weird thing. It ties into everything, manifests itself in results and can be a positive or negative. You can call it a mind set, focus, attitude-whatever you’d like In the Lakers’ case yesterday afternoon it wasn’t much if a positive. Even before the strained groin AD loomed tentative settling for jumpers, not really demanding the ball and fading into the background on offense. All sorts of guys passed up open looks or ran themselves off the three point line right into Phoenix’s defense and we were by far more involved with the refs (although both teams have been overly invested in calls so far). We need to knock off these kind of antics and play hard and forceful from here on out. Let Davis, James and Vogel get into with the refs. Get you head in the game.
2. New NBA record!!! Frank Vogel set an NBA record in the game yesterday: quickest Coaches Challenge ever! 15 whole seconds into the game, one that had tremendous stakes and also happened to suck whatever excitement had built up pregame right out of STAPLES Center. Frank was extremely successful in his challenge savvy during the regular season. I thought this one was utterly wasted. Ended up there were several other moments throughout the course of the game that would have had more impact and also more likely for us to have won. I though Frank was off last night and he has his hands full with Monty Williams who also happens to be an excellent coach. Frank needs to be smarter with his challenges and time outs.
3. Rotation experiment forced to continue. Injuries and exploited match ups forced Vogel to, once again, play too many guys in spot minute situations. Phoenix has a fairly tight and powerful 9 man rotation deployed, one they’ve used pretty much all season with contributions from others during the regular season. The Lakers? Our 11 man whack-a-doo rotation continues to show why this sort of thing isn’t a recipe for NBA playoff success. To be honest, a good part of this is being forced due to injury. But the 5 minutes of Trezz was a joke as was the 8 minutes of Morris. Pick one, you know what they bring and what they don’t. You either need outside scoring and defense or energy and inside scoring acumen. It’s not like they duplicate one another in any way. Same goes for McLemore. Don’t leave him out there on defense for long stretches, he’s going to get burned. If you need a sniper then put the sniper in and run a play. If you need Trezz then play him in his actual role. Morris has looked broken for months, not sure he has a role in the post season in all honesty. He’s off on defense missing a lot of rotations or being out of place as often as Drummond has been, isn’t even looking to shoot the three ball and is now missing his paint attempts. Not much positive to see from that whole situation right now. I had hoped the amped up energy of STAPLES and/or the playoffs would kick-start ‘Kieff but it hasn’t happened, yet.
4. Bench still floundering. I don’t think starting Wes is the answer, not unless they’re going to try and get him going from three. I would rather start Kuzma or, if I’m being honest, Caruso. Start Booker and CP3 off going against our two best on-ball defenders in Schroeder and Alex, gum up the game from the get-go and let Wes feast on bench dudes with the second unit. Schroeder needs to attack the rim like he wants to score not like he wants to avoid contact and then fall down and get a whistle. That kind of chicanery doesn’t fly in the playoffs. You might get a whistle a time or two in this or that series but it’s not a recipe for wins. If we stick with Wes, or if KCP comes back and is something resembling effective (which he has not been) then fine but make Wes a scoring option and force the Phoenix defenders to account for him honestly with some more attempts.
5. The Drummond/Gasol debate. The time, I believe, has come. It’s obvious that Dre’ is struggling with Ayton’s ability to defend him straight up and he gets swarmed in the paint by Phoenix when he gets the ball. The Laker offense is plodding along right now, and this is not a knock on Drummond, by the way. AD gets the ball and starts writing his memoire before making a move. James is, again, milking the shot clock for on-court rest and in general we don’t hit guys in stride or on the move with our passing. Credit the Suns but also critique the Lakers for not adjusting and finding ways to shake loose for some easy scores. Having Gasol at the top of the key helps that as it at least pulls Ayton out to the free throw line and opens up the possibility for some back door cuts (I watched Caruso try to get into that action three separate times and the man with ball, twice Gasol, missed him every time). The action is a solid plan whether the backdoor cut works or not. You have to get the defenders off their toes and onto their heels. We’re not even trying to do that right now, just passing around the perimeter waiting for someone to drive the ball into the teeth of the D.

Last night should be concerning for Laker fans, it wasn’t like Phoenix ran us off the court we just don’t make poorly created shots. That’s not new, this has been an issue all season for us. When we stagnate on offense we lose. Our defense was fine, Phoenix got 100 for the first time in the series, but we need to cut the turnovers (15…again…why this didn’t concern more people earlier in the season has always been a mystery to me but we are who we are now…), play smarter and go harder to the rim. if you miss and they don’t call the foul because of contact, so be it but take a man down with you. Time to see who has some junk yard dog in them and who is ready for vacation because the season has just been too hard. Man up or go home.

The Lakers look more and more like themselves with each passing game. After halftime last night the one thing Laker fans had been yearning to see showed itself: LeBron James was driving to the run, again. Between an aggressive LeBron, a dominant Anthony Davis, and a slew of timely contributions from the team the Lakers over-powered the Suns in the second half for a solid win. Not to be overlooked, the Suns didn’t seem to respond well to the intensity of playoff basketball. The funny thing about that is neither one was Chris Paul.

1. LeBron James flipping the switch. Up until halftime last night James had undertaken a total of 2 drives to the hoop. He changed that in a big way in the second half and it completely altered the tenor of the series. The Suns didn’t have a defender that could contain LeBron although they spotted Jae Crowder into him. It always cracks me up when a player tries to out-intense LeBron. Crowder’s goofball defense with his hyper aggressive bodying up on dead balls and constant yapping at the officials reminded me of other clown defenders like Matt Barnes and Ruben Patterson. Guys who try to play more defense with their mouths and antics than their brains or feet. For talents like LeBron it doesn’t matter. He’s too good and too skilled for antic D, you need to suck it up and stop whining. James is back and the league should be worried.
2. Anthony Davis dominating. The Suns have no answer for Davis when he chooses to play with power and ferocity. He made that choice last night and Phoenix looked futile in their efforts to slow him down. Fewer fadeaway, improved focus on defense and one highlight block showcased everything we know AD can bring. He had his way with anyone they slotted onto him scoring efficiently, getting to the line and grabbing 11 boards. That’s the AD we’ve been waiting fir all year.
3. Schroeder showcasing his feistiness. Schroeder has an odd role in our team, even as the starting PG he’s our secondary ball handler and playmaker and our third option on offense. Despite all the time missed and this being his first playoffs with James and Davis Dennis is starting to impress. He scored inside, took his open three pointers and got under the Suns’ skin to the point he generates a flagrant 2 foul on a Devin Booker sharp shot. Not much more you ask if the guy as he also played stellar defense. After Book’s uncalled for fF2 Schroeder showed he was good to go by getting his mod-game workout in with Caruso spotting him on 15 or so push ups. The man has a motor that’s much is certain.
4. Chirpy basketball will never get it done. You can tell when a team has begun to realize the scope and breadth of the issues they have in their hands when they look to the refs, chirp and quack all game, and roll out the cheap shots and tough-guy antics. When have you ever seen Caruso, a solid defender and unheralded player, get so into with the refs he gets a tech? Once, twice maybe? Or deliver a shot so cheap it earned him a F2? I don’t think ever. Booker’s mid-air shove of Dennis a Schroeder is one of those plays that has no place in the sport. That’s not competing that’s weak as %#@&. Booker is, or should be, better than that. While nobody likes losing you have to remember that, like it or not, you are a role model for kids as a pro athlete. Crowder getting tossed was inconsequential, nobody ever misses the court jester when he goes to take a nap, but I was really disappointed in Booker’s actions to end the game as I am a big fan and admire the work put in and journey he’s on.
5. Kuzma’s vanishing jump shot. Kyle starting off these playoffs rough, man. Another brick fest from Kyle was east to overlook as we won handily but, at some point, we’re going to need more from Kuz. The bench in general hasn’t scored well in the series but has done a solid job on defense and rebounding, which is great. Hope Kuzma isn’t dealing with some kind of injury since I assume we may be without KCP on Sunday and he could be pressed into starting.

Honorable mention go to Wes, Dre’ and all the guys who saw the court because our second half D was top-notch which is a team effort. We’ll need more of that going forward.

Maybe that could slowly help shrink the racial gap culturally. Slow and steady wins the race. Tortoise beats the hare everytime.

It’s easy to single out Drummond: biggest dude, not a modern player, didn’t have a great game 1. That all may be true on literally every game we play with him on the roster. Andre’ Drummond is not, I repeat, not the reason the Lakers lost game 1. We’ve all said it since they joined forces: we go as far as AD and LeBron take us.

https://deadspin.com/smacked-in-the-mouth-lebron-and-ad-now-need-to-find-1846967317

The link to the article above is where I feel the issue truly lies. When Davis and LeBron play pedestrian, we lose. In fact, they may have to find another gear of their own to get out of the western conference this season. Both are banged up, under-conditioned and playing basketball like mere mortals. I present to you the perfect recipe for Laker failure: ordinary LeBron and AD.

We also didn’t really lose this game on the defensive end, we lost it on the glass where we were decimated 47-33 while also coughing 16 offensive rebounds to our 10. 8 of those were by Ayton. That’s a team stat, a heart stat and a hustle stat. The team did not play with any of those characteristics. Also, largely because of his injuries (at least I assume as much), Anthony Davis averaged a career low in rebounds this season at 7.9. Not entirely sure he’s the answer to shutting down Ayton, at least not when you start digging into the numbers. Ayton is bigger, stronger and about as fast as Davis is. He certainly is younger and, at least in game 1, more energetic and focused.

You want to point to the success AD enjoyed at the 5 during the playoffs last season? That’s fair but then you also have to account for the different players he now shares the floor with in addition to LeBron’s current limitations. No Danny Green, solid defender with size and skills to defend larger players. Markieff Morris? Broken jumper, offensive liability this season, at least lately (my pick for next man up in this whole big/small, skilled, whatever debate). Rondo orchestrating everything and bringing the team together onto the same page? Currently plays for the other LA team. These aren’t footnotes but rather major changes to the composition and ability of our playoff roster. We can’t trot out a line up of smart, savvy playoff experienced vets at the guard or small forward position, we have what’s here now.

So, for all the “dig into the numbers before you post” noise-makers, there you go. Drummond led the team in the one of the 2 stats we needed more of: rebounds. For crying out loud he pulled down 7 (!!!) offensive rebounds of his own. That’s 70% of our offensive rebounds for those who are so very into the numbers. You control the glass and you win the basketball game. I don’t care about what happened in all the games without LeBron, or even the games with a hobbled LeBron because if that’s the version of James we’re going to get we will lose. Won’t matter if it’s small ball, tall ball, wall ball or hall ball style. If our superstars play like everyday players there is no chance for us to win.

So stop blaming the biggest guy just because he’s an easy target. We tallies gotta stick together, after all.

😉

Aloha Jamie
I thought about Rubio to but that it could be hard to do. Perhaps mid season like you said. If we can trade for Malik i would love it. Unlike Buddy, he is actually a decent defender. For a bad team the Twolves dont have much cap space and they are painfully thin at forward, so you never know. Perhaps the would roll the dice with Kuz. hes upgraded his game and perhaps he will become more aggressive offensively if hes out Lebron and AD’s shadow.

It started ugly but finished on a beauty. It was everything you want in a 7 game series in 1 game. Some questions were answered, new questions emerged and all in all planet Earth was treated to a very enjoyable basketball game. Hard fouls, hard cuts and a gritty win kicked off the NBA playoffs…kinda. Evidently the play-in doesn’t count for the regular season or the playoffs? WTF?! Whatever.

1. The greatness of LeBron James. Kind of lost against the back drop of a spectacular go-ahead three pointer in the final minute of the 4th quarter was another…not playoff nor regular season (really NBA? really? You invent this play-in and created some sort of non-game? H’ok…). I guess this makes James the All Time leader in play-in triple-doubles, I suppose. LeBron showed everyone why is still the best player in basketball. The Flagrant Foul that wasn’t that resulted in blurry vision? No problem. Swarming defense that bumped him off every paint shot? I got you guys. James stayed the course through a rocky first half, went over his loose minutes limit and delivered the 7 seed to the Los Angeles Lakers.
2. 10 men deep. Called on it on the preview podcast, Frank went 10 deep and I was actually mildly surprised we didn’t see more minutes for more guys. Luckily for Laker fans Vogel came to his senses and tightened up the second half rotation to just 8 players: James, Davis, Drummond (barely), Schroder, Kuzma, KCP, Caruso and the instrumental insertion of Wesley Matthews Jr. into the rotation after he didn’t see the floor in the first half in favor of Trezz and THT. Frank continues to, mystifyingly to me, experiment with his rotations. It’s a dangerous game to play in the playoffs but it also speaks to the lack of chemistry and continuity this version of the Lakers has been able to put together.
3. Good thing we have Alex Caruso. He steadied the offense early, then came up some incredible defense late and stayed within his game to find the open man for some nice looks around the rim. A lot of those didn’t come up as assists because of good, hard fouls by the Warriors but they did result in foul shots which helped us to a 25-15 advantage in free throw attempts. That helped us bridge the three point differential (15-10, advantage GS) and overcome a generally poor shooting performance. Caruso also proved to be our best player to slot onto Curry for defense as Schroder just couldn’t keep Curry in front of him and still looks like he’s finding his legs in every facet of the game. We’ll certainly need Dennis as we move forward and he’ll come around with his conditioning but until he does it’s nice to have Caruso as an option even though he’s nowhere near the scorer Dennis can be.
4. Wesley Matthews making the most of his role. In the first half Frank went more with Trezz and THT who both played OK but weren’t effective defensively and didn’t overcome that enough on offense. That forced Vogel to turn to Matthews in the small ball line up he used a lot more in the second half and Wes delivered with a key three pointer, some stout D and a huge rebound. +/- is a wonky stat but in Wesley’s case I think it apropos he led the team, by far, +/- in his 14 minutes because his defense was huge for us in the second half. His numbers weren’t eye-popping but his contributions were sorely needed last night.
5. Controlling the glass and keeping the turnovers low. These are things I’ve harped on since game 1 this season. Our team has a turnover issue, well-documented at this point, and we’re a team that needs to control the glass to make our defense as effective as possible. Since we’re the bigger team it stood to reason that we should control the glass. We also forced more turnovers than we committed, aided by some traditionally silly play by one Draymond Green, but it was the rebounding job that impressed me even more. Almost every Laker who played grabbed an offensive rebound (THT and Trezz did not) with LeBron James leading the way for rebounds off our own misses. That was another huge key in us getting 8 more shot attempts than the Warriors got. The Laker defense in the 3rd was where the game turned for us and Frank, to his credit, stuck with what worked down the stretch.

Next up Phoenix. I like our chances in this series and expect us to win in 5 or 6 games, haven’t decided yet. Regardless, it’s going to be tough no matter what as we see 2 more All Star guards in CP# and Booker along with a bevy of solid players who can shoot the three and defend better than advertised. We need to keep the turnovers low on our end and keep playing stout defense. When we do that we can win any game, even one where we shot 40.7% from the floor. Go Lakers.

The Lakers wrapped up the 2020-21 regular on a 5 game winning streak but still could not crack the top six in terms of playoff seeding. This means a one-game playoff date with none other than Steph Curry, Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors. The winner of that game will go on to play the Phoenix Suns and then the winner of the Denver/Portland series. The loser gets one more shot to clinch the 8th seed based on the winner of the 9/10 seed game featuring San Antonio and Memphis. The path through 7 would mean the only potential Lakers/Clippers matchup could come in the western conference finals. Fun stuff.

1. The Lakers ‘never say die’ attitude. The Lakers could have easily fallen further. With the playin all but guaranteed and Golden State three games back it would have been easy for James and Davis to sit out more games. Various Lakers from Alex Caruso (foot) to Kyle Kuzma (back and calf) and so on have various, some more serious than others, ailments. Lakers still gutted out the 5 game win and, hopefully, developed some much needed chemistry in the doing. For guys like Caruso and Kuzma who were key cogs in last years championship winning machine know what’s expected and what must be given. There are a plethora of other guys that this time with LeBron and AD could yield fruit on down the line. These Lakers have a lot of guts and moxie, traits that served them well in Orlando. We’ll see what they amount to this season soon enough.
2. Drummond fitting in better and better. I have to say that I have been very impressed with the improved play and better fit of Andre’ Drummond over the last couple weeks. I had some concerns that his game was an ill-fitting one when played alongside James and Davis but Drummond has found his defensive groove, is finishing his lobs better and is rebounding as advertised. Between he and Gasol we have 2 very different looks in terms of the traditional center spot. In Montrezl and Davis we have two very different looks in terms of our small ball center look. Between the four we have a lot of options at center which I think will be deployed in a variety of ways throughout the various series we play in. All hands on deck.
3. Health. The biggest issue facing any team with banner aspirations is good health. If you’re key guys are healthy and on the same page it’s a lot easier to make in-game or game-to-game adjustments in a playoff series. If the Lakers can keep AD and LBJ on the floor for 35+ mpg I like our chances in any 7 game series that comes our way. Having guys like Kuzma, Caruso and KCP as ready as can be will help a lot. But there’s no question that without AD and James we’re not going far in any series. With games a little more spaced out we’ll have a little more rest in-between but we’ll also see the return of travelling between games. No more hive-mind, bunker-bubble living like in Orlando. I have always felt that, for a team with a lot of high IQ players like the Lakers have, being confined in one place made it easier for the coaches and players to be on the same page. No airport hassles to wade through, no finding some extra sleep on the plane and so on. Straight to treatment, any notions that came up between coaches and players could be discussed by walked down a couple hallways. Things of that nature will all revert back to the NBA norm. Should be interesting to see how that effects the playoffs.
4. Re-stablishing the pecking order. With James and Davis missing as many games as they did, and toss in Schroder’s H&SP absence an artificial pecking order was established. Not that is was wildly successful one but I do wonder if guys like THT, Trezz and the like can replicate some of their better stretches in the regular season in limited minutes or not playing over the course of a series or so. It’s always easy as a fan to say “Well, such and such should do this or that!” which is all well and good. But sport is as much about groove and flow as talent, skill and raw physicality. While we’re certainly tied to the fates of our two superstars they will not be scoring every point, grabbing every rebound and defending every play. We’re going to need some unproven guys to step up and step up big in a role they may not be all that comfortable with.
5. Can lightning strike twice? In my mind, above and beyond all the points and questions above, the biggest mystery to me is can Frank replicate his perfectly executed coaching mojo like he did in the playoffs last season? If he can get buy-in on reduced roles from the centers, spottier minutes for THT, McLemore and Matthews and finding ways to keep Kyle engaged we have a really solid shot at repeating. if he loses some guys, if traveling somehow interferes with his coaching vibe or something I haven’t touched on upsets the apple cart we’re going to have to over-rely on LeBron and AD. Not that they can’t bring it home, but that it’ll be a lot easier if Frank pushes all the right buttons at the right time, again.
   
   It’s the playoffs! Let’s do this people! Go Lakers!!!!

That was a helluva fun game to watch. Gritty, tough, bruising basketball like we’ll soon see in the playoffs. The Knicks did everything they could but some unheralded stars came through and helped push us over the finish line to bring home the win. Good stuff.

1. Thanks Spike. Mr. Lee made the journey to Los Angeles to catch the game and proceeded to heckle the Lakers right into a win. Spike did the right thing. But in all reality the resurgence of the Knicks is great for the NBA. Julius Randle has turned into a dark horse MVP candidate, certainly the front runner for Most Improved. Thibbs could easily win Coach of the Year. They have a collection of good to great players that play with a lot of fire. Hats of to the Knickerbockers and welcome back. Should have gotten something for Randle…
2. THT and his one-man rodeo show. This easily could have ended a lot worse for Talen. His 7 turnovers were astounding both in their volume and the manner in which they came about and I’m sure his film session will be interesting. The man has no quit, though and he kept his head up in spite of the turnovers and an inability to stay in front of Rose. His three pointer to push the Lakers ahead for the final margin in OT was ridiculously clutch, especially when you consider that he had to make it a step-back based on when he caught the ball. A huge shot. I love this guy and have high hopes we keep him. Has a learning curve to max out his potential but there is a lot to admire in THT’s game. Like the rest of the team I would say feel free to cut down on your turnovers.
3. Health still proving elusive. LeBron coming back, Caruso and AD might be out, Schroder still in H & SP… The one thing about this team is that we just cannot catch a break where injuries are concerned. This is the one thing that can derail the Lakers repeat ability more than anything else. We’re not winning anything without major contributions from Davis and James. We’re not winning anything without a semi-consistent rotation. Those things just don’t exist for the Lakers right now. Hopefully we can get some nagging injuries right before the playoffs.
4. The Frank Vogel roulette wheel. A week or so ago Frank insisted he wasn’t experimenting with the rotation. I begged to differ then and I beg to differ now. Look no further than the Gasol/Trezz experiment or the inexplicable 5 minutes of nothing we got from Markieff Morris. Injuries and inconsistent play has forced Frank to tinker far beyond he ever did last season. We’re looking at 25 different potential starting line ups this season. That is astounding. Don’t hide from it, Frank, we can all see the reasons why this situation has come about. Injuries have decimated the rotation and that’s the end of it. Nothing to be ashamed of.
5. Ad got beat up last night and should have shot more than 5 free throws. He got walked under, pushed off his shot and generally manhandled by the Knicks. It’s a credit to him that he doesn’t flop for fouls but sometimes I wish he would. The man should average double-digit free throws based on the NBA rules for contact on jump shots. Call it the same for AD that you do for James Harden.

Hanging a banner tonight, tune in early. No trap, either, Lakers gonna roll the Rockets and cruise to an easy one. So sayeth the Admiral.

Yup. Land of the rising sun(s).

Nothing is more irksome than obvious and blatant favoritism when it comes to the refs. To be sure there were plenty of issues entirely of LA’s own creation that molded this loss but Portland got plenty of help from the officiating crew of Curtis Blair, Rodney Mott, and Ray Acosta. Lately I’ve taken umbrage with the Lakers heart and hustle, that was not the case last night. I thought we competed hard and fought well. Just too much to overcome.

1. Anthony Davis rounding the corner. As far as benchmarks go this game had a lot of positives. Big minutes with no setbacks physically? Check. Hitting threes at a decent clip? Check. Got to the free throw line? Check…kinda? That is one area that is still confounding as Davis continued his season long struggle from the stripe. Other than that AD was as dominant as we’ve seen him be in some time. By my count Davis should have shot at least 5 more free throws as he was fouled on a dunk and was walked under on his jump shot at least 2 times that was not called. Portland has no answer for AD, especially when one of Gasol or Drummond occupies the center down low. That frees up Anthony to operate more freely on the perimeter. Encouraging game all around for AD.
2. KCP making plays and being aggressive. In a turn of events that should surprise nobody who watches the Lakers at this point KCP came back from a dud game a good game. Whee. Our starting line up features two incredibly inconsistent players in Kuzma and KCP. Against the Clippers Kuzma was “The Can’t Miss Kid” and then turned in a no-show against the Blazers. Wheere, of course, KCP showed up and was a much more aggressive and assertive version of himself. The thing I take heart in regards to both players is that one is not truly a starter for us (Kyle) and the other controls the answer to his dilemma. Caldwell-Pope needs to play with this much force, speed and determination every night if we want to win the game. This is true with LeBron or without. With Davis or no. Kentavious can impact the game a lot more than he has allowed himself to this season.
3. The dunk that wasn’t. Kuzma’s tip dunk was not an offensive goal tend. Plain and simple. I had thought there were official-generated reviews for these kind of things but I guess that is not the case? The ball was out of the cylinder and off the rim and that was obvious on replays. The fact that Dame came down and buried a three made this a 5 point switcheroo for the purple and gold. Telling ya we got jobbed last night folks…
4. 8 turnovers in the first quarter, 6 the rest of the game. A lot of those came from our starting front court of Drummond, Kuzma and Davis: a law firm that puts the ball in YOUR court. Take out what was a pretty awful first quarter and this was a stellar game by the Lakers. Since we can’t take out the first quarter we’ll just have to live with the results. But things are working when your starting guards commit three total turnovers and dish out 7 assists combined. Both Caruso and KCP did a pretty good job of protecting the rock and, along with KCP, I though Caruso did a good job of staying in his game but still applying offensive pressure to Portland. Feels like Caruso ought to have shot one free throw in this game but, again, only two Lakers shot free throws all game (Davis 10-15, KCP 6-7).
5. The nine man rotation works Frank. This looked and felt right. I’m sure Trezz wqasn’t happy but to win the individual must sacrifice for the greater good. I also think we’re locked into Drummond starting, whether that’s a result of what Frank wants, a shake and wink deal with Dre’s agent or whatever it feels like the starting line up is fairly etched into stone. That works because it allows the starting unit to have an identity, whether it’s the identity every fan wants to see is a different question entirely, and gives Frank the ability to decide which of Gasol or Trezz is up to bat in any game or series. So, barring a blow out, no more 11 or 12 man carousels that just make no sense to anyone. Please and thank you.

Anyone else perfetcly happy with Caruso starting and Schroder coming off the bench? I am. If Dennis indeed has COVID-19 I don’t think that’s too far outside the realm of possibility as we’ve seen what has happened to Marc’s wind and stamina as a result. While it’s true it affects everyone differently what is also true is that everyone who gets it returns to professional sport with less endurance. Schroder may not be able to start, physically speaking. Hopefully this is all contract tracing and just protocols and I expect the Lakers to be tight-lipped about it but it’s something that must be considered. Dennis has thrived as the lead guard off the bench, Caruso has shown he can fit seamlessly in with Davis, Pope and James and has shown a better ability to take care of the ball as a starter than Dennis has, albeit in a incredibly small sample size. THT fans may not like this but he is likely the odd man out in a lot of playoff games as I believe Frank will turn to Wes Matthews and his superior defense if push comes to shove. Talen is certainly the superior offensive threat but in a tight rotation his skillset may prove extraneous. We’ll see. SO many unsettled questions about this team…