We’ll take ’em any way we can get ’em these days. Every win gives us a little more breathing room and helps us keep pace with the rest of the western conference. So, while in a normal seaon beating Charlotte on the road wouldn’t be celebrated with much fanfare we definitely needed last night’s win in the face of what is to come. Big games from old friends saved the day. Let’s dig in.

1. Kuzma’s Jekyll & Hyde game. It started rough for Kyle. Air-balled a three, hit the side of the backboard shooting a three, and he seemed to be nursing his calf all game long. But he dug down deep and found the grit to start hitting big time shots including a monstrous jam over Bismack Biyombo to help close out the first half strong. While it won’t be remembered as his most efficient outing ((7-18, 4-12 from three) Kyle got the job done on a night we needed someone in the starting line up to lead the way.
2. Alex Caruso’s big game. Caruso has, like most of the players not named James or Davis, had an up and down season. One game solid, then an MIA game and so on. Last night Alex looked like he did for most of last season where he made little plays that contributed to a big night. Leading the team in +/- last season was his modus operandi last season and he’s struggled to replicate that impact all season long, especially without sharing the floor with the Laker superstars. There are things Caruso does regularly that I wish guys like Kuzma, THT and others did, as well. Stunt and recover is big on my list, it won’t ever show up in a metric or a stat box or anywhere people look to prove something is good and necessary to winning but what he does on the perimeter in regards to helping and recovering is one of the things that makes the Laker defense elite. Yeah he has some decent hops and can hit shots but it’s the other end where Alex’s impact is felt. He scored some points, had some assists and grabbed some rebounds in addition to his defense.
3. KCP’s shut down game. One of the reasons this game was so close was one Josh McDaniels. He was going off in the first half, grabbing boards, making buckets and playing at a high level. Then Frank switched KCP onto him and that all stopped. McDaniels did most of his damage against defenders not named Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. I’ve been fairly harsh, some would say deservedly, on KCP this season. When you sign a big deal it comes with expectations, fair or not. In all honesty I don’t think I would argue that Kentavious has lived up to his deal this season but his defense has been pretty solid despite his offensive inconsistencies. In that vein KCP had another mediocre scoring game as he fought through back spasms but it never once deterred him on defense.
4. Managing the turnover issue. Finally, a game where we didn’t cough the ball up 267 times. 11 turnovers, very manageable. Let’s do this more.
5. The next two to three weeks. This is a make or break stretch coming up for the Lakers. The next couple of weeks will determine what playoff seeding we have, whether we have to rock a play-in game and if we make the playoffs at all. The win against the Hornets was crucial as it allowed us to keep pace with the top 3 teams in the western conference (who all won their most recent game/s) and gain ground on the Nuggets (who lost and going to sorely miss Jamaal Murray). We can’t get caught up with what’s happening with the other teams we just need to handle our business. Here’s what is on the docket.
   4/15 – Celtics
   4/17 – Jazz
   4/19 – Jazz
   4/22 – @Mavs
   4/24 – @Mavs
   4/26 – @Magic
   Theoretically AD could potentially return around the Magic game. But since he hasn’t done any on-court scrimmage or five-on-five action yet it’s impossible to say if that timeline is an accurate one or one based on what media pundits are speculating. Let’s just say, for arguments sake, AD comes back after the game against the Magic. That would 4/28 – @Wizards, maybe that gets pushed back to the 4/30 – Kings game at STAPLES.
   
   After that Kings game there are only 9 remaining opponents on the schedule. SO this little 6 or 7 game stretch could define a lot of what the Laker’s postseason challenges will look like. The back-to-back against the Jazz feels like a back-to-back loss in the makings, Celtics have been an on/off team all season but does anyone here expect them to have an ‘off’ game against us with playoff implications in the mix? Ought to beat the Magic but even the Wizards are playing their best basketball of the season right now and are in the mix for a play-in.
   
   We need to win at least 3 of those games up there, four would be better. Can we stun the Mavs and beat them twice? Sure, maybe. Can we eke out a win in the second game after Vogel makes some adjustments to the schemes against the Jazz? I suppose. The key in all of those games is to play like they did last night. Shots might not fall, the zone may clog up the paint, and guys who are hoping to make a lot of money (or already do) might not shine as brightly as hoped for. You have to defend hard and compete at the highest level, regardless of how ugly the offense might be. It’s the only way we come out respectable.

Anyhow, decent road trip, all things considered. Kuzma’s calf, KCP’s back and the issues that have plagued us all season are certainly worrisome but there’s nothing to do but show up and play hard. Let’s get to doing it.

LOL, Dave. We may be the only ones on the blog who actually saw Bob Petit play.

Aaaaaaand that folks is why we don’t award things based on hype or expectation. One would imagine just about every human on Earth calling this one a loss before the game but as we saw there’s a reason they play the games. The Lakers got some great contributions from up and down the roster in what ended up being a testy affair and a really fun game to watch.

1. The ejection. The game was a tightly fought, back and forth affair. Just prior to the ejection we saw the Nets briefly take a lead on us. Then Schroder and Kyrie Irving got into it after what seemed to be a fairly mundane personal foul call. I don’t pretend to understand what motivates Mr. Irving but the fact that he has now taken the next game off for personal reason, to me, means it was more about his desire not to keep playing basketball and get some time to himself. he left his teammates to explain what transpired so we may never really hear what went down. Schroder, for his part, seemed confused as to why he was assessed the second tech (the official explanation was his little wave to Irving as he departed the floor, that feels silly, players do that all the time). Regardless of what occurred between the two grown men the incident sparked the Lakers to a 57-33 run that ended when garbage time commenced and the Lakers comfortably ahead.
2. How we went on The Run. It can be weird, the thing that sparks a team to realize what they can do when short-handed, in the case of the Lakers who were already without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, Kyle Kuzma and Wesley Matthews Jr it was seeing Dennis Schroder depart the court after his 2nd tech. That seemed to free up the remaining Lakers and they started playing fast and loose on offense while getting even scrappier on defense. Whether it was Talen Horton-Tucker finding teammates for a game-high 11 assists, Alonzo McKinnie grabbing 9 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench, Andre’ Drummond powering his way through the Net defense for a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds or contributions from up and down the roster the Lakers seemed to make all the right moves in the third quarter and into the 4th.
3. Welcome to the Los Angeles Lakers Ben McLemore. He had started fairly quietly in his first game playing only 17 minutes and taking only 3 shots. That was not the case last night as he played 23 minutes canning 6-12 shots, 5-10 from three point land bestowing upon the Lakers the kind of shot-taker (and maker) that Laker Tim has been pining for all season. McLemore led a solid attack from beyond the arc that saw the Lakers shoot 19-35 (55.9%) but it was Ben who helped fuel the run that out the Lakers comfortably ahead in the third. It started with a nifty shot off a bounce to catch a pass from Caruso. McLemore’s feet barely hit the floor before he got into his shooting motion and canned the first of his three pointers. To their credit the Lakers fed him a steady diet of threes or ran screens to free him up. Like Frank says: go with the hot hand.
4. Double-figure boogie. The balance the team had in it’s scoring meant that there was no single player Brooklyn could key in on to stop. Every starter scored in double-figures. Off the bench everyone who played during the meaningful minutes except Alex Caruso hit double-figures, as well. That kind of balance is difficult for teams to handle and it assuredly is the way for this team to be competitive without it’s stars. We don’t need every player to score in double-figures but there needs to be contributions in some form or another from everyone.
5. Buyout Blues. There have been some recent reports from various media outlets from small market teams and GMs that they aren’t happy with how the NBA buyout system is working. Well if that isn’t sour grapes I don’t know what is. The basis of the issue is that small market teams feel they’re getting railroaded into buyouts by power agents who rep high profile talents who want to play for teams who are in a better position to compete in the here and now. The gist of theses gripes are that they’re not getting compensated in the form of talent or picks when they choose to make these players available. I don’t get it. These teams sign or trade for players on high dollar contracts then choose to sit them in favor of younger talent. These players are often not on expiring contracts (like Blake Griffin was, for instance) and will be a drag on said small-market team’s ability to offer high dollar contracts in the coming off-season. The buyout is a way for them to free up space to re-sign or extend the younger talent they are choosing to build around. They make the choice to sit the current high-dollar contract they have, they save millions of dollars and get salary cap relief and yet…they want more. While it’s unfortunate that not all teams can play in large markets. It’s not enough that the player gives up money out of their pocket, the fact that draft picks or young talent is flowing their way is, somehow, the league’s fault. That’s absurd. You shouldn’t have signed Blake Griffin to a max deal or traded for him when he was early into that max deal. You don’t HAVE to buyout player X, you’re the one who wants the cap space freed up and for the player to be off your roster. If you can’t find a trading partner you don’t have to buy them out. Play the game back at the agents. Small market teams, they want the Sun, the Moon and the stars and they don’t want to work to get it. Here’s another idea: sell your team and get into a business you better understand and can compete at. You expect your players to try their hardest, give their best and sacrifice limb and life for you but don’t want to do the same yourself. That’s absurd.

Tuesday sees the Lakers face off against the resurgent Knickerbockers and one Julius Randle. Should be a good game and if we can turn in the same effort as we did against the Nets we should be competitive. That’s all any of us can ask.

In what was likely conceived as an NBA Finals rematch game the Heat beat the Lakers without the main culprits of their Finals demise on the court. No AD and no LeBron James coupled with the late scratches of Kyle Kuzma (calf) and Talen Horton-Tucker (suspension) meant the Lakers had even steeper climb. They should have hired a Sherpa or gotten a helicopter ride because the Heat were just a touch too much for the remaining players clad in purple and gold.

1. Don’t diss the Heat. Laker fans seem to want to denigrate the Heat’s accomplishment in making it to the NBA Finals. I, personally, find that notion absurd. There’s a reason things aren’t awarded on hype or expectations. The teams have to play, one team has to win so many games and that team moves on. Seems simple, one team ends up being better than the other. So, for those fans who crow they don’t fear Miami this one was for you. The basketball Gods always listen…always. Also, wishing Victor Oladipo all the best and a speedy recovery. Guess it’s a good thing we didn’t trade Kuzma and KCP and ahhhh why not, throw in Alex Caruso for Vic, eh?
2. Free throw parade. Was I the only one who thought it was ludicrous how often Miami got sent to the line for simply crashing into some Laker or another in the first quarter? I didn’t think I was…
3. That contract for Dennis is getting smaller every game. Mark my words, that man is going to fire his agent after this summer when he does not get his $20+ million dollar deal from anyone at all. A player that’s worth that sum of money can lead a team in more than the turnover department, doesn’t fall to the ground and leave his team one man down on the break, and does more than just play defense. Schroder is showing that last season was essentially a fluke, that playing alongside superstar talent like CP3 or LeBron is the only way he can shine. Sorry Dennis, I love your moxie, the cut of your jib and your peskiness on defense but you cannot be relied upon to score consistently. We got plenty of guys who make far less than $20 mil who can do just that.
4. Hey it’s KCP. Par for the course this season KCP breached for a game and looked like he wanted to play basketball. I don’t really expect it to carry over as it really hasn’t for most of the season. One good game followed by 3 or 4 terrible ones. Not much more useful than Dennis Schroder these days. You need to do this a lot more consistently to make me believe again, Kentavious. I want to but just can’t find it in me to look past the landslide of my new label DP-BDNSU (Dis Play-But Did Not Show Up).
5. Hey Andre’ Drummond finished the game! Which is about all we can say about that. Drummond was never going to save this season, he’s a good to above-average player on bad teams because…they’re bad, they don’t have a lot of good guys. He can do simple NBA center things well enough although the free throw shooting is certainly a concern for a team that often goes through major free throw line funks. I love his energy on the glass and his active hands on defense. I have hope he’ll be better at not holding the ball and looking around while the team tries to get a break going. There were more than a few times where it cost him precious seconds to find an open Laker but he’s getting acclimated. Those issues are correctable. I expect to see Gasol play in the 2nd night of back-to-backs in the regular season, maybe get some time of Drummond is in foul trouble. But he was in foul trouble last night and no Marc so…we’ll see how the three-headed center monster we’ve Frankensteined pans out.

Also, bonus point, welcome to the Lakers Ben McLemore. We’ll see how he grows into a role on this team in the handful of games left but this very much reminds me of the Dion Waiters signing. Might have a regular season impact but he may struggle to find a playoff role if he can’t defend at a decent level. The Lakers don’t cover for bad defenders just because they can shoot, that’s Frank Vogel 101 people.

Lastly, bonus BONUS point: a banner hanging ceremony agaaaaaaaaainst…the Houston Rockets (wah, wah, wah). Fishing for a win on banner night is fine but I think the real reason they chose that game is that there is a high likelihood that LBJ and AD could both be on the floor by then. Not certain, of course (tweets or what have you aside) but I feel like that’s very reasonable. That may not be the timeline Laker fans get excited about but it feels like Jeannie et al wouldn’t want to risk a blow out on banner night and that, if at all possible, have James and Davis play in the game.

Last thing: just a friendly reminder that this team is not, repeat, not designed to win without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Not a player on the roster replicates the skills, talent or gravity both of those men create on a basketball court. So don’t overly-fret these losses save for the fact we’re freefalling through the standings. Might end up rocking a play-in game, might s well start getting used to the idea.

The Lakers have been on the other end of some beatdowns recently so it was nice to see the team cruise (relatively speaking) to an easy win. Certainly not without drama as we saw players from both sides get tossed but a win is a win, as they say. With re-enforcements coming soon, hopefully, the Lakers just need to keep treading water, head above the waves, until the team can get healthy and back on track.

1. Marc Gasol did all the right things on the court and followed that up by saying all the right things off of it. He contributed his best all-around game as a Laker pouring in 13 points (6-9, 1-3 from three), a co-team high 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 big blocks. While he did cough it up 5 times he looked more like the player I think we all though we’d see on a regular basis. In his post-gamer he continued his excellent showing by stating unequivocally that he was all in on this Laker season. Did he mean it? Could he be fibbing? Maybe, sure, who knows but the important thing was that he is playing the right way and saying the right things and being a good teammate in the doing. Solid effort by Marc.
2. The THT/AC pairing. This hasn’t gotten much attention but I think it speaks to the coaching staff’s confidence in both players to get the job done. Slowly but surely AC and THT are getting more time as combined unit. For awhile it felt like they were staggered off of one another and it didn’t matter when LeBron was on the floor commanding attention and orchestrating like only he can. In his absence, and when Schroder goes to the bench, Vogel turns to this duo to keep us afloat. The results have been mixed but I think the combo has potential as a stabilizing force off the bench. THT can be the de facto PG and Caruso takes the lead on D. This allows for their offsetting skill sets to balance out a little more organically. We’re talking about 10 or so minutes of actual basketball action so it’s not like it needs to hold up for long. It’ll be interesting to see how the rotation settles in as we get guys back but I kind of hope this continues into the playoffs. For the night both THT and AC had solid games: THT had 17 (6-10 shooting, 3/4 from three), 4 rebounds, 6 assists. Caruso had an efficient 13 (4-7, 3/4 from three) 5 boards and 4 dimes. They both had 4 turnovers which is too many but par for this team this season.
3. Wesley Matthews Jr. contributing impact plays if not eye-popping stats. It hasn’t been the easiest of roads for Wes this season. Struggled early, got benched, got a neck injury on a scary fall into the stanchion and has seen his role fluctuate based on how other guys have begun to emerge but through it all he’s been solid on defense and that shot has come around little by little. Last night Wes led the team in +/- and played hard on both ends. We’re going to need Wes to contribute in order to have success in the playoffs so it’s been nice to see him carve out a role for himself on account of his defense and hard-nosed play.
4. Trezz standing up for his team. I mentioned this in the podcast but it bears repeating here. I can’t count the number of comments on the site, articles in the media and social media that shine a light on the notion that a lot of these guys will be moved, sign elsewhere and aren’t all in on the Lakers. Last night we saw the other side. The side where guys who play on a team bond together. Trezz id a fiery-fellow, you can see him jawing with opponents, refs and teammates through every single game. It could be as easy to misconstrue that intensity as displeasure with his situation, after all he did have to accept our bargain basement MLE, as it was to misconstrue his All Star tweet. Passion can be an intimidating thing, not always taken the right way or expressed in a socially acceptable manner. To see Trezz stand up for Dennis and then to see the comment about how he has a beef with anyone not wearing a Laker jersey makes me smile. The dude’s heart is in the right place. Still, he did get tossed and only contributed 2 whopping minutes of play. That left a Harrell-sized hole in our line up. One that was filled by none other than…
5. DEVONTAE CACOCK! The G-Leaguer, 2-way player had his best game of the year by a country mile. In 17 minutes he had 8 rebounds, hit 5-7 shots for 10 big points, and played with the kind of energy this team needs on a nightly basis. I sure hope Devontae makes the post-season roster. I’ve always loved his hustle and nose for the rebound. For a team struggling with a “next man up?” identity issue Devontae flipped the script and stepped up in a large way.

Miami is up next, gonna be a tough one. Maybe we can play the trap team for once, eh? At any rate, won’t be much of an NBA Finals rematch without AD or LeBron so maybe we can bring this same energy and feistiness and pull out another W. Keep the head a little higher above those waves.

This one is for those who hope to keep Andre’ Drummond in the purple and gold beyond this season. Not gonna lie, it’s one heckuva long shot.

https://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/2939429-the-big-problem-with-lakers-hopes-to-retain-andre-drummond

This one’s for LT who is still in full bore trade deadline lament mode.

https://lakeshowlife.com/2021/04/05/los-angeles-lakers-rumors-regret-talen-horton-tucker/

Sounds like AD isn’t close to returning and Drummond feels unlikely tomorrow night. Yikes…

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2021/4/4/22367178/lakers-anthony-davis-injury-update-calf-strain-frank-vogel

That was a beatdown of epic proportions. The Lakers never led, never seriously threatened and struggled to make shots. The Clippers on the other hand looked solid despite being without key players themselves. Of course the biggest difference was that the Clipper superstar duo played and ours did not.

1. The name of the game is scoring the basketball. The Lakers never figured that out against the Clippers. They couldn’t hit open shots, couldn’t hit contested shots, couldn’t hit from the outside and often missed inside. We had a season-low 38 points in the first half. The Lakers just couldn’t couldn’t throw it in the ocean as a team. 40% from the field, 30% from three but, hey, 75% from the free throw line.
2. The defense showed up. The Lakers defense retained it’s elite status in the face of yet another loss without AD and LBJ. We held the Clippers to 104 points, they only shot 9 free throws, and we forced 20 turnovers. Where we failed was in converting those into points of any kind. 15 points off of 20 turnovers ain’t great. Certainly did not get it done on the break with 8 whopping transition points. Allowing the Clippers to rain threes essentially sealed the loss.
3. The mental game. It’s become obvious that the guys who should be stepping up (Kuzma, KCP, Schroder) aren’t. Whether they can or not has become a sort of moot point: we’re already falling in the standings, not showing up for big stretches of winnable games and in short not acting like professional sportsmen. Harrell is doing his job, guys on the bench have generally had a decent, if not totally positive, impact. But those three guys are starters right now, they all have the ball in their hands and are bucket-getters or, in theory, creators. This team has z-e-r-o chance of winning against anyone when they don’t play with the right mentality, don’t come prepared, and if they cannot make shots. We know they can but since they are not one has to assume it’s in their heads.
4. Adjustments? Please, feel free to enlighten me, perhaps I’ve missed something but I don’t think I have. What adjustments has the team made on offense since James went down? To my count it would appear to be none. We run the same, silly sets we run when LeBron James is playing. But there isn’t a single player that replicates the gravity James brings to the court along with the skillset to maximize that gravity. I get it, there hasn’t been much practice time but we’re talking about a team that semi-overhauled it’s defensive identity mid-playoffs. Surely they can adapt to a life on offense without LeBron James for a few games. The answer, apparently, is no.
5. The return of Drummond. The Big Penguin could be back on Tuesday and that’s a good thing. It’s one of the games I have slated as ‘winnable’ and Toronto by way of Tampa Bay isn’t killing it with size this season. So, if he gets the green light, let’s hope for better showing than in game 1 of his Laker career and get this one off right.

5 more games on this road trip. If I let the pessimist in me rule the day I say we go 1-4 and further take a tumble in the standings. But the realist (I don’t have an inner optimist) says we go 2-3. We win the bun games and lose the cheese, patty and lettuce games. So if this Laker burger can be even tastier and we end up winning some of those middle games I like our chances of getting AD back after the road trip, or soon thereafter. Although I also won’t be surprised if both sit until the playoffs.

Man..I’ve been totally unimpressed by Snyder in this series. Just haven’t seen a whole lotta adjustments..lets just chuck 3’s and hope for the best. And the Clipps were actually seeking out the DPOY with iso ball off those switches on the perimeter. Gotta do better..

Well. That happened. In the end Coach Vogel was right: we did need all 3 centers, not that it made much of a difference which one of them was out there. For what it’s worth, and it wasn’t worth very much, Andre’ Drummond debuted as a Laker. Unfortunately it appears there are already issues with fit but they’re not the biggest issue plaguing the team these days.

1. Ok, ok it was his right toe. Regardless this likely means more Gasol for a game or two. Drummond came to the Lakers saying all the right things: wants to fit into what we’re doing, not looking to steal shine, best shape he can be in. None of that mattered as he struggled to finish from anywhere going 2-6 on shots in the paint, missed both free throws and had more turnovers (3) than rebounds (2). In all honesty he was out-performed by Gasol in less than half the time. Drummond’s 14 minutes did showcase a pretty awesome block and the quick hands we’ve heard about but I wasn’t overly impressed with his game and the fact he’s hurt now made it even more of a bummer. The Lakers are fortunate they don’t need much from Drummond come the playoffs, or at least so we hope, and that Davis will likely absorb a lot more minutes at center than maybe some had hoped for.
2. The S.S. Kentavious has sailed and I don’t think it’s-a-coming back. This has been the most disappointing stretch of many disappointing stretches for KCP. Whether you think missing games due to not showing up for court is worse than being on the court and not showing up there’s little doubt we need more than it would seem Caldwell-Pope is able to provide. Another game where he didn’t make a single shot, only took 4 and in general didn’t do much of anything except run back and forth. Pretty sure we could Jason Kidd a uni so he could that. At this point I am in favor of giving his minutes and role to literally any other player. Davonte Cacock? Sure. Kostas? Definitely. Certainly THT or Caruso could do more the court time than Pope has done since the first couple of weeks of the season. While I would never use the corporate fast-food moniker some like to deploy when talking about the lack of impact KCP has for looooooong stretches of the season it’s become difficult to not see him as no-show since James went down and we needed someone like him to step up. I don’t think he has it in him anymore.
3. More turnovers than a strudel shop. This season-long issue, which some tried to gloss over earlier in the season, hasn’t gone anywhere. Every starter had multiple turnovers last night which was actually mild compared to Talen Horton-Tucker’s astounding 6 turnovers in a mere 17 minutes. Our team assist to turnover rate was 1-1. 22 assists and 22 turnovers. That’s pathetic. Incredibly we scored more points off of turnovers than the Bucks did who also had 22. T’was indeed a sloppy game highlighted by some nice defense by both sides and terrible offense from us while allowing the Bucks to launch from three where they killed us.
4. The three point game. Where to begin? For fans of launching three pointers this was a great game. We took 36! For fans of made shots this was not the game for you. We only made 10… The even bigger issue was that, after the first quarter, we had made 8 of those 10 and only took 13 shots in the doing. That means, as a team, we went 2-23 for the final three quarters from beyond the arc. Yikes. I don’t fully comprehend the philosophy of simply ramping up the three point field goal attempts without attaching the caveat of making some but I’m sure there’s an equation or something that will explain it. That equation has generally proved elusive to the Lakers since the early weeks of the season which I still feel is a team that plays best when it dominates the paint. Let success be your guide. Maybe up Markieff Morris’ minutes since he’s playing well now? Something has to give, we either need to not attach a blanket number of three point attempts and be content with good shots or we need to make more three pointers. The current formula of simply more attempts does not work.
5. The not-so-$25 million-man. Dennis Schroder was awful last night. Sure he did OK on defense but the same could be said for Wesley Matthews and Alex Caruso. They’re not looking for big pay days this summer. Schroder is and right now I would say we got fleeced if we offered him one cent over $15 mil. Frankly that feels like an over-pay. It took him 18 shots to score 17 points ironically making 3 three pointers in the doing on only 8 attempts. He neither plays the contact game to draw fouls nor has strong moves to the basket. If the floater ain’t falling or the jumper is off there’s not a lot he can do offensively. His outside shot is slow to load and he turns down a ton of open looks while probing semi-meaninglessly. Since LeBron has gone down Schroder has looked more like a solid backup PG than an elite starter in line for a massive payday. I’ll be surprised if anyone backs up the Brinks truck and the Lakers would be wise to table their extension offers until the summer.

We have the 2nd toughest strength of schedule in the league to finish the season. After we play Sacramento tomorrow and the Raptors on Tuesday we face nothing but playoff-bound teams until the final week of the season. It’s likely we back into the playoffs with the only question being can we avoid the play-in tourney? While in some ways it’s not surprising given the injuries there’s also the matter that all of the guys on the Lakers are professional basketball players. So they need to dig deep and figure this out, find a way to make some more shots and at least be competitive for 48 minutes. So far that kind of effort has been M.I.A. since the King went down. You want that big pay day? Earn it. You want to be recognized as one of the better NBA players? Prove it. Trying to show that you’re one of the league’s up and comers? Do it. Nothing is bestowed based on hype and right now that’s about all we got going for us.