As we look ahead to the other bookend of our final game against the Thunder from Oklahoma I also want to look back at a game filled to the brim with lessons the team can take away from another near disaster of a loss. It was another game where young legs almost did the slow-tempo Lakers in. Another game where we gave up a ton of paint points. Another overtime game. Another triple-double for The King.

1. How long can LeBron keep this up? His one man wrecking crew act has long been a staple of LeBron’s bonafide HOF career. His latest triple-double came at the expense of the plucky Thunder who didn’t really have an answer for James on defense, a problem most teams suffer from in the NBA. His 50% shooting from the field was largely done on drives to the paint as he joined his teammates in shooting atrociously from three (2-10 for LeBron). When he shoots that many threes I take it as a sign of exhaustion. The man might be bionic but I am experiencing concern for the amount of energy he’s expending this early in the regular season.
2. Welcome back Wes Matthews! With AD and AC sitting with injuries the door opened wide for Wes and he stepped right on through with his best overall game of the season. Passing Steve Nash on the all time three pointers made list was a bonus and his defense was top notch. It’s the last category, along with making an occasional open three pointer, that will bring him back into the rotation.
3. Good thing we brought Trezz home from the road trip. Montrezl Harrell was an unstoppable force in the paint. Dunks, jayups, put-backs off of rebounds and running hooks were all deployed to great effectiveness. He missed his “I’ll shoot one a game” baseline jumper but his effort, energy and rebounding were crucial in our pulling out the win. While his overall defensive impact isn’t what we’ll need in the playoffs his regular season mojo is solid.
4. Whatever happened to Markieff Morris? If anyone though a starting shot would jump start Kieff’s season you were left disappointed, again. The younger Morris twin has shown lackluster effort in just about every game he has played in. At this rate I won’t be too surprised if we waive ‘Kieff. Same thing happened last season, for what it’s worth. Morris slept walk through the entire regular season, got waived, we picked him up and he earned a spot on this season’s team with a solid playoff showing. If he’s still with us come the playoffs I sure hope he can find it within himself to replicate that effort because I have yet to see anything close to that, yet.
5. Three point shooting has landed…back on Earth. For all the razzle dazzle we showed from three earlier in the season the last month or so has seen the Lakers revert to type from distance. Our 9-38 mark was due mostly to Wes Matthews every other Laker made only 1 while also shooting multiple threes to get there. We don’t need to lead the league but we do need to get better at making the wide open looks LeBron, Schroder and our other playmakers create off the drive. If those dry up like they have of late we’ll be in trouble come the playoffs.

Once again this wasn’t so much of a “what’s wrong with the Lakers?!” as it was us playing down to our lesser opponent again. We’ve showed we have a switch we can try and turn on. In some ways that’s as bad as it is good, maybe even more bad. For my part I’d like to see more THT with Schroder and Wes Matthews and about 10 fewer minutes per game for LeBron than he’s averaged over the last few. If we can keep James in the 28-32 minute range that feels like a sweet spot for keeping him fresh. That needs to be as big a goal as winning games.

The Lakers eked out a win over the plucky Pistons and the team can breathe a sigh of relief as we won’t be facing them again this season. Even without Blake Griffin or D-Rose the Pistons gave us all we could handle with a couple of extra helpings of “WHYYYYYY?!?!?!?!” in the form of double OT. So no LakerTom Load Management where AD and LBJ get to sit out the 4th.

1. Lakers looking gassed mentally and physically. Maybe it was the recent news that the All Star break won’t be a break for our superstar tandem, maybe it was the long road trip catching up, or looking forward to what turned out to be one of the most boring (or so I heard, didn’t watch it) Super Bowls ever. The Lakers look a little rundown. You can see it in their body language, in their lack of movement on offense and in their general lackluster play of late. They’re relying on “The Switch” far too often. The talent level and overall team cohesion and chemistry is generally enough for us to pull out wins. This was the case against Detroit.
2. If The King is running down he needs to turn the keys over to Schroder more often. Dennis was 7-9 from the field, a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line for 22 points. He found his teammates for 8 scores while coughing it up only 3 times. The man can handle more of the playmaking and orchestrating. Free The menace.
3. THT maybe ought to have played more. THT hit a driving backhand layup followed a few possessions later by a nifty 10 foot jumper from Schorder. After those 2 shots we came up empty for over 6 minutes of game time stretching between the 4th quarter and the 1st overtime. During that span the Lakers barely moved on offense when the ball crossed half court, everyone looked like they were lagging and we relied solely on James making something happen. The good thing about Talen is he’s young, he’s not coming off a long championship run with lots of responsibilities to manufacture offense. I’ll live with a rookie mistake or three this season in the spirit of future growth and saving James for the playoffs. THT is bringing more than KCP looks like he can these days. My theory is that ankle sprain he suffered a few weeks back has never fully been dealt with. Watch Pope with the basketball, he makes no basketball moves these days. No cuts, no drives to the rim he just kicks it in the corner. That’s either a grievous coaching error or a player who is lacking in mobility.
4. Thank goodness we had Alex Caruso. #ACFresh has been in a shooting slump of late, had missed a bunny finger role in the 4th and along with the rest of the guys playing looked like he had somewhere else to be rather than competing in an NBA basketball game. He made a smart cut, canned a three and suddenly we were back in business otherwise this might have been a brutal OT loss to the woebegone Pistons.
5. Finding ways to rest key players. The 9 man rotation, while effective, works against this notion. It means more minutes for the same guys, more AD at the 5 banging when he wants to be Gazelle-like, and a lot of LeBron doing everything he can. It’s a lot. Between the 71 day break between championship game and the start of this season, no break for the weary during the ASB, or just being a superstar with a ton of miles on his body James needs to find some time to rest and keep his mind and body right.

Got some more “easy” games on the docket coming up this week. In theory the Lakers ought to sweep the week, get some 4th quarter downtime for Davis and James and we should see some major Cook minutes. Here’s hoping.

This is a late fiver, apologies on that front. Had a work week chock full of…work and didn’t get’ round to watching the Denver game until late last night. That was an incredibly fun game and rather than go into the in-game minutiae I’m rather going to highlight what certain plays mean to me in terms of this team’s overall growth. But that was an incredible 45-17 lock down run to basically end the game.

1. The Double Dive. Dennis ended up on the floor a few times last night but the double dive was emblematic of how coach Vogel wants the team to play. I know this because Frank dashed onto the court to help his 27 year old point guard up off the deck. Schroder had his typical sneaky good game. He canned multiple threes for the first time in almost 20 games, dished and dove with aplomb and was a general force on defense all night long.
2. The LeBron triple-double effect. I’m not sure that, outside of Magic Johnson, I’ve seen a player accumulate triple doubles with the ease that The King does. The most ot ever looks like he’s going for it is if he’s a pass or two away near the end of the game. Other than that he just grabs his rebounds, makes the right play and doesn’t overtly force the issue. James is having one heckuva season and has a good chance of being the MVP of the Association if he keeps this up. I actually expect his stiffest competition to come from the 5 spot this season in the form of both Jokic and Embiid with Jokic edging Joel in my book simply because he runs the Nugget offense as much as any guard does for their respective team. For my part the fact that LeBron is doing this at a point in an NBA life when most dudes his age would be getting their spot minutes in addition to any towel waving or team hyping they cared to engage in. A truly historic season among many for James.
3. Talen’s big game. This was really great to see. Prior to his 4 game DNP-CD stint on the bench THT was having some issues on defense. Not so much in terms of his effort or energy but his being in the right place as dictated by the staff. That is, in my opinion, the biggest reason why he got the 4 game bench vacation. The other was likely to see if either Wes or ‘Kieff could be jump started with more minutes or a larger role and we saw how that turned out. If he minds his on court P’s and Q’s, does what the staff asks and doesn’t push his attack on offense when there are plays that can be made in front of him I don’t see another stretch on the bench of Talen. That’s why you stay ready and don’t pout all you kids reading this, this life we’re living is one big old lesson that starts at zero and ends when you’re dead. THT kept his head, kept learning, kept grinding and was rewarded by being a part of what looks to be an elite 9 man rotation.
4. Robert Horry and I had the same reaction when we looked at the stat sheet: “Alex Caruso was -2?!” That is the Caruso effect for you, in a nutshell. He missed all of his shots (only took 3 all from distance) and only played 17 minutes. But his third quarter defense on Murray, Morris or whomever he got switched onto was a big reason for our epic 45-17 run where we pulled away and turned the 4th quarter into garbage time. If I had to pick a player to compare Alex to it would be Tony Allen because I can’t think of another guard/wing who could effect a game to the degree they do without scoring the ball once.
5. The trade deadline. Unless we trade someone outside the 9 I don’t see one happening. It’s not that we don’t have needs to address, we do, especially at the center position, but I don’t see us moving any of our key figures. Here’s why: with almost no time for practice based on COVID scheduling, the defense finding it’s groove and the synergy our two superstars have with their supporting cast a trade kind of doesn’t make sense. Whomever comes in might not even start, or even crack the 9. From my perspective you’re going to give up too much to get a role player when our role players already fit like gloves into our team identity. The best thing I could imagine would be trading Gasol for Howard straight up. Since Philly is leading the East with the team it has I don’t see that happening. So I expect the Laker moves to be relegated to scanning the waiver wire and rolling the dice with the squad we have rather than make a move for a player that barely moves the needle, if at all. That being said, it’s the NBA and I expect Rob and the front office to explore every available avenue for improvement.

Sorry Nuggets fans, Denver must feel like they’re still in the Bubble (heck, they played us tougher in the Bubble) but take heart that Jokic, Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are going to be a force to be reckoned with for a good long time. Nikola will probably win an MVP at some point when he starts pushing his scoring average into the 20s, Murray is a lights out/knockdown shooter and MPJ has a huge ceiling of untapped potential. Wasn’t enough last night.

I kid, the trap game in Detroit will leave a mark for a spell but in my mind it’s better we work out these sort of issues early rather than have them linger on into the season. A line up issue is like a lingering injury. You start to compensate, can injure or break something else as a result, and the issue persists and can even grow worse with time. This isn’t so much an indictment of the play of Morris and Matthews (although both have been fairly underwhelming thus far) but rather an acknowledgement that the shorter rotation looked and played better. The numbers bear this theory out, at least for the one game. Let’s hope this is a launching point for some regular season dominance.

1. Stellar bench play. With 2/5ths of the starting 5 contributing 1 point it fell on the bench to bring some passion and energy to the game and they did not fail to deliver. Whether it was the smooth shooting from Kyle Kuzma, the ‘little bit of everything’ game of THT, the super efficient scoring by Trezz or the incredible, game-saving defense of Alex Caruso the bench stepped up when it was called upon. For the game Caruso led the team in +/- with +14 but it was his defense in the waning seconds that was the defining moment of the basketball game.
2. Anthony Davis’ bounce back game. After taking some shots in the media from Joel “I Only Win at Video Games” Embiid or his own public self criticism, AD has a rough start to the 2020-21 campaign. With his numbers down across the board, the Lakers suffering some uncharacteristic losses to under-manned teams or what AD has just looked…off. Last night he was pretty solid for the most part getting force-fed by his team for buckets in the second half and pulling down a game high 14 rebounds. We won’t go far in the playoffs without the best version of Anthony and he knows that. We go as far as he and LeBron take us.
3. The Lakers are playing slower this season. The Lakers are down about 4 points per game in fast break points so far in 2020-21. That in and of itself isn’t a concern but when you factor that we’re treading water in some areas we ought to have improved on as a team (three point shooting is about the same, turnovers are about the same, scoring about the same as last year’s squad) and you can begin to understand why our margin for victory feels a little slimmer this season. The funny thing? It’s not, we’re actually outscoring our opponent better than last year’s team did, so far. So, while we may not be getting out on the break and scoring in quite as fantastic a manner as last season we’re still winning games and doing the little things that it takes to be successful in the NBA.
4. Morris and Matthews. Both have been fairly underwhelming this season. Both have had moments in which they shined but neither has cemented himself in the rotation with consistent play. ‘Kieff is having one of his worst scoring seasons ever. Wes is continuing to show the lingering effects of his Achilles injury and seems unable to find other ways to contribute. Neither is a lost cause and I think the solution itself lies in the shorter rotation. Play nine guys, any nine. THT might not play every night in this scenario but that’s life in the NBA. Feels like Caruso and Kuzma are locks to play barring injury, as it should be. They helped win a ring and have shown that they don’t need to score to be effective. So, in order for the other guys to get the burn they need choose another guys (because Trezz is playing) and roll with them.
5. This season is a different test. It’s the in-game vibe of The Bubble now with more travel, buses and hotels! Not a recipe for fun. No crowds but with all the travel rigor of a normal NBA season. The Lakers have done pretty darn well at avoiding the COVID bug thus far but you can see on this road trip how the travel affects the older players, especially LeBron who looks a little gassed. I’m sure he’s ramping up his activity and isn’t in peak game shape, yet. For the Lakers, who enjoy a little home crowd boost in every other NBA arena (we don’t lost to Detroit if the house is 2/3rds full of Laker fans) it’s a double whammy. Just another minor obstacle but as those add up it amounts to a small mountain the team needs to overcome.

All in all, this is now guaranteed to be a successful road trip. Atlanta is going to be tough but my gut is telling me we’ll eke out another W and since they don’t award those style points they’re all equal in the eyes of the playoff seeding. In the end, that’s all that matters. It would be nice to sit atop the west, again, but I’ll take top three and another Bubble NBA playoffs.

The Lakers rolled to a 10-0, unbeaten road record last night thanks mainly to the superlative game by LeBron James. While he didn’t single-handily beat the Cavs it was as close as you can get with James being far and away the best player on the court last night from either squad. On a night when the Laker offense struggled mightily it was good to have The King.

1. The undisputed King. Last night was LeBron’s best game of this season, one of his best as a Laker and might crack his personal top 10 but that’s a different debate. James went nuts last night: 46 points on a mere 26 shots, a lethal 7-11 from three, 8 rebounds, 6 assists (could have easily been more but the team couldn’t shoot last night), 2 steals, 2 blocks and only 3 turnovers. Stellar effort from LeBron with several highlight plays including a logo three when we really needed a bucket and were up against the shot clock.
2. Lakers three point shooting still coming back down to Earth. It’s not a dig or really even a critique but should rather be viewed as a reality check: the Lakers are not an elite three point shooting team. They’re middle of the pack to above average in that regard and that’s enough given the personnel. KCP was abysmal from distance last night (1-8) but was hardly alone in his struggles. AD was 0-3, Gasol 0-1, Schroder was 0-1 which normally would bode terribly for a decent % by the starters except that LeBron was so good he shot the starters into a decent zone (8-24 for 33%). While the bench also struggled (2-8, 25%) they brought a lot more fire and hustle than the starters did which helped overcome their shooting woes.
3. Gasol, post defense and foul trouble. There doesn’t appear to be an easy fix for this. Marc ain’t fast and if he’s out of position by a few inches on a drive he gets whistled for the foul. His verticality hasn’t been great and he tends to reach when a guy blows past him which is kind of frequently. He’s not fouling at an absurdly high rate but that’s due as much to his low minutes (19.8 far and away a career low) juxtaposed by essentially the same foul rate as other, higher usage seasons (2.5 FPG this season, 2.9 for his career). He’s not getting any younger or faster. He may get a little better at knowing where his feet need to be to better stymie drives to the rim. He hasn’t been an anchor on the defense but he has to foul less in order to be available more. We’re pretty under-sized after Gasol, especially during the regular season when AD is slotted as a 4.
4. Wes Matthews vs. Talen Horton-Tucker. It’s not that Wes has been bad, he hasn’t been bad although he is up for the Danny Green award (given to vets whom I have high hopes for that are constantly dashed on the rocks of disappointment). But he’s not shooting very freely putting the rock on the floor when he shoot just let fly. An argument could be made that those minutes, and they’re not a lot, would be better spent enabling and sussing out what level of consistency and contribution THT can bring. While it’s early and I’m not advocating on giving up on Wes…yet…there’s still a clear debate as to how best to use those 15-20 minutes.
5. The Cavs are gritty, better than expected and that was without Larry Nance Jr. Drummond is an underrated All-Star caliber player, Osman can get hot in a flash, and they have a gritty bench like us. All in all, a tough match up for the Lakers. The Cavs made a real game of it all the way up until the final five when the Laker defense really clamped down and LeBron just kept hitting incredible shot after incredible shot.

As we look back and remember Kobe, Gigi and the others who tragically perished a year ago I’m glad the Lakers are book ending the day and not playing. It’s kind of unfair for any one group of Lakers to be asked to stand up and represent everything Kobe Bryant meant to LA, the Lakers and the world of basketball. So I, for one, am happy there is no Laker game tonight. So take a minute, hug the ones you love, reach out to the ones you can’t via Zoom or whatever techno-app you fancy and let’s honor the tragedy of lives lost before their time by doing our part to defeat COVID-19 and get back to a world where we can be with one another, again. Go Lakers.

The Lakers have opened up their “Grammy” trip with back-to-back road wins staying unbeaten away from STAPLES. An impressive feat, one that continues last season’s trend and their Bubble play and highlights the Lakers’ “bunker mentality”. While the Bulls are not the Bucks they are no walk in the park, either. They came into the game on a winning streak and are in the hunt for a playoff berth. Let’s dig in.

1. Lakers bread and butter. Also known as Anthony Davis and LeBron James. When both of them have a good to great game the Lakers are a tough team to beat. Simple as that. When one, or rarely both, struggle the game becomes difficult for us to win. Not impossible, which is a testament to the rest of the team, but certainly more difficult. They’ve both been pretty locked in since letting the win against the Warriors slip through their fingers. Tonight Davis took the spotlight and shined the brightest in a return to city of his birth, Chicago.
2. The Laker defense is back, different but back. The first half was like watching Nate Robinson in the boxing ring: an outclassed opponent getting beaten up on for a little too long. Give the Bulls credit, they surged in the third but then the bench came in with some better focus and was able to protect the big lead all the way through. I consider that, when the scrubs are in, if the other team doesn’t run it down from a 15-20 point lead to single digits that the bench has done a great job defensively. It got close but they kept it above 10.
3. Laker turnovers of the unforced variety. Still too many, way too many. At least three Lakers (definitely AC and LBJ) simply dribbled the ball off of their own feet and out of bounds. Toss in one of the worst entry passes Talen Horton-Tucker will ever throw and some lazy post entries the Lakers definitely have one area of the game they can focus on in practice: valuing the basketball to a higher degree.
4. Coming back down to Earth. Across the board the Lakers are starting to come back down to Earth from three. While I was hoping that Caruso would continue his nova hot start from three, that Kuzma would rediscover his rookie stroke and that guys like Wes Matthews and Schroder would light it up the team as a whole are trending towards the mean. Not unexpectedly. We’re on the road, these guys aren’t historically knockdown shooters, and the Lakers aren’t designed to be an elite three point shooting team. The good thing is they continue to dominate in the hustle and heart stats which easily overcame a 4-19 showing from three tonight.
5. But Jamie you missed the Bucks game. Yeah, I know. That was a great game, too, one of LeBron’s best this season. After a hot start by Giannis the Lakers settled in and played their game for the last 3 quarters. They have similar weaknesses as last season: who finishes the game since GA can’t shoot free throws? The one dimensionality of a Giannis-led offense. Not enough play makers. Should the Lakers and Bucks meet in the NBA Finals I would take the Lakers in 5, if both team rosters remain unchanged and in good health.

Nope. Short leashes for everybody starting tonight. Let’s find out who wants to play and can deliver.

The Lakers are using the Rockets as a punching bag of late. In a chippy, chirpy affair the Lakers handed the Rockets their hat and saw some really positive developments in the doing. Since the Bubble it’s been nice to see the Lakers have Houston’s number and the best part, for me, was how much work we put in on the defensive end.

1. The Defense showed what it can be but is still a work in progress. Granted, the Rockets are kind of a mess and a big time work in progress. Harden and John Wall are a different version of Russell Westbrook and James Harden. For all our steals, blocks and stops the Rockets outscored us almost 2-1 in points off of turnovers. Like us the Rockets also had 8 blocks and stole the rock 7 times. The best defense came early before AD sat with foul trouble. The Lakers will, at some point, be a better defensive scheme team, but the skill the individuals on the team have are getting the job done early.
2. Anthony Davis is a nightmare to defend. Silky smooth jumper, cans them from anywhere, footwork on the block, and solid on the break. You have a stretch big shooting a three? He better make it if Davis contests because we have 4 guys on the team that can throw the down court bomb for an easy score and they all rebound pretty well. His step back jumper is quickly becoming an unstoppable weapon. He bodies up and bounces off of contact neutralizing any shot blocking effort. AD had a superlative game marred only by early foul trouble. He also got back on track from the stripe where he’s shooting under 74%.
3. Talen Horton-Tucker’s career game. In many ways Houston was the team where Talen got to show the NBA world what he could do. Up until those minutes THT was a bucket full of hope and promise and not much more. Horton-Tucker showed us all something in this game. He had 4 steals, he guarded Harden as well as can be expected and he scored within the flow. THT was stellar, probably his best complete game as a pro and if he can play like this consistently with the minutes he’ll get on this team it bodes well for his future. In Kyle, Caruso and Talen we have three young, solid cornerstones to build around or, should the need arise, include in a trade. I don’t get the sense Rob is looking to trade any of those 3, though. Still, it’s NBA, stranger things have happened.
4. Turnovers holding the Lakers back. The Lakers are going to get better at being less sloppy, key guys are still getting acquainted, but man I can’t wait for the turnover issue to be a thing of the past. Once we clean up un-forced miscues we’ll be a team that is extremely tough to beat.
5. Boogie! Yeah, yeah he got into it with Markieff, hit LeBron in the head and got ejected but it was still great to see Cousins playing and playing well. Frankly both he and Wall looked pretty good all things considered and that bodes well for Houston going forward. Cousins was rolling, too, so his ejection certainly benefited LA though it was well-warranted if wholly unintentional. The shove on ‘Kieff was all intention. Be interesting to see if any chirpiness lingers in the next one.

All in all a really solid win. Houston is a better team than the record indicates but definitely need to worry about falling far behind early in a loaded West. Golden State is streaking, Denver has yet to find it’s footing, the Spurs are lurking. Feels like only a matter of time that James needs to find another home but whither shall it be? Increasingly it looks like the Heat are the likeliest of destinations. Philly is leading the East and Brooklyn is unlikely to gut the squad. Duncan and Herro could get it done with filler. Not sure that will happen, honestly. James has carved a unique kingdom and Houston and few seem willing to help him move it elsewhere. Interesting stuff.

Exactly. We need to treat the remaining games as if AD is still not available. The same goes for LeBron when he gets back unless he swishes his magic wand and fits in seamlessly with the flow.

After letting the Grizz hang around for 3 quarters the Lakers got down to brass tacks and shut them down in the 4th. That and an assertive Crunch Time LeBron was more than Memphis could handle. Especially without stars Ja Morant and Justice Winslow. This game also featured the fan-less return of Marc Gasol to Memphis where he had so much success.

1. The Marc Gasol video tribute. It’s easy to forget the league-wide hue and cry that went up when the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol. Kwame Brown Javarris Crittenton and…Aaron McKie (who’s inclusion eventually created a new CBA rule limiting team’s ability to to trade contracts of players out of the league). Marc looked like a toss in. Something to make it look like Memphis had gotten some young prospects with an established, if over-paid, role player. But it’s long been my opinion that Memphis knew what they wanted: Marc Gasol. he had been around the team for a few years since his brother had arrived as a rookie. Memphis ultimately did pretty well from the elder Gasol trade. Marc went on to become the franchise leader (or close to) in multiple categories. I hope they replay the video tribute when fans are in the stands, Marc deserves it.
2. The bench comes through big. Led by super-sub Montrezl Harrell the Laker bench helped us keep pace with Memphis until LBJ could take over in the 4th. Solid contributions from Trezz, Wes and THT were key in the Lakers pulling this one out as we were down 2 starters in KCP and Alex Caruso. Nice to see the bench pick up the starters for the first 3.
3. Crunch Time is LeBron time. James almost always seem s to find a way to win. He played within the Laker O for the first 3, deferring to Schroder and Kuzma who had another hot start. But when the game was on the line and the Grizzlies had kept pace through three quarters The King found that “other” gear. the one few can keep up with. James drove and scored, stopped and pulled up to score, hit a three from the bear claw at center court and pretty much put Memphis away single-handedly in the 4th. James ain’t easing into anything.
4. Kyle Kuzma as the de facto spot-starter. I don’t mind this role for Kuz. I can see an argument being made that the chance to start should be spread around to other players like THT, Trezz or Morris but the fact of the matter is that Kyle plays better as a starter. He’s also learning that a hot start doesn’t always beget a hot finish and is allowing the shots to come organically, keeps finding the open man and doing his part on D. There will be a time that maybe Kuz isn’t the starter for KCP and THT gets his shot but, for now, I like this role for Kyle.
5. Free throws. it’s early but I’m already annoyed at the lack of calls James and others get driving the ball to the rim. We’re a team built to finish at the rim and take a lot of hits in the doing that don’t get a whistle. The refs are finding their mojo, too… But c’mon man, Trezz should be going to the line a lot more, James certainly should and there have been a few calls every game that seemed very questionable. 4 refs, add a dedicated replay official in-game to clean up the calls they have to review. Speed up the game, get more right: it’s worth it.

Tonight we play Memphis again and I have to say I’m expecting about the same game, hopefully a little better defensive effort from us. Should be a W, though so here’s hoping dreams can become reality. Go Georgia, I honestly think a 50-50 Senate split is just the thing for the country to be able to re-discover how to work with one another again.

Go Lakers.