Guys, I am recapping a game where the Lakers nearly won by 30 points this season. It’s weird. But also cool. The Lakers smashed the Pelicans, 126-99.
And yeah, they did have a little bit of luck on this. I will be the first to tell you that injuries are awful. Anthony Davis basically did whatever he wanted against L.A. on the offensive end. And then he hurt his back in the third quarter when the Lakers were barely up, 63-62. The Lakers did what they had to do; they took advantage and rolled for 14 straight points. The Pelicans looked lost when they lost the Brow. Davis would eventually come back but he wasn’t fully mobile and the Lakers kept their foot on the gas pedal.
The Lakers ball movement was exquisite the entire night; the Pelicans couldn’t catch up to the basketball. They also took care of the ball, too, as they only had 10 turnovers. They made the right decisions in terms of when to attack the basket, when to shoot, and when to make the extra pass or two. All in all, the Lakers went for 36 assists (tied a season high in the NBA this season). And not only did they keep the ball moving but they converted their open shots. 55.3 percent shooting overall for L.A. and 53.3 percent (16 for 30) from behind the arc.
Lou Williams and Nick Young (15 points) had a surge in the second quarter that put them up eight. That’s another thing I never thought I would say this season, either. Brandon Ingram had nine points in the second quarter. He would eventually leave the game with a sprained ankle but, by all accounts, he should be fine for tomorrow’s game. Julius Randle nearly had a triple-double (8-11-8). Jordan Clarkson, Lou, and D’Angelo Russell all had over 20 points. And the frontcourt of Tarik Black, Timofey Mozgov, Larry Nance, and Thomas Robinson all had good moments in the game. We’re still waiting for Luol Deng to break out with a really good game; let’s hope it’s sooner than later. Still, I love that there’s little to no dropoff when the Lakers go to the bench; the non-starters scored 73 points tonight!
The Lakers have now won five of six games and they head to Minnesota as they play the Timberwolves tomorrow (who are currently playing the Clippers right now). It should be a fun game between two young and exciting teams. Get your popcorn or pizza rolls ready.
It’s early but it’s been a crazy season thus far for the Lakers. And when I say crazy, I mean it in a very good way. 6-4. Who would’ve thought?
KenOak says
I didn’t get a chance to watch the game, but by the box score Randle beasted? Poor shooting night, but he had 11 rebounds and 8 assists? Plus 2 steals? Damn! Nance also had 8 rebounds and 3 assists? Then, all 4 smalls had damn good games too by the stats. I know that it was only NO, but wow.
Mid Wilshire says
As Rey says in his excellent game summary, the 2nd unit (it’s really not a 2nd team per se; it’s more like a 2nd line in hockey–just a different set of guys) had 73 points tonight. The first unit, meanwhile, had 53 points, 20 fewer than the 2nd unit.
Furthermore, the ratio of assists to turnovers for the entire team was superb: 36 assists (!) to just 10 TOs.
Clarkson and Lou looked superb tonight. JC had 23 points in 25 minutes and was hitting from everywhere. Clarkson’s now shooting over 50% from the field through the first 10 games. I thought DAR also played well tonight: 22 pts., 6 assists, 2 rebounds.
I’m not too concerned with Deng (as some commenters are). It’s a long season and players will have ups and downs. Furthermore, he’s already had a couple of double-doubles so far. It just may take him a while to get things going. He’s a veteran. He’ll figure things out.
Also, the Lakers’ front line looks rock solid. Mozgov, Black, Randle, and Robinson all looked fine tonight and had their moments. Ingram looked solid, too, before he tweaked his ankle.
Finally, I’m trying not to get too euphoric over the team’s early season success. After all, they have 72 more games to go and it’s far too early to make extravagant claims for this team, especially considering their youth. But obviously, this season bears NO resemblance to last season. Furthermore, I actually expect this team to get better as the year goes on. By early December, we’ll have a better feel for what this team can really accomplish.
But so far, I surely like what I see.
_ Robert _ says
OK – I have mentioned Luke for COTY a few times.
This is now getting serious.
So I am officially predicting him for COTY.
He is doing this with mirrors. There are several guys playing way beyond the levels they are supposed to be.
He has these guys dramatically exceeding what this roster’s quality would suggest. What else do you want from a coach.
FA destination will be achieved if this keeps up
KevTheBold says
Mirrors?
Could it be that the ‘quality’ of our players are of a higher standard than you still care to admit?
fern16 says
That was the best game the Lakers have played this season. Everything clicked.
fern16 says
Robert, i wouldn’t say mirrors. There is talent on this team. And the guys behind the push are the guys that were horribly coached and misused last year. i always thought that last year’s team was better than 17 wins. Im surprised we are 6-4, in fact, im astonish i thought we would be 4-6 in the best case scenario. But this proves why having the right coach is important. Luke has looked as a genius so far. It’s all on him.
fern16 says
And by best case scenario i mean huge big blue and gold colored glasses.
bleedpurplegold says
I think robert doesnt underestimate the talent level on this roster, which is clearly there. All he does point out is that talent needs time to develop and luke has them playing like at least i would have expected them to play in a season or 2. I thought we would be a 30 win team at best (and still think we wont win much more than that), but the way luke is coaching i feel like anything is possible.
Busboys4me says
Deng reminds me of a 32 year old running back has been run into the ground. His legs are dead, his reactions are slow, and his a shell of himself. Actually if he were signed for two or three years I would be perfectly fine with that because by the time BI is ready to start, Deng would only require spot minutes. Alas, this is not the case. He still only gets spot minutes and he does make veteran plays. Sometimes I think we ask for too much.
Busboys4me says
Final game of the road trip, we won by 27, they lost by 20, they only have one win….Another trap game. This would be 2nd game I thought they would lose on this trip. I hope they don’t but KAT is a monster, just like AD!!! Plus, his squad is much better than their record. Our starters MUST show up today! KAT, Wiggins and Levine are no joke. Hopefully DAR can stay in front of Rubio.
Joel_ says
Busboys4me I don’t think expecting more than “spot minutes” and “veteran plays” from a guy making $17 million a year is asking for too much.
_ Robert _ says
Fern: Yes – when you are ahead of your best case scenario – you are doing well – Luke for COTY!!!!
bleedpurplegold: Yes – way ahead of schedule.
Kev – As you can see in the archives – The day before the season started I said we “could” win 35 games and Luke was a candidate for COTY. Can you point me to your more optimistic prediction (or were you – like many – playing the “expectations game”?
Busboys: On target on Deng – rr pointed this out after the first game and it is even more evident now.
Team: The reason that I am emphasizing Luke is the he is with us for the long term and he is a difference maker. He is the most likely guy to put on a ring with his current tenure with the team. He is also providing a major reason why FA would come here. That is huge. I am interested in building a contender and everything we do now has to build toward that.
KevTheBold says
Robert, please my keep on point. We are discussing ‘talent’ vs ‘mirrors’ . Not wins vs losses.
Come to think of it, didn’t you also call them a ‘rag tag’ team or something similar?
You also frequently comment on your view that we lack superstar talent potential.
Well the belief that this turn of events suggests that our core is just as talented as our new coach, seems to me to be more reasonable than your’s that Walton is turning water into wine.
fern16 says
The most important thing about this win was the killer instinct the Lakers showed wheh AD got hurt. From a 1 point lead they savagely went on that 12-0 run and never took the pedal off the metal. Most impressive. That’s what elite teams do. Not saying that the Lakers are elite yet, not by a long shot but they developing traits that can serve them very well in the future. I can’t count how many times the Lakers played teams shorthanded ready for the picking last season only to get blown out. Such an astonishing reversal. Thanks for the recap Ray btw.
FredP says
Thanks for the game summary, who thought that the Lakers would ever be two games over .500 this season?
Here is a fun game, name the player and coach (this is describing a current team):
(player x) isn’t one to complain about his heavy minutes. (coach y) knows the minutes must decrease, but (player x) is often the lone offensive threat.
Who is player x and who is coach y? Aren’t you glad this is someone else’s team? A tip of the hat to the Lakers’ FO for putting together a team that does not live and die in the hands of one player.
ThomasFisher says
A ton of people (myself included) had the Lakers penciled in for ~25-35 wins last year. It took a fairly egregious tank job to push them into a position to keep the top 3 protected pick again.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
It’s nice to see the Lakers doing as well as they have this season. I
expected better than last year (they could scarcely be worse), but I
didn’t expect them to be remotely around .500. My guess was 28-30 wins
(and that may still prove out if things like injuries and regression to
the mean bring more losses). I’m enjoying being proven (to date)
excessively pessimistic.
But I have a complaint and a (minor) caveat.
My
complaint is this is what the Lakers ***should*** have been the season
after Kobe tore his Achilles or, at latest, the season after Kobe came
back from a torn Achilles only to break his kneecap. Instead, the Lakers
retooling was held up for the 3-Year Kobe Bryant Retirement
Tour/Cashing In/Slurpfest. Maybe the economic and team dynamic realities
made an alternative path impossible, but it made for three years of
almost unwatchable basketball.
My caveat is that many
teams have been through the stage the Lakers appear to be in now. They
have a group of relatively talented players who are playing hard (most
of the time) and playing with some sense of togetherness. But this is
only a ***stage*** in process. My observation is such teams can do
relatively well during the regular season (e.g. the Rockets lost Yao
Ming and won 22 in a row), and might even pull a first-round playoff
upset. But it only goes so far. At some point, the Lakers will have to
establish exactly what it is they do (a truly identifiable system) and
who does it (one or more superstars). Right now, they ***seem*** to be
making it up as they go along, depending upon talent and effort to carry
the day.
Don’t get me wrong. I ***far*** prefer this
to the “give the ball to Kobe and stand around” Lakers of the past few
years. But I think NBA history shows teams who establish “This is what
we do…and you can’t stop us” compete for championships. Teams like the
current Lakers, who are winning on effort and unpredictablility,
eventually falter in the playoffs when EVERY team is talented, EVERY
team plays hard, and coaching staffs have time to figure out what
effort-and-mirrors teams cannot do.
Still, becoming a
contending team is a process, and this is often one of the stages in the
process. Let’s enjoy it while it happens and hope the Lakers can build
upon it.
FredP says
TempleOfJamesWorthy You may be missing many of the plays the Lakers are running on offense and defense. They have a series of set plays that result in open looks and then an unstructured offense that is read and react. Russell has issues being a pass first point guard but Randle runs a lot of traditional draw the defenders and kick the ball out to the open man. On defense they are much better this year at recovering when the initial set breaks down. Players are getting better each game at recovering and finding their new defensive assignment. Luke maximizes versatility among the players. They need to be able to play offense and defense. On offense they need to be able to drive, pass and shoot. This results in an offense that is greater than the sum and much more unpredictable.
bluehill says
I get where you are coming from. I agree it’s a process. This is get-better stage of the process for me. And this teams objectives are to develop talent and learn to compete. This is where coaching comes in and Luke and his staff are likely the reasons we are not struggling as much as the sixers or the wolves. Celts are also benefiting from good coaching.
During this time the identify of the team will hopefully start to emerge and as will the ultimate potential of the young guys. A few things that are already starting to develop are the teams grit, LNJ’s energy and Randle’s fire.
Long ways to go and more iterations but at least the direction is good. Still cognizant of someone’s earlier caution that the wolves started 8 and 8 last year before nose diving.
_ Robert _ says
KevTheBold We are the epitome of rag tag. Mosgov, Young, Williams, Deng, to name a few. Nobody else wanted these guys. And Luke has them all playing out of their minds (except for Deng) This is all a testament to Luke’s ability. He is COTY.
Stop denying it : )
Not turning water into wine. But he is draining the swamp : ) FA will again see us as an actual piece of inhabitable terrain.
KevTheBold says
Robert, we again agree to disagree with regards to our talent, and to that, I’m referring to our baby Lakers.
As to Walton, of course he’s the answer, I always knew it, yet a general is nothing without the proper troops, so please give our kids their earned credit.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
FredP TempleOfJamesWorthy
I admit my current life situation doesn’t allow me to watch the Lakers as often as I’d like. Maybe if I saw more games I’d see more continuity in what they are doing. I do like the effort, both defensively and offensively, and I like the ***potential*** of their versatile talent, especially their passing abilities. But if the Lakers are going to be a clone of the current Warriors, they collectively need to shoot MUCH better than they have in the games I’ve seen.
If they consistently shoot 16-30 from 3 pt. range (as they did against NOLA), then I’m mistaken and the Lakers are much further along then I thought. But I haven’t seen that yet in the (limited) games I’ve watched.