I wish I had something good to say about the Lakers’ game in San Antonio tonight. Really, I do. It’s just not the case, though. In fact, the only thing which even got me even slightly animated was the scheduling of this game at all:
This year, the Lakers have:
Flown to HOU for 1 game, back to LA
Flown to SA for 1 game, back to LA
Flown to MIN for 1 game, back to LA— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) April 4, 2017
There are other teams in those zones who the team has to play. Can't send a team to SA for one game TWICE & not have a Hou/Dal game as well.
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) April 4, 2017
Look, I get scheduling is hard. There are too many variables at play for everyone to be happy all the time. Arenas aren’t just used for basketball games, they’re used for NHL (whose season overlaps with the NBA’s), concerts, rodeos, circuses, awards shows, etc, etc.
Still, though, I think my displeasure in this is warranted. For a team to fly to Texas on three separate occasions and to play a single game when there are 3 teams who play in that state is ludicrous. It makes sense that Luke Walton said the team would speak to the league after the season to voice their concerns about these specific trips.
Regarding the actual game tonight…yeah, I’ve got nothing. The Spurs are good and the Lakers are not as good as them (I’m being kind). Even though the Lakers won their last game (shout out to Memphis!), the overall discrepancy in talent is too big to be ignored. The Spurs should win and do so pretty easily.
That said, I am interested in seeing a couple of specific matchups. The first is Brandon Ingram vs. Kawhi Leonard. The latter is an MVP candidate and the best perimeter defender in the league. Ingram has made some major strides as a scorer coming out of the all-star break and I want to see how he does against the league’s best guy.
I also want to see D’Angelo Russell against Danny Green. Since Russell has moved to “shooting guard” he’s done well as a scorer and had some more locked in games defensively. Green will test Russell on both fronts, offering strong defense on and off the ball while providing potential scoring punch as a shooter and slasher. (UPDATE: D’Angelo Russell will not play tonight with a sore knee. Well, then.)
Lastly, I want to see how Julius Randle does against an interesting San Antonio front line. He’ll get LaMarcus Aldridge at first, which is a challenge all of its own. But over the course of the night he’ll also see minutes against Pau, Dewayne Dedmon, and David Lee. That’s a variety of different looks and skill sets for Randle to deal with on both ends and I want to see how he manages against each.
Where you can watch: 5:30pm start time on Spectrum Sportsnet.
Fern says
Can you beñieve this? 40-16 Lakers?
Fern says
What is this?
Joel says
Corey Brewer’s ability to miss layups is really a sight to behold.
Anonymous says
Lakers all D-League roster handing it to SAS! Crazy game.
Joel says
Well it helped that Pop benched all his starters for the second half…
Fern says
Well we are not losing 60 games. That’s all i asked when the tank went full on.
drrayeye says
I admit that playing Metta was a stroke of genius, but the Lakers obviously did not know how to play this game properly.
FredP says
You cannot blame this on Luke, he even finished the game with MWP!
Anonymous says
Umm…there is a good chance we lose the 2017 and 2019 picks. Despite Orlando’s white board I don’t think we can trade Mozgov or Deng without attaching a kid or future pick. Can we attract an elite free agent (we can sign one before our cap space is gone)?
If the kids don’t grow up over the summer we could be looking at the rest of the decade with no playoffs and having to blow this up in four years and starting over.
Renato Afonso says
Apparently, hustle and defense produce wins, even if the Spurs missed some open looks. I’m happy for the win and we all should just assume that the Lakers will have a better record than the Suns. Maybe they can go 3-1 the rest of the season. 25 wins is a bit short of my expectations but it’s an improvement and good sign for a very young roster.
Even if he only played 10 minutes due to injury, Ingram is going to be something special. He was having a very good game and he keeps improving on both ends of the floor.
Also, Nwaba is the kind of player that should be on every team’s rotation. Hustles, plays defense, does the little things well and seldom tries something outside his skillset on offense. He belongs in the NBA. Ennis also played very well.
I’m still not sure on that Nance/Randle pairing. It does work for short periods or against other teams going small, but it’s not physically sustainable as one of them will simply be overmatched on the defensive end. Let’s see if Randle keeps developing some post moves like the one he showed Gasol. He’ll never be Draymond Green (his defense is miles away from Green’s) nor Zach Randolph (not enough arm length and post moves) but if he can take a little bit of both into his game then the Lakers will have a very good starting PF.
Fern says
If we lose the pick, we lose it. We been extremely lucky for 3 years. Luck is bound ran out.
Anonymous says
Yes it is what it is. However missing out on the two picks increases the odds that, if we do nothing to the existing core, we top out as an 8-10 seed going forward.
Don’t get too attached to any of the kids as I truly believe, if we sit this draft out, Johnson/Pelinka know the youngsters have a lower than anticipated ceiling — which puts everything and everyone in play.
Guest says
I won’t be too sad if we lose this year’s lottery pick and the 2019 one. I want the players to play for their jobs and let the chips fall where they may.
We’ve been loading up on lottery picks for the last three years and the jury is still out on them.
If this year’s draft is as deep as some say it is, then the Lakers may still find a keeper with their late first rounder.
Plus, if the Lakers want to be able to sign marquee free agents again, they’d most likely want to join a team that’s trying to win, not tanking once the season passes Valentine’s Day.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
What’s the old joke about seeing your Porsche go over the cliff with your mother-in-law in the passenger seat?
That’s how I feel about Laker victories these days.
KevTheBold says
What can I say?
They Lose when I want them to win, and Win when I want them to lose. Now we just dropped from a 55.8 % chance to keep our top 3 pick to a 46.9 % chance.
Nearly 10% thrown away and imo,.. for Nothing.
So far Walton has shown a weakness that concerns me,.. lack of foresight.
Rick in Seattle says
Agree Kev: These are missed opportunities that may last for years! To Fern above, who nonchalantly said, “if we lose the pick, we lose it! ” Excuse me Fern, but the last three years is past. We are talking about this year. And luck is often what we make it. Those in business know we often improve our ‘luck’ through our own actions. Waiting for someone or something to make your decisions for you is not luck! You get out there and improve your chances through your own actions.
In this case, the Lakers CLEARLY had the opportunity to finish the season as second worst, only to give it away to Phoenix! Now the likelihood has INCREASED that the Lakers pick could now drop below the 3rd pick! Of course, we are not mind readers (except for Fern who probably reads tea leaves and knows the future)! I really don’t know what those people have been drinking! Either you want the team to win or you don’t! Whats with all this fair-weather stuff?
Its quite sad. The truth is there is very little we can do about it now, Its done! But, its so frustrating and disappointing that they had this opportunity within their grasp and let it slip away. Does this team (and its fair-weather fans) want a championship or not? Why in the world are these people even participating on a Lakers website? Are you possibly a Celtics fan? Oh my, perhaps we just uncovered a possible reason for folks like Fern? ,