After a convincing win over the Bucks on Thursday, the Lakers moved to 8-0 on the road and started out their 7 game road trip the right way. They played with good energy and focus and LeBron — who has started out this year playing with more purpose than anticipated — carried the team home […]
LeBron James Continues to Defy Conventional Wisdom
If there were ever a time when you’d expect LeBron James to slow down, it would be this year. Not because of eroding skills or because of sapped athleticism, but because conventional wisdom said there was no better time for him to choose to. The challenge of last season cannot be overstated for LeBron. From […]
Lakers Game Preview: The Milwaukee Bucks
I’m having a hard time remembering the last time I was as frustrated about a Lakers game as I was during and after Monday’s loss to the Warriors. I can understand not playing well,1That happens with every team, after all. Some nights you just don’t have it. but I cannot understand playing with the type […]
Lakers Game Preview: The Golden State Warriors
I’m waiting for a larger sample of games (15 to 20) before I begin to dive into stats and lineups and bigger things that may or not be trends about the Lakers, but at 11-3 and winners of 5 straight they are at the top of the NBA for record, defensive rating, and net rating. […]
Lakers Game Preview: The New Orleans Pelicans
After sweeping another road trip, the Lakers are now undefeated away from Staples (7-0) and boast the West’s best record at 10-3. Their latest wins (Rockets twice, Thunder) were all blowout wins, directly coinciding with Anthony Davis raising his level defensively and the team, as a group, putting the clamps on their opponents. With the […]
Lakers Game Preview: The Oklahoma City Thunder
After taking two straight games from the Rockets in truly dominating fashion, the Lakers are now in Oklahom City to face the Thunder. It’s the 2nd night of a back to back and after getting up to play a Rockets team with a lot of star power (regardless of the dysfunction), they now play an […]
Lakers Game Preview: The Houston Rockets (again)
The Lakers got an “identity win” against the Rockets on Sunday, playing inspired defense, getting a dominant performance from AD, a great boost from KCP who came back from his ankle injury, and strong bench performances from THT and Montrezl Harrell. It really was their best game of the season, particularly from the standpoint of […]
Laker Film Room Podcast: Identity Win
In one of their most complete games of the year, the Lakers romped the Rockets in a what Frank Vogel called an “identity win”. In this episode of the Laker Film Room Podcast, Pete, Mike, and I offer our takeaways from the team’s performance, focusing on Anthony Davis backing up his calls for more defensive […]
Lakers Game Preview: The Houston Rockets
At 7-3, the Lakers are at the top of the Western Conference — tied with the Suns. For all the hand wringing about how well (or not) the Lakers have been playing, they’re winning 70% of their games through their first 10 games which is roughly the same pace they were on last year when […]
Lakers Game Preview: The Chicago Bulls
On Thursday, against the Spurs, the Lakers lost a game they’d been on the verge of losing for about a week. When they don’t focus and don’t execute and only play with effort for short stretches, they’re just a good team. And when they play another good team, or a team that is punching above […]