Basketball can be a fickle friend, for franchise stars who are ultimately consigned to the journeyman’s path and for systems, coaches and executives who fall out of favor for any number of reasons. Consider the case of Phil Jackson who disappeared like morning dew after his very public flameout as president of the New York […]
Luke Walton
The Lakers Have More Shooting Than You Think
Beyond the observation that they have signed some knuckleheads (or, put more kindly, out-sized personalities), the one critique that has been most damning this offseason focuses on the Lakers shooting deficiency. “The Lakers don’t have any shooters” is an oft-used cudgel used to hammer the front office’s approach and it’s coming from almost all who […]
Talking Nerdy with Luke: Who is His Offensive Coordinator?
First, a bit of context. Luke Walton’s offense is divided into two parts, based on whether or not the offensive possession was preceded by a whistle. This is true of most, if not all of the offenses in the NBA. If the Lakers get the ball off of a defensive rebound or a steal, they’re […]
Clarkson Stays Hot as Randle Cooks Porzingis
With their 127-107 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Lakers have suddenly won 6 out of their last 8 games, including a 5-game winning streak at home. In this installment of Laker Film Room, I take a look at Jordan Clarkson’s efficient 29 point, 10 assist performance after a […]
Listless Lakers Lose 8th Straight as Oklahoma City’s Stars Shine
I went into this recap with a plan. After Darius and I recorded our podcast last night, we had a chat about me doing more written recaps, at least for the home games. He provided some words of wisdom, my creative juices got flowing, and I found my angle. Instead of writing a conventional […]
Lakers Podcast: Best Laid Plans
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” – John Steinbeck It is no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers have big plans in 2018 Free Agency, many of which would necessitate the departure of many of the players on the current roster, most notably Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson. Andrew Bogut […]
The Curious Case of Julius Randle and the Los Angeles Lakers
What on earth is going on with Julius Randle and the Los Angeles Lakers? The curious case is akin to an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a paucity of opportunities—a talented player whose duties keep getting shifted like a temp secretary in the steno pool, all while delivering the most efficient scoring attack […]
Lakers Podcast: Let’s Talk About Luke
In this episode of the Laker Film Room Podcast, Pete and I discuss Luke Walton and the job he’s done to this point in the season. We discuss at, at length, what we’ve liked and disliked about the starting lineup choices, the rotations, and the personnel groupings Walton’s deployed so far. We also get into […]
Lakers Game Preview: The Brooklyn Nets
The Lakers are coming off an encouraging loss — though a 113-110 loss nonetheless — against the Trailblazers in Portland Thursday night. A game that saw the Lakers battle back from a huge deficit and take the lead, only to have Damian Lillard crush their hopes with a last second game winner. I’ll take this effort, even […]
Lakers Go Cold in 4th, Fall to Raptors 101-92
The Lakers’ lack of perimeter scoring reared its ugly head on Friday night, as the visiting Toronto Raptors closed them out with a late 14-0 run to win 101-92. Veteran teams like the Raptors often know how and when to turn the screws, and the Lakers struggled as Luke Walton sifted through a perplexing substitution […]