Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Utah Jazz where the Lakers wrap up their 3-game road trip, but they lose another close one, falling to the Jazz 88-96 off back-to-back sets.
One, two, three strikes, you're out. That's this road trip in a nutshell. There's no surprise that this is the narrative the Lakers. They can't find ways to win on the road. I did hear Marv Albert concluding tonight's broadcast that the Lakers are like 5-26 in road games this season. Exhibit A why this should be a point of emphasis for this young team to build around.
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Bench. Lou Williams had 20 points. Jordan Clarkson had 16 point. And Ivica Zubac had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. I wouldn't say much with Sweet Lou and JC. They've been relatively consistent off the bench this season, but they did start slow this game and picked it up as the game rolled on. Zubac had another solid outing in back-to-back sets. Tonight, he had a much better game. Last night, I thought he was having a tough time being aware of the ball coming to him and he didn't have a good night field goal percentage-wise. Tonight, his awareness was sharp and gave out his best effort against an up and coming elite rim protector in Rudy Gobert. Gobert did have the last laugh on the block on Zubac to end the game, but it's a mere blemish on Zubac's performance tonight.
Timofey Mozgov, 9 points, 9 rebounds. He was non-existent last night against Portland. There's no sugar coating that. His 3rd quarter play tonight though was impressive. Derrick Favors' flagrant foul in that quarter got the big man going. There were some glimpses Mozzy took Gobert to school in the post, he was putting moves and almost put Utah's All-Star snub in a poster for a dunk. But, that was Mozgov's 15 minutes of fame. Still positive though.
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Energy. Like I said in the 3rd quarter, the Jazz were playing with more intensity and energy than the Lakers this game. You can factor in the back-to-back effect, which is understandable. The start, trailing 2-12 exemplified that the Lakers spent a lot of their effort in Portland last night. It's a good thing the Jazz missed a couple shots and made some careless turnovers to prevent this game from being ugly.
Jose Calderon, 0 points, 0-3 shooting. I'll give him credit for the pass to a cutting Mozgov on a fast break when Mozgov got fouled. But at this point, I'd rather have Marcelinho (Marcelo Huertas) starting at the point guard position. Get well soon D'Lo. This is where you're sorely missed.
Brandon Ingram, 0 points, 0-6 shooting. Like I said last night, this week is a bitter end to what was a solid January for Ingram. Tonight, we just didn't see the assertiveness that he developed during the course of this month on display during this stretch. Growing pains.
MVP
Zubac has been nothing short of solid since he was brought back to the active roster from the D League. His upside makes him a better option than Mozgov and Tarik Black at this point of the season.
Conclusion
Well, the silver lining in this road trip is that the Lakers were much competitive on a back-to-back set. That's something you don't see everyday. One game, the Lakers will spent most of their energy and then the next day, they'll get run out of town. That was not the case tonight. Sunday's performance against Dallas was absolutely disgraceful, but they partially redeemed themselves with better competitive performances against Portland last night and tonight against Utah. Still, it is essential that the Lakers develop a formula to win games on the road. The Grammy's are just around the corner, so the Lakers will have their annual 6-7 game road trip in early February. They'll have plenty of chances to figure things out. Let's just say that this stretch was the pre-test. The long Grammy road trip in February will be the true test. It is not only essential for the Lakers to win games on the road, but it is essential for the development of the young core. Well, it was fun while it lasted covering two straight Laker games aired on national TV. As usual, Quick Fact Checks will follow, but the Lakers do have a televised matchup on ESPN against the hated Celtics on Friday before the Super Bowl. Until then, I'll see you guys next Friday for that game.
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