Score: NO 67 LAL 51
Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Tuesday Fan Night game between the Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans on NBA TV where the Pelicans have ran over the Lakers so far this game 67-51.
The Positives
Pau Gasol, I said it all season long, Pau has been constant all season long, if he's out along with Nash and Kobe, this Laker team is dead in the water by opposing offenses. Pau had 17 points on 5-9 shooting, perfect from the charity stripe. 1st quarter in alone, Pau was the offense, scoring the first like 13 points. He's been vocal about the Lakers feeding him more in the paint to be more aggressive and they're doing just that rather than run and shoot.
Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry. Meeks 9 points, wasn't finding his shot early on, but he started getting it going in the 2nd quarter. Surely he's a potential candidate for the NBA's Most Improved Player, but it's unlikely. Welcome back X, in his return scoring 6 points, he hasn't lost a step in his ability to slash through the paint since his injury and that's a great sight to see.
The Negatives
No defense. Again the stereotype of all Mike D'Antoni coached teams, all offense, no D. The whole game, the Pelicans were slashing the paint, the Lakers weren't even trying to contest. They're just getting outhustled, no box out whatsoever, couldn't secure the ball leading to more 2nd chance points for the Pelicans. Not only that, the Lakers are not closing out too. When New Orleans is not penetrating, they'll rely on Eric Gordon or Austin Rivers to shoot from the outside. Other than that, Tyreke Evans is burning the Lakers in the penetration game and lack of a rim protector is seriously hurting considering the Pelicans play a big lineup leading to rebounds by either Davis or Ajinca.
Bottom Line
Good to see that the Lakers are buying into feeding the ball into the paint more and Gasol's getting his touches, now they just gotta find a way to balance that and still shoot the 3 ball. Glad that Xavier's back, at least the Lakers get their slasher back, but man the defense has to be addressed. It's embarrassing to see that the Lakers are getting their butts kicked by the Pelicans after pulling off a big upset yesterday against the Blazers in Portland.
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