Score: POR 52 LAL 39
Alright welcome in to the halftime post of the Lakers' matchup with the Portland Trailblazers where the Blazers have a 52-39 lead at the half.
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Jordan Clarkson, 18 points, 8-13 shooting. I've observed in these series of quick recaps that he's been playing well, shooting the ball well, scoring when the team needs it, and I'm a believer. Those last few threes in the 2nd quarter to give the Lakers a little spark displayed how much heart the rookie has. Despite the fact that Lillard got off to hot start, Clarkson still outscored him by two points as Lillard only has 16! He's Rookie of the Month for a reason and he has constantly continued to certify himself as a bona fide 2nd round steal.
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Field goals. Before Clarkson got it going down the stretch of the 2nd quarter, the Lakers have not shot the ball well. The amount of balls hitting the rim even deprived me of a majority of my energy. The offense, with Clarkson as an exception, has not been too impressive. My goodness, it's like they're not working to get a high percentage look.
Transition defense. The Blazers were running all over the place like it is just practice. I'll give partial credit, there were nominal defensive plays the Lakers made in transition, but they're always a hair too late to close out their man, whether the Blazers were on the break to get a layup or shoot a transition 3. The Lakers gotta have better effort than that in the 2nd half.
Bottom Line
Give the ball to Clarkson as long as he's hot. However, Clarkson has to try to get this Laker team involved through his facilitating because the energy has not passed down to the rest of the Lakers to put up a better display of offense. The defense has to do a lot better, they have to find a way to get ball out of Lillard's hands if they want to get back into this game against the Blazers. Let's see what happens.
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