01/20: LAKERS vs. Indiana Pacers 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome to the 1st half open thread and discussion of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Indiana Pacers. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

IND 53 LAL 51

Down by two against a red hot Pacers team? Not too shabby. Although the Pacers did gain some life in this quarter and it looked like they were about to pull away, but good job on the part of the Lakers to hang around. In this first half alone, Julius Randle has put up more numbers than the last few games. He's been relatively quiet in the Lakers' recent skid, but he's gaining that aggressiveness back tonight. It's the consistency that needs to be addressed in Randle's game. Of course, the big negative here, D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young go down. Russell's foot got caught with Randle and his knee bent awkwardly. ESPN reports that it's a sprain MCL. So, most likely he's not going back to the game. Nick Young landed awkwardly on his foot as he was about to shoot before the shot clock expired. He went down for a bit and no question he's questionable to return. But, like I said, the Lakers are hanging around despite the injuries. You never know if that's going to take its toll late in the game with the losses of both D'Lo and Swaggy P. But the fact of the matter, they have to keep up with this effort that they put up so far. For sure, this is probably the closest they've trailed in this recent skid and they have to keep competing and try to make PG13, Al Jefferson, and the Pacers miss shots. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

IND 24 LAL 27

Well, the last thing the Lakers want to start off is two players going down. D'Angelo Russell accidentally contacts Julius Randle and his knee lands awkwardly. They said that it's a possible MCL sprain, which makes him questionable to return. Then Mozgov gets shaken up midway through the first, which is why Tarik Black and Ivica Zubac saw action earlier than expected. Despite all that, the Lakers are still competing. The Pacers turned the ball over a couple of times, which was opportune for the Lakers. Julius Randle got to a fast start and Nick Young and Lou Williams drained a couple of threes. Brandon Ingram continues to make good use starting. He's been terrific lately. Overall, encouraging quarter to see despite the early injuries.