Lakers Drop Lead, Game vs. Blazers

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' road matchup vs. the Portland Trail Blazers where the Lakers drop another tough one on the road, losing to the Blazers 109-118.

The one thing I'm hoping from this Lakers team is that I hope they take all these road games where they blow a lot of leads to heart and work on protecting a lead. This game added to those road woes where the Lakers come out guns blazing, they build a lead to close out the first half, and they feel good about. Then, in the 2nd half, they forget to play their game and disaster happens. It's growing pains.

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Julius Randle, 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal. Not the greatest of games for Randle, but he still in some way puts up monster numbers, recording yet another double-double. He got off to a good start tonight, didn't do much until late in the 3rd quarter. Randle woke up in between the 3rd quarter and 4th quarter and started to take the game over. There was nothing Mason Plumlee or anybody else defending could do against Randle's power and versatility.

Brandon Ingram, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block. Trust me when I say this, Ingram will break out eventually before the season wraps up. He's slowly finding his range from beyond the arc, notching a pair of three pointers tonight. Ingram's starting to be more assertive on both ends on the floor, which is encouraging to see. As fans, we gotta stay patient.

Jordan Clarkson, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals. Clarkson continues to make his case for Sixth Man of the Year. Last game, he was great at attacking the basket on the Grizzlies' stout defense. He replicated that tonight and found the range from 3-point land.

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Screen and roll defense. The Lakers just gave up way too many easy baskets for the Blazers. The Blazers were cutting in the lane with ease tonight against the defense. Three easy baskets by Plumlee to start summed up how bad the Lakers defended the Blazers' screen and roll game. Then, Harkless, Crabbe, and Turner got into the action. They kept catching the defense sleeping all game.

Lou Williams, 10 points, 3-8 shooting. Sour night for Sweet Lou. His shot wasn't going through tonight and he made some quick momentum-changing turnovers. Williams' scoring has taken a nosedive as of late. But, he's a veteran. He'll find ways to break out of the funk.

D'Angelo Russell. Don't get me wrong, D'Lo finished off strong with a 22 point performance, but his three point game was not there tonight. He attempted eight 3-pointers, he missed all of them and he made a pair of silly turnovers to start the game. Nonetheless, inconsistency is evident in Russell's game. He went to the post up game late to get going, but it was too little too late. He should've continued to play that game and try to draw contact as he did in the first half, getting to the free throw line to get first series of points.

MVP

Julius Randle, 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

The man is a beast. Like I said, numbers weren't too impressive, but he displayed tonight why his rare combination of strength and quickness make him hard to defend. 

Conclusion

The Lakers will learn soon enough. If they want to win on the road, they have to put their foot on the gas for a full 48 minutes. It's too bad Damian Lillard just had to return tonight for the Blazers after missing a couple of games. But, like I said, I hope the Lakers take these games into consideration. If they want to win and be good on the road, they have to bring the effort in the 2nd half and play their game. Nonetheless, this is part of the growing pains this season that we have to endure. This young squad will get it sooner or later. They return home tomorrow on a back-to-back set vs. Miami. Hey, if Portland can win tonight after a tough road loss to the Warriors last night, the Lakers can certainly rebound against the Heat. I'll see you guys later.