11/15: Rising Stars - LAKERS vs. Philadelphia 76ers 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

A battle between two young, up and coming teams. Welcome in to the first half of the Lakers-76ers matchup. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

PHI 58 LAL 54

The good thing here is that the Lakers are hanging around whenever the Sixers look like they are about to pull away. They've dug themselves out of the 18-7 hole to trail as little as four heading into the 2nd half. Though LA made some bad passes and had some defensive lapses to start, Philly missed a lot of high percentage looks and also being the young team that they are, they turned the ball over. Combined with the spark of the Laker bench lead by Randle and Clarkson, all played a factor in the Lakers getting back into this game. But, they gotta do something to contain Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. They are killing the Lakers with Simmons attacking the basket and Embiid lurking around the post and they've connected on a lot of them tonight. Though this is centered around Simmons vs. Ball, we can't forget that Simmons and Ingram were the top two picks in the same draft class. I'd say they're neck-and-neck with B.I. having the biggest edge in scoring. B.I. specifically is off to a terrific start with 15 points and shooting an efficient 6-10 from the field (*stats courtesy of Yahoo Sports*). The Lakers have overcome a possible big deficit. They have to stick with their identity in locking down defensively and being aggressive and pushing the tempo against this Sixers team. They also have to be much smarter with the ball movement. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

PHI 29 LAL 26

What did I say in the comments when the Lakers find themselves in a hole? They have a tendency to step up and make a run. I'm gonna be honest though. The Lakers looked really flat to start the game. They turned the ball over. Defensively, they were allowing the Sixers easy layups and that's what got the Sixers the big lead early. But then, Walton inserts the bench mob lead by Randle and Clarkson and provided instant energy to pull the Lakers within three. With that lineup, they played much better on both sides of the ball.