LeBron comes to town. Clarkson and Nance make their returns in another uniform. Welcome in to the first half open thread of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.
Q2
CLE 60 LAL 65
Good defense from Caruso to force LeBron off rhythm for a final shot. The Lakers can't cap off the first half any better. I heard Luke Walton in one mic'd up bits that this Laker team needs to wear down and punish this Cavs team down low. And he's right. The Cavs don't have any interior presence and the Lakers have the advantage with Lopez and Randle inside. It's not just them, but you see players actively cutting into the lane when the Cavs are forced to double. That's one of the key reasons why the Lakers racked up so many assists at the half with 19. Lopez is off to another good start. I've stressed that he needs to score more inside and he has and he's doing it again against a very thin Cavs front court. KCP's hot shooting the start has also helped the Lakers balloon the lead a bit. Defensively, the Lakers could be a lot better, especially inside. I lost count how many times Ante Zizic has been found wide open for the easy score after a couple feeds by LeBron and Clarkson. Someone on the Lakers team has to do a better job at communicating and accountiing for the cutter. The 2nd half will open up shortly.
Q1
CLE 29 LAL 33
Not a bad showing by Clarkson on the opposite end of the floor. He baited the Lakers to double and found somebody inside for an easy deuce. But, overall this was a solid start from the Lakers. Clearly, they are exploiting the Cavs' lack of interior presence with Lopez and Randle in the paint. Add into the fact that KCP started great in the first quarter is the reason why they get the early four point lead. They are baiting the Cavs to double and there's someone open inside. That's one early blueprint to wear this Cavs team down.
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