All five starters were in double figures for the Lakers last night. Brook Lopez was the Lakers' top scorer with 27 points as he helped bail out the Lakers to a 107-108 thriller with a couple of game-winning free throws. Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle recorded double-doubles as Kuz racked up 20 points and 10 rebounds and Randle added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Lonzo Ball finished with all-around numbers with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists and KCP chipped in 10 points to round out the starters. I.T. was one shy of a double-double as he lead the 2nd unit with 13 points and 9 dimes.
Final Score: vs. Orlando 107-108 [W]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180307/ORLLAL#/recap
Next Game: @ Denver (03/09)
Highlights: *Courtesy of Rapid Highlights*
Looking back at this game, this was the most bizarre win so far of the season based on the finish. The clock operator thought that Brook Lopez tipped the end bounds pass, prompting the clock to run out early than expected. It should've started when Lonzo deflected the pass and the game would've been over. It was really weird that the refs called for a jump ball. Regardless, the Magic were in a lose-lose situation on that last play. This shouldn't have come down to a one-point lead. This was much like the Blazers game on Monday where the Lakers built a big lead and it just evaporated in crunch time. Again, they were more focused on going for the knockout blow rather than just go through their offense and settle for high-percentage looks. It almost killed them at the end again, but Brook played the "miracle worker" and won the game for the Lakers off two clutch free throws. It was smart that he went down low and drew the contact on Vucevic. Brook Lopez's game last night was the Brook Lopez I expected when the Lakers got him from the Nets in the first place. It boggles my mind that he's more than capable of taking it to the post, but he insists on camping on the three-point line for some reason. He'll make some threes, but most of three pointers hit nothing but iron. This is what we want out of Lopez, to score more inside and he did that last night. But, everybody's gonna talk about the 0 rebounds though. We know he's a rare case of a big man that doesn't get double-digits boards, but c'mon now. But outside Lopez, Kuzma came alive last night. I noticed that most of Kuz's struggles had to do with him rushing his shots a bit and being unbalanced with his jumper. He got back to the basics of what made him a draft day steal and that was encouraging to see. Randle's 20+ point streak came to an end, but he still made his presence felt as a bully down low. I.T. showed really good balance as a scorer and facilitator coming off the bench and took better percentage shots. Zo was solid, but he needs to calm down on the three-point game. He hit four, but he took some threes that were way out of range. Though, that has to do with the Lakers being out of sync offensively as the shot clock was about to expire. The Lakers were fortunate to come out with this win. But the way they've been blowing leads as of late is really concerning and that's where they really miss Ingram's capability of slowing things down and embracing that "closer" role. They also miss Josh Hart being at the right place at the right time to knock down big time high-percentage shots. The upcoming stretch for the Lakers is a big one if they're really thinking playoffs. Denver surrendered the 8th seed momentarily to the Clippers after the Cavs beat them last night and they're looking to regain that quickly when the Lakers come to town Friday night. These games down the line against teams in playoff contention are huge for this young Lakers team.
No comments:
Post a Comment