Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' final regular season matchup against the Clippers in the Battle for LA where the Lakers end the season on a high note, beating the Clippers 115-100.
Well with that win, the Lakers match the win threshold that I had for them when I posted up my regular season preview post. Like I said, I had them as a 30-35 win team. And I'm not complaining. This game was pretty much a game to give garbage time players extended minutes and the Lakers' bottom rotation players did not disappoint. Well, there's Josh Hart too who lit it up and I'll talk about that right about now.
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Josh Hart, 30 points, 9-15 shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 assists. Dare I say it? "Harts on Fire." Obvious play from the "Hearts on Fire" original song from Rocky IV. Hart originally picked up his scoring in the 2nd quarter. It helped the Lakers ballooned that lead to 11 points at halftime. Then, he just absolutely went bonkers in the 3rd quarter, especially letting it fly from beyond-the-arc. He left the Laker fans inside Staples in awe while the Clipper fans were in stunned silence. There was not much the Clipper defense can do in that sequence, since he was red hot. In the final stats, Hart hit 7 of 9 from 3-point land. He was unbelievable.
Gary Payton II, 25 points, 12 rebounds, 11-19 shooting, 2 steals. He surely reminded me of his dad this game. Gary Payton, looking at his highlights since obviously I was still too young when he played, he was a good finisher in defense to offense transitions. He could also split defenders and lay it in. Glad to see that DNA passed on to his son tonight. I was impressed with this stat line. Double-double off the bench, racked up 25 points and picked up 12 rebounds. With the Lakers so shorthanded, GP II stepped up to the plate and this performance might earn him roster spot in the Summer League and heading into training camp for next season.
Alex Caruso, 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists. This was a pretty good last two games from Caruso, but this game was even better. He showed out his ability to shoot and provided really good balance to score, facilitate, and defend. If I'm the Lakers, I'd definitely want him back as a training camp body and a two-way player since he's played well when given the time all season long.
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Playing with the lead. Like I said, this is something the Lakers need to improve on next season. This is especially evident in road games. Once they build a big lead, they get a little too much relaxed. Luckily with both teams being shorthanded and Josh Hart going off for 30 points, it tilted in the Lakers' favor. This probably the only negative I can pinpoint about this game.
MVP
Gary Payton II, 25 points, 12 rebounds, 11-19 shooting, 2 steals
I'm only gonna allow this once or I could change my mind depending I declare some new changes on the blog. But, for the first time ever, we have two co-MVPs of the game. Hart was lights out in the third quarter. GP II showed out and had a good all-around game. Both carried the Lakers for a strong regular season finish.
Conclusion
As Laker fans, we hate losing seasons, but this is something we can hang our heads on. 35-47 after difficult seasons of long losing streaks and tanking, the Lakers are seriously pointing upwards in the West. Give Magic and Rob Pelinka a lot of credit for assembling a good-balanced roster of young players and seasoned veterans. And of course, Luke Walton deserves credit. He gets a lot of flack for questionable coaching decisions, but he did what he can and helped coached a team to improve from last year's 26-56 record. Hey, we could be looking back at the Byron Scott coaching days where the Lakers continually regressed. But, we don't want that. It's going to be an interesting offseason. No matter if they get PG or LeBron next season, the Lakers re-established themselves as a destination for the hottest free agents. They have the core with Zo, B.I., Kuzma, and Randle (if he re-signs). They have the cap space. Now, it's all just about execution. I'll go further into details with my annual "Season in Review" post. Keep in mind, it's going to be a late posting when we're deep into the NBA postseason. Right now, I'm gonna shift focus to a couple of other projects that I have to finish before some deadlines, but stay tuned. Thank you guys for hanging around this season. I'll see you guys later.
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