From Hero to Zero: LeBron Carries Lakers to OT; Misses Free Throws vs. Spurs

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the San Antonio Spurs where it was an offensive exhibition between both teams as they carried it to OT. But in the end, the Spurs came out on top, beating the Lakers 143-142.

All of that effort and it all was in vein. I'm still frustrated at that loss. But at the end of the day, good teams find ways to win. And the Spurs, as much of a makeover they've done over the offseason, as long as Gregg Popovich is coaching that team in San Antonio, they're a good team until further notice. The Lakers had every opportunity to put the Spurs away in that OT. They had all that momentum. But, an ill-advised three, free throws and giving Patty Mills all kinds of room to hit the game-winner cost the Lakers here. It didn't help that the defense spared the Spurs 40 points to start the game. The loss against Houston was frustrating. This was one of the more disappointing losses to start the season.

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Kyle Kuzma, 37 points, 8 rebounds, 15-25 shooting. No Brandon Ingram, it was time for "Kuzmania" to run wild. And did he now. The whole game changed when Kuzma took over the scoring in the 2nd half. He was just an absolute monster from end-to-end and off the dribble. He showed no fear of absorbing contact from the man in front of him, attacking the basket at will. The three-point shot down stretch was bigger than LeBron's game-tying three. My only gripe is why didn't we get the ball to him more in OT? Luke Walton and the coaching staff ran sets for LeBron, but what about Kuzma in that situation? They could've taken off some pressure from LeBron with the way Kuzma's been performing.

Josh Hart, 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 8-14 shooting. Honestly, Luke Walton should give the reins for Hart to start going forward. Three games in and he's outperformed KCP this game. The double-double stat line right here says it all. He shot the three-ball here when needed. He hustled his tail off this game. He's clearly in sync with LeBron than KCP is. Start him!

Johnathan Williams, 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks. JaVale McGee fouled out early in OT. Zubac was non-factor as usual. Luke had to go deep into the bench to put Johnathan Williams into the rotation. And he put the minutes to good use, especially in OT. Williams' hustle and defense was there, but it was all in vein.

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DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. DeRozan broke the LeBron jinx for now. Both he and Aldridge shredded the Lakers inside tonight. DeRozan with 32 points and 14 assists. Aldridge with 37 points and 10 rebounds. DeRozan disrupted the Lakers' defensive assignments and he got a lot of teammates involved from Rudy Gay to Bryn Forbes to Patty Mills the list goes on. He did damage as a mid range scorer and facilitator. But, the guy who did the most damage was LaMarcus Aldridge. His 15-foot jumpshot is near unstoppable. No matter how many looks the Lakers threw at him, he just found ways to score and find himself to put up more points on the free throw line. He was the main why Patty Mills was able to knock down the game-winning shot was because the defense feared Aldridge inside the post that much. Mills faked the pass to Aldridge on Lonzo and that allowed Zo to flinch a bit to get the double team on Aldridge. The Spurs executed that perfectly and Mills used that open space to knock down the J to secure the Spurs a victory.

LeBron James. For the namesake of this title. This was one of the many concerns of bringing in LeBron. Despite, some godly statistics he finds ways to just crack under pressure when the team needs him to take over. Don't get me wrong, LeBron had a solid game with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 14 assists. He hit the game tying three. He would've been in my MVP conversation along with Kuzma. But, there were some critical mistakes he made down the stretch in OT. 'Bron went for the "home run" three to try and put the Spurs away. It clanked off. The Spurs hit a three to cut the Lakers lead to one. LeBron at the free throw. Needed two or one out of two, he didn't hit any of them. The game-winning 3-point attempt that rimmed off. Those were prime examples of why we used to call LeBron "LeChoke" all those years of rooting against him. It also didn't help he started 1-9 from the field.

Luke Walton. You're thinking correctly if Luke Walton is on the hot seat. The defense has allowed 100+ points a game. Rotations are questionable. He puts in Zubac over Johnathan Williams first. As a result, non-factor. Sets off the timeout are dull and uninspiring. And he's still electing to go with KCP over Josh Hart. I've predicted this in my season preview. He's gotta start coaching for his job. Then again, Portland, Houston, and San Antonio have high-powered offenses, so maybe I'll give a little leeway. But, if Phoenix drops 100+ points too, then trouble lies ahead for Luke.

MVP

Kyle Kuzma, 37 points, 8 rebounds, 15-25 shooting

LeBron would've been here too had he not choke out the game. Kuzmania ran wild tonight and he helped carry the Lakers back in this game. Again, I don't understand why Luke didn't involve him more in OT. He was clearly in the zone tonight.




Conclusion

If I heard correctly, no team has ever gone to the playoffs after 0-3. After this dismal start to the season, it's time we pump the brakes on this Lakers team. Clearly, this team needs a lot more time to build chemistry and it doesn't help that your promising star and savvy vet PG is not on that floor for multiple games. I still have this team going 6-8 seed at best, missing out in the playoffs at worst. Those expecting an instant championship or Western Conference Finals appearance need to tamper down expectations a bit. It was all fun and games, now we gotta look at the big picture. This team has a long ways to go before they can get back to championship material. Wednesday should be a start going up against Phoenix. Then again, the West is very unpredictable. So anything can happen. The game will not be nationally televised so as usual, expect a quick recap from me. But, I'm going to do something different this time around and you will see it the week after. Next nationally televised game is Thursday on TNT against the Nuggets. You wonder how much more trouble defending Jokic would be compared to Aldridge tonight. I'll see you guys for that game.