The Lakers snap their 3-game skid in the bubble as they defeat the Nuggets 121-124 in a potential playoff matchup.
This! This game right here was what we wanted to see from the Lakers as the playoffs inch closer. There's no sugarcoating that despite clinching the #1 seed in the West, the Lakers have been underwhelming, especially on the offensive end. We needed to see signs that the Lakers are ready to face a tough road to the championship. We saw glimpses in the Indiana game. Tonight in what is literally a dress rehearsal for the purple and gold, we saw very encouraging signs.
The only negative I can pinpoint was the free throw shooting this game. Lakers shot 60% from the line if I heard correctly from Kevin Harlan. All I can say, the Lakers hit those free throws in crucial. With the playoffs coming, pressure free thow shooting will be at a all-time high and it's a fixable issue.
Let's move on to the positives because there was a lot tonight. The LBJ-AD duo was on point this game. Anthony Davis shook off the horrendous 8-point performance and bounced back with 27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. The AD we saw out there was the AD we were accustomed to seeing. He was active on both ends of the floor. He made the right reads to cutting teammates when Denver elected to double team him. Last but not least, he was a man among boys during that first half. LeBron James notched a double-double with 29 points and 12 assists. Keep in mind, he was playing with a sore groin. These last two games, I think we're seeing encouraging signs that LeBron is slowly getting his jumpshot and 3-point shooting back.
Like I said before, the Lakers will go as far as the LBJ-AD duo can take them. The Lakers are hard to beat when this duo balance out their performances. To me, that was the missing link for the Lakers in this bubble. Some nights Anthony Davis goes on and LeBron goes off. Vice versa, LeBron goes on and AD goes off. Shaq said it best in pregame, for a dynamic duo to work, both players have to be on their A-Game. One can't take the night off while the other does all the work. Tonight, we saw a brilliant and balanced performance from the King and the 'Brow.
Some other positives, 3-point shooting improved this game. Lakers have been shooting under 30% percent from deep. Tonight, they shot over 45%. Danny Green struggled for the most part of the game, but be picked in up in the 4th quarter. The bench was productive with an aggressive effort from Dion Waiters leading with 12 points. Markieff Morris and Dwight Howard chipped in with an "8+8" in points. Kyle Kuzma joined LeBron and AD in the 20+ pts club with 25 points and the game winner. I liked what I saw from Kuz tonight. He was aggressive and efficient, shooting 68% from the field.
The last play was a great design from Frank Vogel out of the timeout. Credit where credit is due. He had LeBron inbound to AD. Nuggets were late with their defensive rotation. They were caught in between doubling AD or containing LeBron in motion, which allowed Kuz to cut in between and get himself open for the corner three.
After this game, I'm gonna say it is likely the Lakers may have found a rotation that works. I know it's pretty small for a sample size. But you have LeBron, AD, McGee, Kuzma, and Green as the starting 5. Coming off the bench is Waiters, Caruso, Morris, and Howard. Discounting Horton-Tucker, the Lakers may have a 9-man rotation that works at the moment. Against the deeper teams, obviously they gotta find some way to incorporate KCP, Quinn Cook, and Rondo when he gets back. But AD and Kuz can play extended minutes. Morris is a plug and play at the 4 & 5 spots. Dion and Caruso can interchange as primary ball handlers when LeBron rests. There's gotta be an "aha" moment in Frank Vogel's mind after this game.
Of course, that's just a small sample size. The Lakers still got a little more kinks to work out. Going into the final seeding game against the Kings, that would be a game where the role players get an extended look, get some shots in, and fine tune before playoff time. Sacramento is out of the running for the play-in tournament for the 8th seed. Rest LeBron. Limit AD to just one half of play. It's time to start looking ahead to the first round. By all accounts, Portland is the team to look out for. Memphis and Phoenix are inexperienced. San Antonio is not the almighty contender they once were under the great Gregg Popovich. The Blazers will be a handful and could likely give the Lakers a tough first round matchup. I'll see you guys later.
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