Lakers Embrace "Mamba Mentality" in Game 4 Rout

Final: LAL 135 POR 115 - Lakers Lead 3-1

This game was absolutely incredible and a great way to cap off a two-day celebration of the late, great Kobe Bryant. On this day of 8/24, the Lakers donned their Black Mamba-themed jerseys and embraced the "Mamba Mentality" on the floor. They took no prisoners tonight, dominating the hapless Blazers from start to finish to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Oh my goodness, this game was like being on "Cloud 9." If any Laker fan knows how Kobe Bryant played the game, he had that killer instinct and wanted to rip the hearts out of opponents time in and time out. Tonight, Kobe was guiding the Lakers in spirit. 

To see how this all unfolded, Lakers jumped onto a 15-0 start at the first quarter. Portland couldn't buy a bucket until at the 7:52 mark. The defense made them work hard to earn a bucket. The offense was clicking tonight. LeBron was aggressive. AD was aggresive. Kyle Kuzma, KCP, and Danny Green were firing on all cylinders from three. For the entire 48 minutes of play, the Lake Show put on a clinic on both ends of the floor.

Portland never stood a chance and you could tell by their visible frustration by the 2nd quarter. Combined with their sloppy play and lack of rhythm on offense, they looked intimidated by the Lakers' defensive intensity. The only thing that kept them alive was that Jusuf Nurkic was crashing the boards. But for the most part, they were held in check. You know it's even worse for them when Dame and McCollum, their star backcourt tandem fail to score 20+ points. Lillard once again battled injuries in the third quarter and at that point, Blazers needed to wave the white flag because they had nothing going to get themselves back in the game.

Final stat lines: LeBron James was magnificent tonight with 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 10 assists. Through three quarters, he was in attack mode and absolutely gashed and demoralized the Blazers' defense tonight or lack thereof. AD followed with 18 points. It was reported that Davis sustained some back spasms in 3rd quarter and was ruled out for rest of the game. Lakers erred on the side caution, especially when they had the game under control. Danny Green chipped in 14 points with three 3-pointers. KCP had 12 points. Kyle Kuzma lead the bench in scoring with 18 points and Dwight followed with 13 points. Javale McGee, Alex Caruso, and Markieff Morris also contributed small details to impact the game for the Lakers. Special shout out to them. It was an all-around team win.

And on this day of honoring Kobe, there was an "Easter Egg" in the first quarter and almost another one at the end of the first half. At the 4:30 mark of the first quarter, Lakers scored 24 points and held the Blazers to 8 points. It's a coincidental nod to the two jerseys that Kobe wore in his 20-year career with the Lakers. We almost had another one at the end of the first half, when the Lakers dropped 80 points, one point shy of matching Kobe's career high of 81 points against the Raptors back in 2006. I'll admit, I was greedy and yelling: "please score a three or get an 'and 1' to hang 81 at the half!" Honestly, with the way this game was going, it was a good time to be a bit of a homer. But, this is something Hollywood can't even make up. I'll say it again, this game was incredible and a surreal experience, especially when you reflect on the significance of Kobe Bryant's legacy.

With this game in the books, the Lakers are now one win away from advancing to the Conferencr semifinals since 2012. Don't expect the Trail Blazers to go down quietly. They'll fight to the end with their backs up against the wall and the Lakers must be wary of that. The message is simple: take care of business and close out in Game 5 on Wednesday night. I'll see you guys later.

LeBron Attacks, AD Finishes Strong in Game 3 Win

 Final Score: LAL 116 POR 108 - Lakers lead 2-1

Now, that's how you take back "home court!" The Lakers overcome an ugly first half and some horrendous free throw shooting and dominate in the 2nd half to beat the Blazers 116-108 in Game 3. Lakers take the series lead at 2-1 and regain home court advantage.

We always hear the old saying in sports: "it's not about how you start, but how you finish." I'll just jump right into the negative. The free throw shooting was atrocious tonight. 28/43 from the line. Anthony Davis accounted for most of that. He has been terrific from the line all season long, making 88% of his free throws. Tonight, he was 50% from the line. AD was off to a really slow start, but luckily it wasn't that long till he got going in the 2nd half. Lakers were able to get the win despite this. At the same time, they left a lot of points out there on the table.

Now, we get to the highlights of this game. LeBron James hasn't been great in the bubble, but tonight he showed that he's still one of the best players in the world. 38 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 11-18 shooting, the King took over early on in this game to get the Lakers going. The offensive flow was a little discombobulated in the first half. When LeBron got into attack mode, that's when the offense started to find its spark. The Blazers' defense had no answer. And just when they think they do, he finds a cutting Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma, or Dwight Howard and AD roaming in the paint, expecting a lob. 

As I mentioned before, it didn't take long for AD to shake off his slow start. Coach Terry Stotts decided to deploy a two-big lineup with Hassan Whiteside and Jusuf Nurkic to slow down the 'Brow. But on the other end, the Blazers' defense was having trouble to stop LeBron. AD took advantage and went off in the 3rd quarter. On top of the key, he was automatic. Despite some horrendous free throw shooting, AD's stat line mad up for it with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 11-18 shooting. As I mentioned before, when you get a dominant, balanced performance from LBJ and AD, the Lakers are hard to beat. 

The bench once again outperformed the Blazers' bench. I mentioned this so many times, this is a given advantage for the Lakers. Alex Caruso lead the unit with 10 points and 7 assists. He's been consistent on defense doing a great job harassing Damian Lillard. The scoring and facilitating was a great sign of encouragement since he's been dormant on that end. Kyle Kuzma chipped in 7 points, Dwight Howard grabbed 10 boards. 

Speaking of defense, it was masterful in the 4th quarter. Portland shot 6/21 during that quarter. They didn't hit a 3-pointer. Dame still went off besides the injury to his index finger on his non-shooting hand with 34 points. But, Dame Time didn't make it in time down the stretch. The last one minute of the fourth quarter was an incredible sequence of defense with Danny Green and AD throwing block parties late. It's a testament on how the Lakers' defense came up big tonight, especially down the stretch of the game.

Ah, if only this game was in the Moda Center with the Blazers fans filing for the exit after this game. Games 2 and 3 were terrific turnarounds for the purple and gold. We keep criticizing the starting lineup that Frank Vogel has on the floor. But, if it ain't broke don't fix it. And, this lineup works at the moment. Other side notes, Rajon Rondo was active tonight, but then immediately was inactive after some back spasms at shootaround. Honestly, as much as Rondo is valuable to the 2nd unit, it's best to keep him of the rotation at this point while Vogel's current rotation is getting the Lakers wins. Despite the win, this series is far from over and the Lakers have to continue to step on the gas. Next game is on 8/24 aka "Kobe Bryant Day." To honor the late, great Kobe, the Lakers must instill some of that Mamba Mentality and rip Portland's heart out to take a commanding 3-1 lead during that day. I'll see you guys later.

New Look Lakers Still Couldn't Beat Dame, Blazers

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' 2018-19 season opener at the Portland Trail Blazers where the Blazers spoil the debut of LeBron James in Purple and Gold, beating the Lakers 119-128 to extend their win streak to 16 against them.

So you're telling me, the last guy who lead the Lakers' last win against the Blazers is still Wesley Johnson? I really don't know about this Blazers team. Since Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum emerged as stars in the backcourt for Portland, they've had the Lakers' number. Just when we thought, LeBron's arrival would change things, it hasn't. Well, at least for one game. But, Portland didn't just beat the Lakers again. The Lakers beat themselves with dismal three point shooting and a whole heap of turnovers.

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LeBron James, 26 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 9-16 shooting. Well, let's evaluate LeBron's Laker debut shall we? It is what you expect. The numbers speak for themselves. LeBron did his work in the post and going strong to the cup. The dunk sequence between him and Lillard in the first quarter is something to behold if you're an overall fan of NBA basketball. It felt like an All-Star game during that sequence and luckily, I tuned in at the right time for that as I got home late for the game. But going back, expect these numbers on a consistent basis for LeBron. Definitely, he's going to have a high usage rate playing in the ever-competitive Western Conference. And that's a cause for concern going forward considering his mileage. The six turnovers were a blemish on LeBron's game tonight, which I'll address later, but his debut? It is what you expect.

JaVale McGee, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 5-6 shooting. The Rondo-McGee PNR carried over well into the regular season. The Lakers as expected dominated the paint and McGee hovering inside was one of the many reasons. The defensive stats were solid with the three blocks. McGee brings what the Lakers have been lacking: a Center who can block shots on a regular basis and as devastating in finishing off screen and roll situations. He's in for a career year.

Rajon Rondo, 13 points, 11 assists, 6-13 shooting. We're accustomed to pedestrian numbers Rondo, but that represents his all-around game. Based on this game, Rondo is gonna have the edge over Zo at the starting PG position for the time being. He's just a savvy floor general that is a dual threat to score inside or set up plays for an open teammate.

Josh Hart, 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 5 blocks. Like I said in the preview, the shooting guard position is going to be an interesting position to look out for and Hart just put on the first stamp since KCP's scoring was nowhere to be found. Not to mention, he was the first player to find the stride from behind the arc when the Lakers were 0 for their first 14 on the three-point line. He played solid defense as well. The guy is a natural in putting a body up on players regardless of size.

(-)

3-point shooting. Perhaps this is the biggest blemish on this game. The Lakers finished up shooting 7 of 30 from the field according to NBA.com's stats. No lie, that was the most dismal 3-point shooting I've seen from this team. All 3-point attempts hit nothing but iron until the 3rd quarter. Don't get it twisted, there are players who are capable of hitting the 3-ball on this roster. But, they really lack a true sharpshooter that can knock down threes on a consistent basis. That's when they when their paint game becomes one-dimensional and the Blazers' defense was able to exploit that. Time to insert Svi Mykhailiuk into the rotation maybe.

Turnovers. Oh, the Blazers committed 16 turnovers while the Lakers committed 15. The biggest difference is that the Lakers turn the ball over when they are trailing and need a big bucket. It's been epidemic. But, I'm gonna let this slide because this team has a lot new parts and they're still getting a feel of their roles. If it's epidemic, especially when the Lakers are on the losing end, then it becomes a cause for concern.

Rebounding. Blazers 54 rebounds. Lakers 46 rebounds. Another concern is that even though the Lakers get most of their points in the paint, they are way too finesse and they don't box out on the boards. Portland is not too much of a physical team, but they just outmuscled the Lakers in terms of crashing the boards, especially when the Lakers are in small-ball mode with Kuzma at the 5. The size of the Trail Blzaers acted as a perfect counter-punch. There will be trouble ahead against the more physical teams.

Bench points. Blazers bench 55 points. Lakers 46 points. Nik Stauskas stepped up as the Blazers' third man, leading Portland's 2nd unit. The key to beating this Blazers team is to let Lillard and McCollum have their way, but stop everyone else. And once that third man gets going, they're hard to stop. Stauskas is an underrated player though, he's just been underutilized.

MVP

Josh Hart - 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 5 blocks

Let's face, it wouldn't be fair if I continually give this to LeBron with his numbers, so a little rock, paper, scissors here. Among the young core tonight, Hart showed out tonight. Points and defensive stats gave him the edge and not to mention, he was one of the players that got the Lakers' 3-point shooting going even though it was too little too late.


Conclusion

This is why I love that there isn't a lot of panic in the first game in the NBA because that is what it is, just one game. Yes, this loss tampers the Lakers' expectations by a bit. As always, the Western Conference is a bloodbath and it'll be a long-lasting bloodbath with now 81 games left. The Lakers aren't completely out of the picture. They will be competitive. It's just of matter of someone or two on this team outside of LeBron has to perform on a regular basis. And yes, there's still a lot of game left where the Lakers can improve on their weak areas. They'll look to get back on track on their home opener Saturday when they take on the Rockets. I'll probably see you guys for that game. Weekends nowadays are unpredictable for me, but I'll find a way to keep track of the game as usual. See you guys later.

10/18: LAKERS @ Blazers 2nd Half Open Thread

2nd half open thread of the Lakers-Blazers matchup on opening week. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

LAL 119 POR 128

Just like that, Portland's win streak against the Lakers extends to the same amount of championships won by the Lakers. Decent start to the LeBron era early in the game, but wow 3-pointers, turnovers, and offensive rebounding doomed this Laker team big time tonight. Dame and McCollum got hot when it mattered the most and they got that third man in Stauskas to step up the scoring and 3-point shooting. Once again, back to the drawing board to beat this Blazers team. This losing streak continues to be ridiculous. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

LAL 91 POR 93

Just when we thought the Blazers are gaining momentum back, the Lakers came back. Two big threes at the end - from Rondo and the buzzer beater from Josh Hart. Portland's size was causing the Lakers' small-ball lineup all kinds of problems. Now, they were beating them at their own game. But finally, the Lakers are hitting their 3-pointers. Josh Hart started it off and then Rondo. All of a sudden, the Lakers went from being down by a couple to being down by just two. Brandon Ingram came alive this quarter as well, scoring 8 of his 12 points in this quarter alone. This game is setting up to be a stretch run for both teams heading into Q4.

10/18 LeBron Era Begins! - LAKERS @ Portland Trail Blazers 1st Half Open Thread

Welcome to the first half open thread of the Lakers' opening matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers! Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

LAL 63 POR 65

Shucks that Portland still has the, but it's better to trail by a basket at half time then down by a lot. That's the way that this game almost went. The Blazers were finally hitting their 3-ball when Nik Stauskas came off the bench, starting off a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. I was thinking "uh oh." The Lakers couldn't buy a bucket from deep. And when you try to fight fire with fire, trying to outshoot a good 3-point shooting team in Portland, you're gonna get burned big time. Though the 3-pointers weren't falling, the Lakers stuck with their game of dominating the paint. That's where they got most of their points. It also helps that their defense sets up the offense in transition. McGee had some nice defensive plays, so did Ingram. Let's get to the heap of things. LeBron James, 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Not a bad debut for the King. He electrified the crowd the first quarter, exchanging dunks with Dame making the Moda Center go crazy. While LeBron does his thing, it seems that the scoring goes stagnant when he goes to the bench. Ingram is struggling offensively. KCP, non-factor. But who stepped up this quarter was Rajon Rondo with 10 points and 6 assists. Rondo has been a guy who's scoring's been overlooked. Once he finds ways to score, defenses have to respect both his scoring and playmaking attributes. And he did that this quarter. So far, it's been the veterans LeBron, Rondo, and McGee who's been doing the work. Let's see the young core follow as the 2nd half gets underway.

Q1

LAL 31 POR 34

I got in on time when the action got good. Turned the T.V. on and I saw LeBron and Dame exchange dunks on both ends of the floor. That's when you know it's exciting. Last thing, I remember the Lakers built an 8-10 point lead. Then, Portland came storming back. The Blazers of course are playing with a heavy heart for the late Paul Allen, owner of both the Blazers and the Seahawks. As LeBron went off the floor, there were so many questions on who would be the go-to-scorer and the Lakers haven't answered that down the stretch. Free throws and 0/6 from the 3-point land are some of the reasons. While the Blazers are hitting their 3-point shots with Nik Stauskas hitting his first two buckets from beyond the arc to spark the Blazers run and the eventual lead at the end of one.

Lakers Get Hearts Ripped in Rip City

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup at the Portland Trail Blazers where the Lakers threw everything in the play book to snap their long losing streak against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. But, it came down to one final shot and Lillard has delivered in the clutch for the Blazers and breaking the hearts of the Lakers again to the final score of 110-113.

Still, you can't say nothing about that final shot by Damian Lillard. Brandon Ingram played really good defense on his shot and had a lot of length to disrupt the arc of the shot. Again, it was just better offense and as an NBA fan, you can't deny Dame's clutch gene. The Lakers had the right formula in stopping Portland's back court and the team as a whole. I feel the momentum started to slip midway through the 3rd quarter when the Lakers tried to be more flashy with their playmaking off their good defense. And some late game adjustments or lack thereof by Luke Walton also cost the Lakers the game.

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Brook Lopez, 27 points, 3 rebounds, 9-15 shooting. This was a throwback Brook Lopez game before he developed a 3-point shot. All game, he just kept taking Jusuf Nurkic down low in the paint and he was having his way. I made a comment in the 3rd quarter that I was seeing flashes of a prime Pau Gasol tonight. The Lakers kept sticking to one element that worked and that was attacking the rim. They fed the ball inside to Lopez and Lopez did the rest by backing up Nurkic or taking it strong into the paint.

Kyle Kuzma, 22 points, 3 rebounds. Kuzma had a good look on that final shot that would've tied the game. But, getting a quick high arcing, high percentage shot off with .7 seconds left is impossible to pull off. Nonetheless, this was an excellent game from Kuzma. In the 1st quarter, the Lakers dug themselves a hole early. There was not too much activity on either side of the ball for LA. Then Kuzma comes in and creates a run of his own to put the Lakers' back into the game, trailing by four or six points. As Reggie Miller said in the game, Kuzma, for a rookie, is calling his own plays to create his own shot.

Defensive intensity. This was present for 2 1/2 quarters. Obviously, it was non-existent for the Lakers as the Blazers jumped to a 25-41 lead in the first quarter. Then slowly, but surely, they picked up the intensity on defense. Full court press, trap defense, double teaming, you name them. The Laker defense swarmed like flies on the Blazers for the most part of the game.

(-)

4th quarter coaching adjustments. The common denominator on Luke Walton's weakness as a coach is he doesn't see what kind of personnel the opposition has on the floor and he doesn't tailor his adjustments to match that personnel. The Blazers made the adjustment in putting Jusuf Nurkic back in in the 4th quarter to counter the Lakers' small ball lineup of Kuz and Randle. When I saw that, I said that Luke's gotta put Brook Lopez back in. But instead of that, he sticks to the current small ball lineup and Nurkic scores four straight points to spark the Blazers' run down the stretch. The NBA and sports in its entirety is all about a game of matchups. Walton has got to get better in understanding situation and personnel. This was the back breaker that ultimately cost the Lakers' shot in snapping the losing streak against the Blazers.

Lonzo Ball, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists. Ball had some solid spurts defensively against Lillard tonight. But, other than that, where was Zo tonight? He was inexplicably M.I.A. tonight. Usually, when the ball was in his hands, he'd push the tempo or be aggressive and finding the balance in either getting someone else involved or scoring all the way to the hoop. I didn't see any of that tonight from Lonzo. He was very conservative and very pedestrian tonight.

Larry Nance's injury. This is exactly reminiscent like last season. Lakers' were off to a .500 start, then Nance gets hurt and everything comes crashing down on the Lakers. He's been a key cog in the Lakers' way of playing high intensity team defense with his hustle. They could've used him in the 4th quarter. Early prognosis on Nance's injury is a fractured metatarsal. He's definitely gonna miss some significant time.

MVP

Brook Lopez, 27 points, 3 rebounds, 9-15 shooting

Tonight's game had the closest MVP race. But, if I had to give it to one, it'd be Lopez. He was neck-and-neck, trading shots with Jusuf Nurkic in the post and he hit a go-ahead three late in the 4th to give the Lakers the lead. He may have developed a 3-point shot, but he still has some moves in the post.



Conclusion

Twelve games and now 13 games in and the Lakers still can't get one against the Blazers. They almost had it, but minor blunders down the stretch turned this game into a missed opportunity. This time of the season was the best time the Lakers could've snatched a win against this team. Because I'm sure by the time they meet again, Portland's is gonna try to make a playoff push. They're not going to toy around with bottom feeding teams anymore when that time comes. Anyway, the Lakers can't hang their heads on this loss. Because they have to fly back home to LA for tomorrow's game. They have to prep up for D'Angelo Russell's welcome back party as he and the Brooklyn Nets come to town. I want to cover that game so bad. But too bad the game is not going to be on ESPN or something. With the defense the Lakers are playing, it's going to entertaining to see if they'll hound D'Lo with the same defensive intensity. I'll provide a quick recap and commentary for that game and I'll see you guys for the Lakers' next nationally televised game, which I'm sure is on the road vs. Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics. Lakers-Celtics, the age-old rivalry continues. I'll see you guys later.

11/02: LAKERS @ Portland Trail Blazers 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

This is the 2nd half of the Lakers-Blazers matchup. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

LAL 110 POR 113

This game hurts. Kuzma had a good look on that final shot, but with .7 seconds left, you have to get off a quick release. Unfortunately, that just fell short. KCP had the game tying three, but 15.5 seconds left, there was still a lot of time for the Blazers to execute a play and you knew the ball was going to be in the hands of Damian Lillard. Ingram played good defense on Lillard in those final seconds. But, Lillard has delivered time and time for the Blazers in clutch time. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

LAL 85 POR 87

Well, the teams looked evenly matched down the stretch. The Lakers continued to implement the same formula that I talked about in the 2nd quarter. They successfully managed to put the Blazers in early foul trouble. And they've put a lot of ball pressure on defense. Down the stretch, they started to lose that edge and the Blazers came right back into this game. They're trying to be a little too cute with the playmaking when they've made a successful stop. They just have to slow down and relax. Luckily, they're just down by two heading into the fourth quarter.

11/02: LAKERS @ Portland Trail Blazers 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome to the first half open thread discussion of the Lakers' road matchup vs. the Portland Trail Blazers. Leave a comment below the post and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

LAL 62 POR 66

This current turnaround by the Lakers in this quarter is textbook example of a tale of two quarters in the first half. In the start, they looked lethargic. Lillard and McCollum were picking their spots against the defense and providing some pretty good balance between scoring and facilitating the basketball. This quarter, the Lakers got back to the basics that worked for them in Detroit: attacking the basket and generating some better energy on defense. The stat that TNT provided so far tonight, the Blazers shot over 60% in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarter, they shot 40% from the field. The Lakers picked up the defensive intensity this quarter. In terms of attacking the basket, they fed the ball inside to Brook Lopez and Lopez just took it to Nurkic in the paint. B.I. also picked up his penetration to the rim before the end of the quarter. That's the Lakers' game right now. It's old school drive to the basket, dominate the paint, and play good team defense. They have to sustain that formula if they want to end 10+ games of misery against Portland. On another note, Lonzo Ball has been pedestrian this first half  The Lakers are much better when he's aggressive and pushing the tempo. We have to see better energy from Zo in the 2nd half. Open thread of the 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

LAL 25 POR 41

The Lakers can throw all of their defensive sets on Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum and it still wouldn't matter. Those two were just surgically picking apart the Lakers' defense in that quarter. It's also backbreaking that McCollum was making those other-worldy shots on three. The only positive from this quarter was Kyle Kuzma's mini-run about four minutes left in the 1st. He got aggressive early on and cut the deficit to as many as six. But, other than that, Lakers still have no answer for Dame and C.J.

Lakers' Losing Streak Against the Blazers Continues

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers road matchup vs. the Portland Trail Blazers in a back-to-back set where the Lakers had a chance to rain on the parade of 40th anniversary of the Blazers' lone championship season and snap their 10-game losing streak against the franchise. But, they found a way to lose again, falling to the Blazers 98-105.

Too many blown opportunities in that fourth quarter. Honestly, the Lakers have to be completely sick to their stomach losing to the Trail Blazers yet again. The Lakers had momentum when Lou Williams drained three straight 3-pointers. Then again when Nick Young hit back-to-back three pointers for the tie and the brief lead. But, they couldn't score two! They couldn't score two! Are you kidding me? Too many chances they could've ballooned the three point lead, but they missed a lot of shots down the stretch. A better effort than Sunday's outing against the Mavs, but this is more frustrating because the Lakers still couldn't figure out a way to close out on the road.

(+)

Lou Williams, 31 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 10-20 shooting. Just another day in the office for Sweet Lou. His fast start in the first quarter was the needed spark to put the Lakers back in the game when it looked like Portland was about to blow them out. In the fourth quarter again, it looked like the Blazers were gonna blow out the Lakers, but Sweet Lou drains three straight 3-pointers to bring momentum back to the Lakers. He missed a couple of key shots for the Lakers take the lead, but scoring-wise, he carried the scoring load for the team all night long with the exception of Clarkson because the starters weren't doing anything.

Jordan Clarkson, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 8-15 shooting. Some nights, Clarkson will settle for outside shots. Some nights, he'll attack the paint. When he finds a balance, that's when JC's at his best. That was on display tonight. Clarkson hit a pair of threes and found open lanes to drive towards the basket. This was one of Clarkson's better games this month.

Nick Young, 15 points, 5-10 shooting. The only starter who did anything. It was a relatively quiet game for Swaggy P tonight. He got off to a good start in the first quarter, hitting his first two shots. He didn't show up until the fourth quarter where he drained two straight 3-pointers for the tie at 91 and to put the Lakers up 94-91 before the team folded late in the fourth.

(-)

Julius Randle, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4-9 shooting. All you had to do was make a few layups Jules. I'm one of the few who defends Randle's game because of his potential, but I won't deny he's a living enigma. Tonight he resorted back to the out of control Randle we know. He seriously has to improve on his ball handling. Randle's 4th quarter showing tonight exemplified boneheadedness on his part.

The rest of the starters (except Nick Young). Timofey Mozgov, 0 points. Jose Calderon, 0 points and a potential spot on Shaqtin' a Fool for passing the ball to the side referee. Luol Deng, 4 points, 2-7 shooting in his return. Garbage. There's no other way around it.

Brandon Ingram, 0 points, 0-5 shooting. My goodness, Ingram came crashing down hard this week. He's been playing well this month. I don't know if it's because Deng returned to the lineup, but not the way for Ingram to close out the month of January with two bad performances.

MVP

Lou Williams, 31 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 10-20 shooting

At this rate, Sweet Lou is going to get all the MVP honors for every Laker game I cover that's on National TV. This guy deserves Sixth Man of the Year honors.




Conclusion

An embarrassing blowout loss on Sunday. A frustrating loss tonight. I don't know how tomorrow's game @ Utah is gonna unfold. But, closing out on the road seriously needs to be a point of emphasis for the Lakers at this point of the season. It's a young team, there's growing pains. However, I'm looking at the veterans on this roster who know what it takes to close a game out on the road to step up and show the young players the ropes on how to win in a hostile environment. I don't know the Lakers' current road record, but the struggles are evident. They have to learn and the veterans need to take charge. They get another shot tomorrow in Utah. The Jazz have dropped a pair of games lately, but they're always a tough outing on their home floor. I'll see you guys tomorrow night for that game.

01/25: LAKERS @ Portland Trail Blazers 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

The 2nd Half of the Lakers-Blazers matchup. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the half.

Q4

LAL 98 POR 105

The quarter down the stretch got me like...

Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

LAL 75 POR 83

Well, luckily that last basket by McCollum did not go in. The Lakers are down eight, but there was not much to take away from this quarter. This quarter was all Blazers not just scoring-wise, but they kept the Lakers in check defensively. In the official box score, the Lakers only put up 17 points this quarter. However, the margin is surmountable. Let's see if the Lakers can put out a better effort to close the game out. 

01/25: LAKERS @ Portland Trail Blazers 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome to the first half open thread and discussion of the Lakers' road matchup vs. the Portland Trail Blazers. Will the Lakers finally snap the losing streak against the Blazers? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the half.

Q2

LAL 58 POR 59

Now, that was a better half than the garbage in Dallas. Although, there were some glimpses in this half where it looked like the Blazers were going to pull away behind Lillard and McCollum, but the Lakers found ways to respond and keep themselves within striking distance. Mr. Dependable, Lou Williams is carrying this team once again, leading all scorers with 16 points. An aggressive Sweet Lou to start is a big time benefit for the Lakers. He went full throttle in the first half to get the Lakers some points to get back into the game. The bench as a whole outscored the starting unit. Jordan Clarkson is in double figures with 11 points. Ivica Zubac is almost in double figures with 8 points. The bench players were the game changers to keep this from being a blowout. Lillard and McCollum, there's no stopping them, but if the Lakers neutralize every other player, they have a chance. In the last game in Portland, Allen Crabbe stepped in and provided that extra scoring power for the Blazers. The Lakers did a nice job containing every other player. The closest scorer tonight among Lillard and McCollum is Evan Turner and Mason Plumlee is following closely. The Lakers can't afford to let any Trail Blazer not named Lillard and McCollum go off in scoring like they did earlier when Crabbe went off for 20 points off the bench. Overall, nice way for the Lakers to bounce back from an embarrassing performance on Sunday, but there's still 24 more minutes to go. The 2nd half open thread will open up shortly.

Q1

LAL 31 POR 30

Sweet Lou putting the team on his back early on. When the score was 16-24, I'm sure we had the sentiments of "oh, here we go again." Because that's where the part the Blazers just make a run. Then, the bench comes in. Tarik Black showed his hustle energy to finish the quarter. Lou Williams did his thing in providing the scoring off the bench. The bench pretty much took over the quarter to provide the spark to bring the Lakers back into the game and for the lead to end the quarter. You never know what we're gonna get out of this Laker team. Here's hoping they stay consistent through the next three quarters.

Lakers Drop Lead, Game vs. Blazers

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' road matchup vs. the Portland Trail Blazers where the Lakers drop another tough one on the road, losing to the Blazers 109-118.

The one thing I'm hoping from this Lakers team is that I hope they take all these road games where they blow a lot of leads to heart and work on protecting a lead. This game added to those road woes where the Lakers come out guns blazing, they build a lead to close out the first half, and they feel good about. Then, in the 2nd half, they forget to play their game and disaster happens. It's growing pains.

(+)

Julius Randle, 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal. Not the greatest of games for Randle, but he still in some way puts up monster numbers, recording yet another double-double. He got off to a good start tonight, didn't do much until late in the 3rd quarter. Randle woke up in between the 3rd quarter and 4th quarter and started to take the game over. There was nothing Mason Plumlee or anybody else defending could do against Randle's power and versatility.

Brandon Ingram, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block. Trust me when I say this, Ingram will break out eventually before the season wraps up. He's slowly finding his range from beyond the arc, notching a pair of three pointers tonight. Ingram's starting to be more assertive on both ends on the floor, which is encouraging to see. As fans, we gotta stay patient.

Jordan Clarkson, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals. Clarkson continues to make his case for Sixth Man of the Year. Last game, he was great at attacking the basket on the Grizzlies' stout defense. He replicated that tonight and found the range from 3-point land.

(-)

Screen and roll defense. The Lakers just gave up way too many easy baskets for the Blazers. The Blazers were cutting in the lane with ease tonight against the defense. Three easy baskets by Plumlee to start summed up how bad the Lakers defended the Blazers' screen and roll game. Then, Harkless, Crabbe, and Turner got into the action. They kept catching the defense sleeping all game.

Lou Williams, 10 points, 3-8 shooting. Sour night for Sweet Lou. His shot wasn't going through tonight and he made some quick momentum-changing turnovers. Williams' scoring has taken a nosedive as of late. But, he's a veteran. He'll find ways to break out of the funk.

D'Angelo Russell. Don't get me wrong, D'Lo finished off strong with a 22 point performance, but his three point game was not there tonight. He attempted eight 3-pointers, he missed all of them and he made a pair of silly turnovers to start the game. Nonetheless, inconsistency is evident in Russell's game. He went to the post up game late to get going, but it was too little too late. He should've continued to play that game and try to draw contact as he did in the first half, getting to the free throw line to get first series of points.

MVP

Julius Randle, 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

The man is a beast. Like I said, numbers weren't too impressive, but he displayed tonight why his rare combination of strength and quickness make him hard to defend. 

Conclusion

The Lakers will learn soon enough. If they want to win on the road, they have to put their foot on the gas for a full 48 minutes. It's too bad Damian Lillard just had to return tonight for the Blazers after missing a couple of games. But, like I said, I hope the Lakers take these games into consideration. If they want to win and be good on the road, they have to bring the effort in the 2nd half and play their game. Nonetheless, this is part of the growing pains this season that we have to endure. This young squad will get it sooner or later. They return home tomorrow on a back-to-back set vs. Miami. Hey, if Portland can win tonight after a tough road loss to the Warriors last night, the Lakers can certainly rebound against the Heat. I'll see you guys later. 

01/05: LAKERS @ Portland Trail Blazers 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

The 2nd half of the Lakers-Blazers matchup in the Moda Center. As usual, leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

LAL 109 POR 118

Growing pains. This has been the narrative for the Lakers all season long on the road. They play well in the first half, but in the second half, they get lackadaisical with their game. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum did their damage, but Evan Turner stepped up for the Blazers, making it much more difficult for the Lakers defensively to close this game out. Road woes continue here for the most part. Stay tuned for the full recap. 

Q3

LAL 84 POR 84

I noted this in the comments, 2nd half performances on the road have been tough for the Lakers all season long. This quarter should come no surprise. I thought they got too careless and that's the unfortunate part of this process. The Blazers storm right back and eventually took the lead, but Julius Randle helped the Lakers tie it up. He's been quiet since the first quarter. It's time for him to take control and use that size, power, and speed to take this game over. 

01/05: LAKERS @ Portland Trail Blazers 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome in to the first half open thread and discussion of the Lakers' Thursday night road matchup vs. the Portland Trail Blazers. Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the half.

Q2

LAL 62 POR 53

Impressive 2nd quarter for the Lakers until the later stages of the quarter. They couldn't quite replicate their performance against the Grizzlies Tuesday night, but this'll do. How about Brandon Ingram? This might be the breakout game that we've been waiting for, but I'll hold that in for a bit. But, I think he's starting to be more assertive and tonight is a good start. He's starting to find the range a bit from the three point land and he's being aggressive on both sides of the ball tonight. With Luol Deng out, he'll be getting a lot of opportunity to build up confidence in his shot and abilities. Randle and Mozgov got off to a good start to get the offense going and Clarkson turned it on off the bench, attacking the basket and also doing it on the defensive end, notching 2 steals. They're going to need more of those stats defensively. Lillard and McCollum will have their way, but they gotta stop giving up easy baskets. They are being too over committed on one Blazer and another player cuts behind them for an easy deuce. That was apparent with Mason Plumlee and guys like Crabbe and Harkless. The Lakers need to defend the screen and roll better while continuing to play unselfish, aggressive basketball like the game against the Grizzlies on Tuesday. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

LAL 24 POR 29

The Lakers had a rough start early on this quarter. Down 0-6, a pair of turnovers to start, these are signs of a young team. But, they started to come on offensively with Mozgov and Randle being aggressive. I thought Russell was also aggressive. He was drawing all kinds of contact from the Blazers' defense to get to the free throw line. Defensively, the issues are still apparent. Damian Lillard showed no signs of rust, returning from injury and starting perfect from the field. But, they allowed three easy by Mason Plumlee as a result of over committing on the double team. Lakers end the quarter down by five, so there's still plenty of time to get in this game. This is especially important now that Lillard is on the bench and C.J. McCollum is off to a slow start.