Lakers Silence Jazz; AD Bounces Back

Final Score: LAL 116 UTA 108 [W] (51-15)

Great bounceback win. After getting clamped down by Toronto on Saturday night, the Lake Show shook off that loss with a 116-108 win tonight over the Utah Jazz. This win tonight ensures the Lakers' stranglehold over the #1 seed in the West.

This game was more like it. Saturday night, the Lakers looked too sluggish and had no answer to the Raptors' hot start.  It almost looked that way again at the start of this game when the Jazz jumped to a 7-0 lead. Both teams went back and forth in the 1st half. But, the Lakers turned it on in the 2nd half and answered every run by Utah with clutch buckets.

Hands down, Anthony Davis was tonight's MVP this game. The man took only 7 shots in the loss against Toronto. Tonight, we saw a more aggressive AD. Despite the 2-7 start from the field, he never stopped being aggressive. Rudy Gobert had no answer for him, especially from the perimeter. AD finished with 42 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block.  Those are two-way player-esque numbers. The defensive stats reinforce his contention for DPOY. 

Overall, I liked the activity here from the Lakers. They had active hands on defense. The team had 12 steals in total. They were picking the Jazz's pockets. The flow of the offense was better here tonight. LeBron got assertive in the 4th and took over when AD needed a breather. Danny Green didn't settle from 3-point land and attacked the basket for higher percentage shots. They had to make it interesting down the stretch when the Jazz made one last push. But, they pulled it out with the W. OKC and Houston are up next on a back-to-back. How about the Rockets in this restart though? They're defying all odds so far with their super small ball lineup. They will be a nuisance on Thursday's match up. I'll see you guys later.

Lakers Roundup Commentary: @ Utah; vs. San Antonio

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*

Going up against playoff-hopeful teams in the West is not always easy if you're shorthanded. The Lakers failed their first try in Utah to play spoiler on the Jazz's hopes on Tuesday. But, they succeeded in dinging San Antonio's playoff hopes just a bit in an OT win last night. This is your Lakers round up commentary on the blog.

04/03: @ Utah 110-117 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180403/LALUTA#/recap

Highlights: *Courtesy of Rapid Highlights*

Last game against the Kings displayed a mundane performance from the Lakers all season long. But fortunately, they bounced back really quickly against the Jazz, despite the losing effort. The Lakers started strong out of the gate. Kuzma started perfect in the first quarter and he along with KCP did most of the damage here. Kuz finished with 26 points while KCP racked 28 points. They played a big part in the Lakers' final desperation run before falling short at the end of the game. Utah's backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio dominated this game for the Jazz. We all know Mitchell is a stud rookie. But, Rubio is showing he can be a scoring threat to go with his passing prowess. The defense had some fits whenever Rubio would come off screens. The Lakers never knew if he was looking to score or read the defense perfectly to set up a nice pass to roller like a Gobert or a Derrick Favors. Overall, the Jazz's back court was on fire this game. The Jazz have been on an unbeliveable run after a slow start to the season. It was interesting to note that Luke Walton elected to let Randle play point for a majority of the game. His performance was a little of a mixed result with 9 assists to 5 turnovers to go with his 12 pts-12 rebs performance.

04/04: vs. San Antonio 112-122 (OT) [W]

Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180404/SASLAL#/recap

Highlights: *Courtesy of MLG Highlights*

Talk about a nightmarish trip to La La Land for the San Antonio Spurs. They lose a heartbreaker the other night against the Clippers and the Lakers broke their hearts again in overtime last night. They haven't clinched a playoff spot yet since the West is very congested outside of the 1-3 seeds. This win was an example of great physical and mental fortitude from the Lakers. They were coming off a tough loss in Utah. They had to travel home while the Spurs are still LA, waiting for them. All signs pointed to the Spurs having the advantage. But clearly, Kyle Kuzma and the Lakers had other plans. Kuzma was in clutch mode when the game went to OT to help the Lakers seal the win. He finished with 30 points. He also accomplished a nice feat becoming the first NBA rookie with 1,200 points, 450 rebounds, and 150 made 3-pointers in a player's rookie season. ROTY (Rookie of the Year) may be out of the picture for Kuzma with Ben Simmons likely running away with it, but he's already won our hearts. KCP made a big three-pointer in that overtime as well that provided the Lakers a good cushion with the lead. He finished with 21 points. Keep in mind, the Lakers didn't have Julius Randle nor Brook Lopez on the floor. Luke didn't elect to put them out there since the lineup rotation with Kuz, KCP, Hart, Frye, Zubac, Ennis, and Caruso was working down the stretch. Lakers got a nice surprise performance from Channing Frye with 19 points off the bench; it goes to show that he's still got it when it comes to scoring and being a spot up 3-point shooter. Ennis also made some big buckets to keep the Lakers within striking distance. Luke also made a nice adjustment defensively doubling on LaMarcus Aldridge. We all know if you leave Aldridge one-on-one, he's gonna spot up and shoot. The Lakers doubled him and forced him to kick it to other Spurs players to step up and make a play. With this win, the Lakers sweep the season series against the Spurs for the first time in a long time. It'd shock the NBA world if the Spurs miss the playoffs because of tough losses like these. They haven't missed the playoffs since Gregg Popovich was first hired by the Spurs back in 96-97!

Lakers Clamped Down by Jazz

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com and Yahoo Sports*

Brandon Ingram was the Lakers' leading scorer with 16 points on 7-14 shooting to go with 4 steals in the Lakers' 81-96 loss to the Jazz last night. Jordan Clarkson was the only player who joined Ingram in double figures with 15 points off the bench. On a side note, Larry Nance Jr. grabbed 10 rebounds in this game.

Final Score: @ Utah 81-96 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20171028/LALUTA#/recap

Next Game: vs. Detroit (10/31)

Highlights: *courtesy of Ximo Pierto*

The game was closer than what the final scoreboard indicated, especially in the 2nd half. The Lakers pulled in as little as within one point from the Jazz on one occasion. Once again, I saw the 2nd unit consisting of Kuzma, Clarkson, Hart, and Randle was effective yet again and was one of the reasons why the Lakers were still in the game. Another reason was that B.I. was looking to attack the basket. Again, this is a recurring theme that Ingram is at his best when he's looking to attack the basket. On a side note, Lonzo Ball knocked down three 3-pointers in this game. Despite the field goal percentage, that has gotta be encouraging to see as Ball finds his outside shot. The Lakers stayed competitive through 3 1/2 quarters. Utah had the 3-point game clicking and they moved the ball better than the Lakers down the stretch. Donovan Mitchell is turning out to be a stud for the Jazz. He showed out when the Lakers played the Jazz in the preseason and in regular season action, he did it again. Along with Ricky Rubio, Mitchell provided the Jazz the spark to seal the deal over the Lakers. 

Lakers Wrap Up Road Trip with Loss to Jazz

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Utah Jazz where the Lakers wrap up their 3-game road trip, but they lose another close one, falling to the Jazz 88-96 off back-to-back sets.

One, two, three strikes, you're out. That's this road trip in a nutshell. There's no surprise that this is the narrative the Lakers. They can't find ways to win on the road. I did hear Marv Albert concluding tonight's broadcast that the Lakers are like 5-26 in road games this season. Exhibit A why this should be a point of emphasis for this young team to build around.

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Bench. Lou Williams had 20 points. Jordan Clarkson had 16 point. And Ivica Zubac had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. I wouldn't say much with Sweet Lou and JC. They've been relatively consistent off the bench this season, but they did start slow this game and picked it up as the game rolled on. Zubac had another solid outing in back-to-back sets. Tonight, he had a much better game. Last night, I thought he was having a tough time being aware of the ball coming to him and he didn't have a good night field goal percentage-wise. Tonight, his awareness was sharp and gave out his best effort against an up and coming elite rim protector in Rudy Gobert. Gobert did have the last laugh on the block on Zubac to end the game, but it's a mere blemish on Zubac's performance tonight.

Timofey Mozgov, 9 points, 9 rebounds. He was non-existent last night against Portland. There's no sugar coating that. His 3rd quarter play tonight though was impressive. Derrick Favors' flagrant foul in that quarter got the big man going. There were some glimpses Mozzy took Gobert to school in the post, he was putting moves and almost put Utah's All-Star snub in a poster for a dunk. But, that was Mozgov's 15 minutes of fame. Still positive though.

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Energy. Like I said in the 3rd quarter, the Jazz were playing with more intensity and energy than the Lakers this game. You can factor in the back-to-back effect, which is understandable. The start, trailing 2-12 exemplified that the Lakers spent a lot of their effort in Portland last night. It's a good thing the Jazz missed a couple shots and made some careless turnovers to prevent this game from being ugly.

Jose Calderon, 0 points, 0-3 shooting. I'll give him credit for the pass to a cutting Mozgov on a fast break when Mozgov got fouled. But at this point, I'd rather have Marcelinho (Marcelo Huertas) starting at the point guard position. Get well soon D'Lo. This is where you're sorely missed.

Brandon Ingram, 0 points, 0-6 shooting. Like I said last night, this week is a bitter end to what was a solid January for Ingram. Tonight, we  just didn't see the assertiveness that he developed during the course of this month on display during this stretch. Growing pains.

MVP

Ivica Zubac, 16 points, 10 rebounds, 6-11 shooting

Zubac has been nothing short of solid since he was brought back to the active roster from the D League. His upside makes him a better option than Mozgov and Tarik Black at this point of the season.





Conclusion

Well, the silver lining in this road trip is that the Lakers were much competitive on a back-to-back set. That's something you don't see everyday. One game, the Lakers will spent most of their energy and then the next day, they'll get run out of town. That was not the case tonight. Sunday's performance against Dallas was absolutely disgraceful, but they partially redeemed themselves with better competitive performances against Portland last night and tonight against Utah. Still, it is essential that the Lakers develop a formula to win games on the road. The Grammy's are just around the corner, so the Lakers will have their annual 6-7 game road trip in early February. They'll have plenty of chances to figure things out. Let's just say that this stretch was the pre-test. The long Grammy road trip in February will be the true test. It is not only essential for the Lakers to win games on the road, but it is essential for the development of the young core. Well, it was fun while it lasted covering two straight Laker games aired on national TV. As usual, Quick Fact Checks will follow, but the Lakers do have a televised matchup on ESPN against the hated Celtics on Friday before the Super Bowl. Until then, I'll see you guys next Friday for that game.

01/26: LAKERS @ Utah Jazz 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

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

Q4

LAL 88 UTA 96

That last block by Rudy Gobert is self explanatory on how this game went. The Lakers tried to make one last push after the steal by Jordan Clarkson to cut the deficit to four, but they missed a couple of shots down the stretch and the Jazz were able to capitalize with dagger shots. George Hill's three after Clarkson's steal and score pretty much was the dagger. Lou Williams did have a three to cut the deficit, but just wasn't enough. Lakers finish 0-3 on this road trip. Stay tuned for the full recap. 

Q3

LAL 60 UTA 70

A tale of two halves this quarter. I said in my 2nd quarter discussion, the starters need to pick up the pace and they did exactly that. Deng got a couple of buckets in and Mozgov had a brief run after Derrick Favors committed a flagrant foul on him. It looked like momentum was gonna swing in the favor of the Lakers. However, Rudy Gobert hosted a block party to get the Jazz going. I said in the comments, the Jazz played with more intensity down the stretch this quarter than the Lakers. The Lakers were completely blanked out during the Jazz's run until Zubac hit a couple of free throws and then Lou Williams drove to the basket to put the Lakers within 10 points. Let's see if the Lakers have a run of their own. Or will they fizzle out like last night in Portland?

01/26: LAKERS @ Utah Jazz 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome to the 1st half open thread and discussion of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Utah Jazz to end a 3-game road trip. Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the half.

Q2

LAL 41 UTA 44

Strong finish from the Lakers this quarter. The Jazz love to play a slow pace style of basketball, but they're missing a couple of shots and turning the ball over. Once again, the bench is to be a factor in making the Lakers stay within striking distance, despite a slow start. Lou Williams extended the quarter, drawing fouls, which was beneficial for the Lakers to get back into the game. But, Ivica Zubac stood out from the bench unit. He filled the stat sheet last night against Portland with a double-double, but he finished 5-15 from the field. He looks a little sharper here as players are finding him in the screen and roll, Larry Nance, Jr. in particular was finding him with pretty extra passes. So far, the Lakers have exploited the Jazz's slow pace. Deng and Lou had a pair of quick steps to burn their defender before they get set. Jordan Clarkson showed off some explosive moves to the basket, but he just couldn't finish. The Lakers need more output from the starters outside of Nick Young. Young leads the starting unit with 8 points. Everybody else, not so much. Overall, the team has their work cut out for them if they want this game to be silver lining in what is a forgettable three-game road trip. The 2nd half will open up shortly. 

Q1

LAL 16 UTA 23

As expected, the Lakers would come up very sluggish after a very tough loss in Portland last night. The Jazz got off to a hot start behind Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert, but they've slowed down considerably down the stretch for the Lakers to get going and go from 2-12 to 16-23 to finish the quarter. Nick Young, like Lou Williams last night, picked up the scoring load for the team, hitting a pair of threes to cut the Jazz's double-digit lead. I was surprise Luke Walton didn't put Sweet Lou immediately, but Swaggy P's strong showing when the Lakers were lacking energy this quarter made up for it.