The Lakeshow Review

On the heels of an impressive road win against the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers headed back home to take on a young and up-and-coming Trailblazers squad. In contrast to Sunday’s contest at Sacto, Monday’s game was a bit more of a slugfest for the Lakers. Already missing Luka Dončić (finger sprain/leg contusion) and LeBron James (sciatica), the Lakers announced they’d also be missing Marcus Smart (quadricep contusion) and Gabe Vincent (sprained left ankle) prior to the start of the contest. Big man Jaxson Hayes was also ruled out, and will be out for a while. The Lakers, predictably, played tired and sluggish basketball. Despite a solid team effort, they simply lacked the crispness in execution, as the younger-legged Trailblazers ran up and down the floor against the shorthanded Lakers. Portland prevailed by a final score of 122-108. Despite the loss, there were some positives displayed by the Lakers. It’s always tough to win a game against anybody when half of your rotation is out, but LA certainly gave it a run. Eventually, they were out-attrited by a fully healthy Portland squad, one which was out to put their best foot forward, as all teams do in LA.

The Lakers came out of the gates strong. They were led (once again) by Austin Reaves, who scored 13 seamless points in the first 7 minutes of action. Reaves picked up right where he left off against the Blazers. Hot on the heels of a 51-point explosion the night before (a career-high), Reaves poured 41 points, a game-high, to go with four boards and five dimes. He did commit eight turnovers, a sign that perhaps the fatigue was starting to set in on the second night of a back-to-back. Nevertheless, Reaves continues his blistering start to the season. He got whatever he wanted once again, getting great results on the high pick-and-roll (with Ayton as the screen-setter) or driving downhill and attacking the rim. Reaves ability to navigate screens is fantastic, as he can weave his way through defenders until he settles on a good angle to score from. The fact that he has the midrange capabilities when driving is crucial, as he can stop on a dime and shoot over an off-balance defender. AR did his best to put the team on his back once again today, but LA simply did not have the horses to run with him. Outside of Rui Hachimura (16 points) and Deandre Ayton (16 points) the Lakers really didn’t get much out of their available players. Not to mention, the team failed to generate much offense whenever AR sat down for a breather. He was the only starter who did not post a negative +/- for the game, which tells you all you need to know about LAs lack of horses. This was just one of those games. Hopefully guys will start to come back soon.

Where LA really hurt themselves was on the defensive end. The younger Blazers made sure to run against them at every turn. Guard Deni Avdija led all Blazers with 25 points, including 5-8 from beyond the arc. Much of this was due to LAs poor defensive rotations. The Lakers looked lost on help defense all night, which is a clear sign of lack of focus. They were late in rotating to shooters, often botching their individual assignments. Switching was also an issue, as LA consistently failed to get behind the screen-setter, leading to several open slips to basket. Just a bad defensive performance by the Lakers. Yes, they’re tired. And yes, they’re shorthanded. But one expects someone with the bravado of JJ Redick to have his guys prepared at all times. Defense is all preparation, effort, scheme and focus. No matter who’s in the game, if there’s a sound system in place, they should always be able to fall back on it to positive results. It’ll be interesting to see how the defense shapes out as the season progresses.

Portland won almost every hustle category. They outrebounded LA 49-42. They recorded more team assists, steals and blocks, while committing less turnovers. More importantly, they won the points in the paint battle 62-54 while also making double the amount of threes (14 to 7) than the Lakers. That was the difference. Outside of AR, Rui and Dalton Knecht (who showed signs of life with a 16-point effort off the bench) no other Laker recorded a made three pointer. LA also only managed to produce 18 total bench points, whereas Portland sixth man Jerami Grant (22 points) outscored the Lakers bench by himself. It simply wasn’t LAs night. Given the injuries, the attrition factor, and quite frankly, the lack of preparation. This is the type of game that you flush aside, and move on to the next one. It’s hard to gauge a team with so many vital pieces missing, yet it’s also evident that effort was something that was missing on LAs part. Hopefully the edge and intensity returns as guys make their way back to the lineup. Until then, the Lakers will have to manage and find a way to rely on their grit and determination in order to win some games and keep their head above water while key players are out. LA will travel to Minnesota on Wednesday to take on the T-Wolves for a second time. I expect to see a better effort from a more rested and humbled group. They really need to rebound against Minny. Go Lakers.