The Lakeshow Review

The Lakers were back on the hardwood last Sunday, as they took on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, for the second time in a four day span. Although it was a similar outcome to last Tuesday’s contest, with LA prevailing 108-106, the game did uncover some shortcomings for the Purple and Gold, all of which they’ll have to shore up sooner rather than later, as they look to continue positioning themselves amongst the Western Conference’s top teams. With that said, the team was able to pick up the win, which is of most importance right now. But moving forward, the Lakers must tighten certain holes offensively and defensively if they’re to continue improving as a team.

LA opened the contest playing somewhat careless basketball, which helped Utah build an early lead. Luka Dončić went to work soon after, leading a 10-0 charge which gave the team a 32-30 advantage after 12 minutes. Dončić finished with another stellar game, scoring 33 points (on 10-24 shooting) while also grabbing 11 boards and dishing out eight assists. He also had a pair of steals, while playing some good defense. The Lakers then continued adding to their lead, as they took a 62-55 into the halftime break.

Unfortunately, LA lost center Deandre Ayton to a knee injury midway through the second period, after he played 13 minutes (scoring two points). Ayton has also been ruled out of Tuesday’s contest against the Clippers, which is not a great sign as he’s been playing tremendous basketball in the first weeks of the season. The Jazz swiftly went on a run to open the third, regaining a 72-68 lead, before the Lakers took a timeout. However, the Lakers’ starters, led by Luka, Austin Reaves (who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds) and LeBron James (LeBron scored 17 points and dished eight assists), made a late push to reclaim an 84-81 lead heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth, LA managed to build a healthy 11-point lead with about three minutes left in regulation, before things started to collapse. Utah mounted a furious rally, powered by forward Lauri Markkanen, who scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth. Shooting guard Keyonte Geaorge was also key, scoring a team-high 27 points for the Jazz, including some timely buckets in the fourth, to help narrow the deficit. After an ill-fated stepback three from LeBron, which rimmed off on a long rebound that was snatched by Utah leading to a wide-open Markkanen trey in transition, the Lakers saw themselves up just a point with 40 seconds left in regulation. On Utah’s following possession, Markkanen proceeded to miss a jumper at the nail, prompting Utah to foul, sending Luka to the line where he split his free throws. In the final possession of the game, LA held just a two-point lead, and were able to secure a stop for a 108-106 final score. They got the W, but they barely escaped.

This game highlighted some glaring deficiencies for LA, on both ends of the floor. Defensively, they continue to fare poorly on switching, as their soft switching often leads to an open look from the ballhandler. They aren’t communicating, or swiftly executing their switching, which leads to many breakdowns. The half-court defense has also been an issue, as the team usually gets out-executed via backdoor cuts and off-ball movement for open sprints to the basket. The coaching staff has to institute better backside help rotations, on top of the fact that the perimeter defenders have to play with more awareness, and aggression, while also taking fewer gambles. Transition defense was also an issue late in the game, as the Lakers didn’t get back to cover the boundaries, which led to some open three pointers by the Jazz. Once a player is in front of the ball, the others should cover the wings. On the offensive side, the team cannot find a rhythm from beyond the arc, shooting just 26% (10-38) for the game. The team continues to hover around the bottom echelon in team three-point shooting, which is not a sustainable formula, given that they rely so heavily on Luka Dončić pick-and-roll. They simply must be able to make teams pay for putting two on the ball on Luka ball screens, and so far they’ve been unsuccessful at doing so. It should be noted that several players such as AR and Luka have shot well below their averages, so perhaps a positive regression to the mean is due. If not, LA should look to address their shooting woes in February.

Despite the win, this was a lackluster and uninspiring effort by the Lakers. The Jazz aren’t a good team, and some would say they’re even trying to tank. The way LA almost gave the game away left a lot to be desired. They’ll have to shore up some of their deficiencies in the coming weeks, as they’ll be without Deandre Ayton for at least the next couple of games. Ayton has been one of the team’s cornerstones on their ball screen actions, given his ability to set a good screen and roll hard to the rim. Not to mention his deadly midrange shooting. Many of the player roles have also fluctuated recently due to LeBron’s return to the lineup. Primarily, Rui Hachimura, who started out the year at power forward, and has recently been moved to small forward. The Lakers must get their half-court offense organized, as well as shoring up their defensive rotations. They’ll be able to get to work starting on Tuesday, as they travel back home for a relatively lax four-game homestand that includes games versus the Clippers, Mavericks, Pelicans and Suns. All winnable games. The competition will start to pick up afterwards, as they’ll get back on the road for another six-game road trip. In the meantime, they’ll need to focus on tightening their loose screws, as they try to offset the absence of Deandre Ayton. Hopefully, they figure some things out. Go Lakers.