The Lakeshow Review

After dropping the Emirates Cup quarterfinal at the hands of the Spurs in lopsided fashion, the Lakers travelled to Phoenix for another clash with the Suns, with Phoenix having won handily the last time both teams played each other. It was an opportunity for LA to amend both their losses against the Suns and Spurs in the past few days, and though ugly, the Lakers were able to prevail by a final of 116-114.

For a moment, it looked as though the Lakers would suffer the same fate they did against the Spurs last Sunday, when they fell behind 36-31 after one quarter of action. Phoenix came out hot out of the gate, shooting 58% from the floor, and over 45% from beyond the arc during the the opening quarter. Phoenix made sure to employ a high pace of play from the start, getting out in transition and forcing the Lakers defense to make quick decisions and rotations. The Suns’ offense was led by Devin Booker’s 27 points (on 7-17 shooting), six boards and seven assist effort. Big man Mark Williams also contributed 20 points and six boards. Williams’ nimbleness and agility gave the Lakers fits all night, particularly on handoff actions, with LA unable to contain his swift rim-running after handing the ball off.

Miraculously, Phoenix weren’t able to capitalize following their hot start, failing to expand on their first quarter lead, and exceptionally hot shooting. Both teams headed into the half break tied at 62 apiece. Down by eight with minutes to go in the second quarter, Luka Dončić led a mini-run to notch the game before both clubs made their way to the lockers. Luka finished with a game-high 29 points, six rebounds and six assists. He shot a sub-par 7-25 from the floor, and 2-14 from three, but converted 13-14 trips to the line. He also committed six turnovers. This wasn’t a great performance from Luka, who has not looked his best since returning from a leave of absence. Perhaps he’ll get his rhythm back, but the shot selection and carelessness with the basketball aren’t helping the team at this moment. A more committed defensive effort would also go a long way.

The Lakers would tighten things up in the third quarter, winning it 24-15. Phoenix made just five shots to open the second half, and would miss their first nine threes. As a result, the Lakers took a nine point lead heading into the fourth. In the final quarter, the Lakers managed to balloon their lead up to 20. They lead 99-79 at one point, before Phoenix mounted a furious rally to reclaim the lead with seconds left. Dillon Brooks (who finished with 18 points) drilled a late three pointer to give Phoenix a 114-113 lead with 12 seconds. Following the play, both Brooks and LeBron James butted heads, with Brooks bumping James on his way back down the court. This resulted in Brooks’ second technical foul, thereby earning an ejection. LeBron would then brick the ensuing free throw, but managed to draw a foul during the following play, as Devin Booker committed illegal contact as James rose up for the potential go-ahead three-pointer. LeBron would make two of three free throws, giving LA a 115-114 lead with a smidge over three seconds. With the Suns out of timeouts, therefore inbounding the ball full court, the Lakers were able to secure the final defensive stop to get the win.

This game showcased both good and bad. The Lakers found renewed defensive intensity, particularly with Marcus Smart sliding into the starting unit, in place of the ailing Austin Reaves (who will miss approximately one week due to a calf strain). Smart’s presence was immediately felt, forcing a steal which led to a layup in the opening minutes of action. Jarred Vanderbilt also found his way back to the rotation, after residing in the doghouse for the last couple of games. He too made an impact, immediately bringing back some much needed energy and hustle into the rotation. The Lakers shot poorly this game, only connecting on 38-88 shots from the field (good for 43% compared to the Suns’ 49%). This game was won at the glass, with LA outrebounding Phoenix 54-37, which included a whopping 24 offensive rebounds. Deandre Ayton was quietly rock solid, notching another 20-10 outing with 20 points and 13 boards, with six of those being offensive. Vando also racked up six offensive rebounds, as it was LAs hustle and intensity that helped them eek out the win, despite a cold shooting night.

Lack of focus continues to be an issue that plagues the team. With a 20 point lead midway through the fourth, they allowed the Suns to muscle their way back to reclaiming the lead with seconds to go. Thankfully, LA made a series of late free throws to secure the win, but one would be remiss to not point out the disappointment in nearly allowing a late lead to slip out of their fingers. The Lakers got careless, committing five of their 21 turnovers in the final period. Furthermore, they stopped running their offense, as they struggled to hang on their lead. Instead opting to kill clock, consequently settling for bad, long shots which created easy transition offense for Phoenix. The team clearly took their foot off the gas pedal, and it nearly bit them. JJ Redick needs to employ a better strategy to end games, especially when LA has a late lead. Burning the shot clock, and settling for a contested fallback three isn’t going to cut it. But at least they got the win, and it’s good that they can find ways to win early in the year as they find their footing and avoid falling into a hole in the standings.

Next up, the Lakers will travel to Utah on Thursday to play the Jazz. Hopefully they’ll treat this one as a loss, and try to clean up some of the glaring deficiencies that they’ve been encountering, which are mostly of the mental kind. Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt both need to stay in the rotation, in some strong capacity. The Lakers have clearly struggled to contain high-level perimeter athletes from their opponents lately, and those two give the team its best shot to remedy that. This game was won off of hustle and intensity, with those two being at the center of that effort. Hopefully they’ll maintain that effort as they try to keep racking racking up wins in the early portions of the season. You have to take them how you can get them. Go Lakers.