The Lakeshow Review

The Lakers returned to the hardwood last night when they took on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. Following their ousting from the Emirates Cup tournament, the Lakers came in to last night’s contest with a glimmer of momentum after barely escaping the Phoenix Suns, in Phoenix last Sunday. The team looks to regain its footing, and last night’s game was a step in the right direction, besting the Jazz by a final score of 143-135. Defensive issues continue to show up, but the team managed to hang tough despite a hot shooting display from Utah in the early stages of the game. They managed to keep the game close, eventually outlasting their opponent in what was a flawed yet encouraging performance where LA showed encouraging signs of progress.

The Jazz came out of the gates with every intentions of putting the Lakers away. Early in the game, Utah made every effort to exploit the size discrepancy between Jusuf Nurkic and Jaxson Hayes, as they pounded the paint in search for easy baskets. They also exploited LAs lackluster rotations, particularly early in games, as they swung the ball to great effect, opening up several quality outside looks. Utah shot a blistering 63% from the floor, and 59% from three in the first half, on their way to a 78-73 halftime advantage.

The Lakers did a great job of keeping pace, with Luka Dončić’s 25 first half points helping LA stay afloat. Luka finished with a remarkable 45 points (on 28 shots), 11 boards and 14 assists, to go with five steals (and zero turnovers), in what was one of his better games so far and his first 40-point triple-double with the Purple and Gold. Despite porous defense, the Lakers only turned the ball over once in the first half, which is encouraging seeing as how they usually start these road contest on the slow side, giving up turnovers which lead to transition opportunities on the other side. LA did an admirable job at taking care of the basketball, coughing seven turnovers for the game to Utah’s 13. Despite the Jazz being the younger and more energetic team, it was the Lakers who got out and running, tallying 25 fastbreak points to Utah’s nine. This was key in helping them stay in the game, as they offset Utah’s early hot shooting barrage (some of which was enabled by the Lakers’ poor defensive rotations).

LA made the right adjustments after the first half, allowing only 57 points from the Jazz on 40% shooting. LeBron James led a key stretch, playing alongside the reserves to start the fourth quarter where LA was able to reclaim the lead, and maintain it for good. LeBron was great last night, scoring 28 points (on 8-17 shooting) to go with seven rebounds and 10 assists. A productive night as a second option, particularly with the absence of Austin Reaves, where he powered the Lakers’ transition game and ran the offense during the shifts in which Luka sat. The Lakers as a whole managed to turn in solid ancillary performances all around. Jaxson Hayes was a perfect 7-7 from the floor for 16 points, starting in place of Deandre Ayton. Marcus Smart was outstanding in his second consecutive start with 17 points, on 5-9 shooting from three. Unfortunately, he encountered a rough whistle all night, fouling out with a couple of minutes left in the fourth. Fortunately, the game had been decided by then. Jake LaRavia was also productive with 12 points off the bench, and Rui Hachimura, after enduring a cold spell the last few games, notched 13 points on 6-10 shooting.

On a night where Utah threw the kitchen sink at LA, they managed to hang on and eventually outlast their opponent in what was an encouraging road win to push their record to 19-7. Young guard Keyonte George was unstoppable all night, dropping 34 points on 9-20 shooting, along with eight dimes. Rookie forward Ace Bailey also looked good with 19 points on 7-13 shooting. LA struggled once again to contain Utah’s skilled perimeter athletes. They continue to fare poorly defending halfcourt sets, where they routinely break down via continuous screening actions. Opponents have become adept at spamming elaborate screening actions, knowing that the Lakers soft switching and poor communication will eventually give way to breakdowns and quality looks. LAs switching continues to be a problem, whether on handoffs, or drag/double drag screening action, they routinely surrender good looks from range. The team simply have to tighten up their communication, and rotations in order to limit these opportunities. On the bright side, they shot well from the floor and managed to mount sustained runs in key stretches to stay in the game and eventually win it. Against better competition though, they’ll have to fare better all around. If they can get their defensive effort to match their offensive production, then they might just find the right balance.

LA will now make their way home to face the Clippers at Crypto Arena, before they head back out on the road starting next week. It’s a slow process, but hopefully they can continue to bring their defense up to par, without losing ground on offense. The second half of last night’s game was certainly more encouraging, but eventually one would like to see them do it for 48 minutes, especially against the better competition. Until then, the team needs to keep finding ways to win games and stay competitive within the brutal Western Conference standings. As we near the halfway point of the season, the team has to maintain their cushion so that the right moves can propel them into legit contention. Go Lakers.