Tonight, the real Los Angeles Lakers showed up for the first time since last spring, and it was a refreshing sight for their fans.
Playing at home against the very short-handed Memphis Grizzlies, they took care of business the way a championship contender is supposed to — by blowing out the Grizzlies, 134-107.
For the first time this season, Los Angeles had a strong start, and it never let up. It led 74-51 at halftime, and although Memphis came to within 16, 88-72, midway through the third quarter, the Purple and Gold scored 15 unanswered points right afterward to eliminate any chance of a collapse.
This was a dominant performance in just about every aspect for the Lakers. They shot 58% from the field while holding Memphis to just 36.8% shooting, and they tied a franchise record with 22 made 3-point pointers in 35 attempts. They also outrebounded their opponent, 54-35, in a reversal of an early-season trend.
The Lakers are 6-5 on the season and 2-0 in group play as far as the in-season tournament is concerned. This lopsided win will help them in their attempts to win their group and advance to the knockout round, as the margin of victory in group games is one of the tiebreakers in case more than one team has the same record in group play.
Anthony Davis: A
Davis continued his dominant play of late — on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 27 minutes, and he did plenty of damage in the paint.
But it was on the other end of the floor where he really wrecked the Grizzlies. He not only grabbed 11 rebounds in limited minutes, but he also blocked six shots. Early in the first quarter, he had back-to-back blocks on Jaren Jackson Jr. on the same possession, which led to a Grizzlies turnover and a subsequent basket by LeBron James. It was reminiscent of his remarkable playoff series against the same team last season when he was a human eraser on that end of the floor.
For good measure, Davis also dished five assists in his spare time.
Taurean Prince: B
Prince chipped in with eight points on 3-of-6 field-goal shooting and 2-of-5 from 3-point range, plus three rebounds, one assist and one steal. When he shoots well from downtown, it greatly helps L.A.’s set offense by providing spacing and keeping defenses honest.
Cam Reddish: B-plus
Reddish has seemed like a different player over the last few games since being moved into the starting lineup. He has been very active on defense, and even though he had no steals or blocks, he has made a positive impact on that end of the floor.
Offensively, he went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and scored 10 points in 25 minutes. As is the case with Prince, accurate 3-point shooting from Reddish greatly helps his teammates, especially when the game slows down.
D'Angelo Russell: A
This was an outstanding performance by Russell. He went 8-of-12 overall and scored 24 points while dishing five dimes in just 27 minutes. The Lakers are clearly a much better team when he shoots well, and accurate shooting from him greatly raises their ceiling on any given night.
In the third quarter, Russell went into volcano mode. He scored 13 points in the period and made three straight 3-pointers. He was a big part of that 15-0 run that put the game away.
LeBron James: B-plus
One of the best things about this dominant win by the Lakers is James didn’t have to assert himself much. He shot 6-of-11 overall, including 3-of-6 from deep, giving him 16 points plus nine rebounds and six assists.
Even better, he played only 23 minutes, which should leave him fresh for Wednesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
Rui Hachimura: A
Hachimura was red-hot in this game. He was 8-of-10 and made all three of his 3-point attempts, giving him 23 points in 24 minutes. He did a good job of using the threat of the outside shot to deliver shot fakes that allowed him to get to his sweet spots in the mid-range area for higher percentage jumpers.
Christian Wood: C-plus
This was the fourth consecutive game in which Wood has struggled offensively. He seemingly couldn’t get anything to fall on Tuesday. He made only one of his eight shot attempts.
But he definitely helped L.A. in this victory by gobbling up 10 rebounds and adding two assists and one blocked shot. More performances like this one can help change the narrative that Wood supposedly only cares about scoring and his own stats.
Jaxson Hayes: A
Hayes made an effort to contest shots at the rim and keep the ball alive on the offensive boards. He also blocked three shots as he put his immense length on display.
The highlight of the game for him was an offensive rebound off his own missed free throw that he immediately turned into an emphatic dunk. He added three more dunks in the second half, allowing him to finish with 11 points in 21 minutes.
This was by far Hayes’ best outing as a Laker so far.
Austin Reaves: A
The move to the bench seems to have done a lot of good for Reaves, who struggled to start this season. But he seems to have gotten himself acclimated lately. He is starting to look like the same player who emerged as a star last spring.
On Tuesday, he was 5-of-9 from the field and made all four of his attempts from beyond the arc to score 16 points. Even better, he also dropped seven dimes and devoured 11 rebounds in 29 minutes. Reaves seems to give L.A.’s second unit life, and head coach Darvin Ham deserves credit for making the bold move to reassign him to the bench.
Max Christie: B
In nine minutes, Christie made both of his shot attempts and added one rebound, one assist and one steal.
Maxwell Lewis: Incomplete
Lewis received five minutes of run in garbage time on Tuesday. He missed his only shot attempt when he was stuffed near the rim, and he made no positive contribution on the stat sheet.
