After losing five of their first eight games to start the season, the Los Angeles Lakers are getting warm, and they are starting to build some legitimate positive momentum.
After getting a win in a 105-104 squeaker over the Houston Rockets on Sunday, they took the court on Tuesday for their fourth and final in-season tournament group play contest. Versus the Utah Jazz, they dominated in every aspect and came away with a 131-99 victory while taking advantage of one of the NBA’s worst defenses.
They bucked a negative early season trend for them by taking a 32-17 lead at the end of the first quarter, and they never looked back. Los Angeles ran up its lead to as many as 39 points, which meant plenty of garbage time and plenty of rest for its two superstars. This win also means it will host its quarterfinal game of the knockout round of the in-season tournament, which will take place during the first full week of December.
Los Angeles definitely played its type of game on this night. It allowed Utah to shoot just 38.8% from the field, which helped it score a solid 24 fast-break points while holding Utah to just eight points in that department. It had 35 assists while holding a healthy advantage in rebounding and free throw attempts.
The team has a three-game winning streak and has now won six of its last seven games. It should be relatively fresh and energetic for Wednesday’s game against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the 9-5 Dallas Mavericks.
Anthony Davis: A
Davis feasted in the paint early and often. He converted on plenty of lob passes deep in the lane on pick-and-roll sequences and by moving without the ball, and he did a number on the offensive glass, which led to plenty of easy buckets for him at the rim.
The superstar big man finished with 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting, 16 rebounds (five of them on the offensive boards), four assists and two steals in 29 minutes. Oddly enough, he didn’t block a single shot, making the first game this season he has failed to record a rejection.
Taurean Prince: F
Tuesday was another rough night for Prince. He missed all four of his 3-point attempts and went just 1-of-8 overall. He contributed four points, one assist and one blocked shot.
If Prince continues to struggle, could head coach Darvin Ham replace him in the starting lineup with Jarred Vanderbilt, once Vanderbilt is cleared to play?
D'Angelo Russell: A
Russell had his perimeter shot going on this night. He shot 7-of-9 overall and 3-of-4 from downtown to give him 20 points, and he also dished off eight assists with zero turnovers.
This was an outstanding response for Russell after he shot 1-of-8 on Sunday versus Houston. After he was inconsistent with his shooting to start the year, he may be starting to find some real consistency.
LeBron James: A
James became the first player to reach 39,000 career points in NBA history during the first quarter. He had another high-level performance with 17 points on 6-of-10 overall shooting and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc while adding nine assists and seven rebounds.
The best part of James’ performance was the fact that he only played 24 minutes. He came into this game averaging 34.4 minutes a contest, which is too many for him at this point in his career. Blowouts such as this one will go a long way in helping him stay fresh and energetic all the way through the playoffs while increasing the Lakers’ chances of winning the world championship.
Rui Hachimura: C/C-plus
Hachimura was aggressive in getting off 13 shot attempts in 28 minutes, but he only made four of them. On the other hand, he did go 2-of-5 from 3-point land, which was very much welcomed by a Lakers team that is starving for accurate marksmanship from that distance. As a team, they made 37.9% of such attempts on Tuesday.
Hachimura finished with 12 points, six rebounds and one assist.
Christian Wood: A
After several very subpar games offensively, Wood finally rediscovered his game on Tuesday. He made all but one of his seven shot attempts and all of his three foul shot attempts, giving him 16 points plus eight rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 27 minutes.
Wood did a good job of attacking off the dribble, and perhaps this game will serve as a model of how he should play offensively moving forward.
Austin Reaves: A
Reaves was once again a spark plug off the bench for L.A. He scored an efficient 19 points and added five rebounds, five assists and three steals while limiting himself to two turnovers in 26 minutes. He also showed his trademark hustle by forcing a steal while running back on defense in the second quarter, which resulted in a Jazz turnover.
Jaxson Hayes: B-plus
Hayes got a couple of dunks early in the second quarter off of assists from James. He had an emphatic blocked shot early in the fourth quarter, and several minutes later, he added another dunk off of a lob pass from Russell.
The big man finished with 10 points and made all four of his shot attempts in 19 minutes. He had only two rebounds though, and that’s an area in which the Lakers need more from him.
Cam Reddish: Incomplete
Reddish had to exit the game in the first quarter, and he didn’t return due to groin soreness. He made no contributions to the stat sheet, and after the game, Ham said there was no update on him.
According to Dave McMenamin, Reddish will be evaluated on Wednesday morning.
Lakers forward Cam Reddish, who left tonight's game after five minutes because of a groin injury and did not return, will undergo further evaluation on Wednesday morning to determine the extent of the injury, sources told ESPN.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 22, 2023
Max Christie: B
With Cam Reddish only able to play five minutes due to groin soreness, Christie got plenty of playing time. He was on the court for 25 minutes, and while he shot only 3-of-8 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range, he did help out with five rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
