If there was ever a disappointing win for the Los Angeles Lakers, Friday’s game against the Phoenix Suns would qualify.
Hours before tipoff, it was announced that Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton would all sit out with the Suns assured of the fourth seed in the Western Conference. That decision made it seem as if L.A. would have an automatic blowout victory.
But the Suns hit the boards hard and played inspired ball on both ends to make things very competitive throughout the first half and for most of the third quarter. Finally, the Lakers started to wake up late in the third period, as they ended it with a 20-8 run to take a 96-89 lead. Phoenix responded with a quick run to tie the score at 96, but the Lakers built a double-digit lead over the next few minutes and never looked back, as they got a 121-107 win.
Still, it wasn’t the least bit pretty. Los Angeles turned the ball over 15 times, with plenty of those turnovers consisting of the careless or unforced variety, and a number of key players looked either unenergetic or unmotivated.
Still, a win is a win, and the Lakers still have a slight chance to finish sixth in the Western Conference by defeating the Utah Jazz on Sunday if either the Golden State Warriors lose to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday or if the Los Angeles Clippers lose both of their remaining contests.
Anthony Davis: C+/B-
Davis just couldn’t find the mark offensively on Friday, scoring just 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Suns center Bismack Biyombo seemed to bother him early on by blocking two of his shots in the first quarter, and Davis missed a number of easy buckets at or near the rim.
However, his energy was there on the defensive end. He grabbed 21 rebounds, and he blocked three shots while also adding four assists. Rebounding was a big problem for L.A. until it found its game in the second half, but Davis kept it from getting completely obliterated on the boards.
Jarred Vanderbilt: C-
Vanderbilt didn’t make much of an impact against Phoenix. He got just four rebounds and went scoreless in 17 minutes, although defensively he guarded Cameron Payne and helped hold him to 5-of-13 shooting.
This would’ve been an opportune time for Vanderbilt to infuse his team with some energy and intensity, but it just didn’t happen.
LeBron James: D+
James didn’t seem very engaged or energetic on Friday. He shot just 6-of-19 from the field and scored only 16 points while attempting only two free throws, and unlike on Wednesday against the Clippers, he didn’t come out of his shell in the second half.
To make matters worse, he had five turnovers, some of them resulting from lazy passes that were well off the mark, and he didn’t look to attack the basket as much as usual, as he instead settled for fallaway jumpers.
James will need to get re-engaged soon, as the Lakers will play the Jazz at 12:30 p.m. Los Angeles time on Sunday, and they need to make sure that if they do have to participate in the play-in tournament, they would have home-court advantage for that first play-in game.
D'Angelo Russell: A-
Like James, Russell was also guilty of some ugly or ill-advised passes. He ended up with six turnovers against just three assists, and combined, the two players accounted for the vast majority of the Lakers’ turnovers.
But Russell rescued the team with some hot shooting, both early in the game and down the stretch. He made each of his first four shots of the game, and he led the team with 15 first-half points. In the fourth quarter, his three 3-pointers helped shut the door on the Suns.
The point guard finished with a team-high 24 points on 9-of-14 overall shooting and 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
Austin Reaves: A
Another night, another great game for Reaves. Ho-hum. He was one of only a few Lakers players who played an energetic game, and he was arguably their best player throughout the contest.
He scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, with a few of his baskets coming on off-balance jumpers, while also adding five assists and a steal. He was arguably on the short end of the stick of multiple non-calls, but he kept his focus and helped make sure L.A. won this game.
Rui Hachimura: B/B+
Hachimura helped sparked the Lakers’ second-half run. His stats (11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, five rebounds and two assists) weren’t very prolific, but he played hard and scored the bulk of his points over the final 14 minutes as Los Angeles changed the complexion of the game in its favor.
Wenyen Gabriel: C/C+
Gabriel had a quiet outing on Friday, grabbing three rebounds and adding a steal and a blocked shot while going scoreless in eight minutes. Now that Mo Bamba is back in action, Gabriel will likely see his playing time go down significantly.
Troy Brown Jr.: B+/A-
Brown went 3-of-6 overall and hit both of his 3-point attempts to score eight points. But he also hit the boards hard for six rebounds, and he also contributed three assists and two steals.
It has been a nice turnaround for Brown, as he has gone from being a mediocre player during the first half of the season to a sharpshooter over the last couple of months.
Mo Bamba: B-
Bamba took the court for the Lakers for the first time since he sprained his ankle on March 5. In six minutes he didn’t do too badly, getting three rebounds, blocking a shot and scoring a basket on a tip-in.
He is likely out of game shape and rhythm, and understandably so, but his return is very meaningful, as it means the team won’t have to go small anymore when Davis is resting.
Malik Beasley: A/A+
Beasley kept the Lakers in the game throughout the first half with 14 points and 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. He had a nice play late in the second quarter where he deflected a pass and forced a turnover, which led to a fast break that he finished with an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Austin Reaves.
Overall, he had 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 4-of-10 from downtown, and he also added two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Lonnie Walker IV, Davin Reed, Max Christie: Incomplete
Walker got six minutes and hit a 3-pointer, while Reed and Christie played just one minute at the end of the contest and made no contributions on the stat sheet.
