Game Grades: Lakers Fight Late, Let Tank Roll On

Final. 108. 41. 105. 20

Tank rank is back! On a night where the Lakers were thought to be seriously over-matched, the Warriors came out lethargic and lackadaisical and nearly choked away the lead late. But the Lakers lost in only a way they know how: fumbling the ball out of bounds, down by three points and under five seconds left on the clock.

Again, I’ll be grading/awarding the players based on how well they helped the tank.

MVP: I was ready to give this award to Jeremy Lin, whose two turnovers late in the fourth got him (rightfully) benched. However, Wesley Johnson took the Lakers’ fate into his own hands. Down by three, Johnson found himself in the open court with enough room to set up a nice look from half-court. Instead, he dribbled into Draymond Green, who knocked the ball off of him out-of-bounds, giving the Warriors the ball and the lead.

LVP: Jordan Clarkson, who came in and led the Lakers back once Lin was benched. His 17 points led the team, while 6 rebounds and 3 assists certainly didn’t help the tank. Most critically, when he entered the game in the fourth with LA down five, he assisted on a Boozer lay-up, made a lay-up, missed a fast-break lay-up (where he appeared to be fouled), then made two free throws. That aggressiveness.

Stat of the Night: 19. The total turnovers the Lakers had tonight, which turned into 20 points for the Warriors. Golden State has little trouble scoring as is, but giving them buckets off your empty possessions is the main ingredient in losing. And in a three-point game, that’s the ball game.

The Starters

D-. 30 min, 6-13 FG, 3-5 3P, 2-2 FT, 17 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO<a href=. SG. Los Angeles Lakers. WAYNE ELLINGTON

F. 30 min, 6-14 FG, 1-1 3P, 2-2 FT, 15 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 0 BLK, 1 TOComing in second place in the tanking LVP race was <a href=. C. Los Angeles Lakers. JORDAN HILL

F. 25 min, 7-13 FG, 1-2 3P, 2-2 FT, 17 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 3 TOClarkson nearly single-handedly saved the Lakers from a loss. Let’s not develop that was just yet, rook. Save those performances for next year.. PG. Los Angeles Lakers. JORDAN CLARKSON

Los Angeles Lakers. WESLEY JOHNSON. A-. 39 min, 7-12 FG, 2-2 3P, 0-0 FT, 16 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 3 TOStat-wise, it looks like Johnson damaged the tank, but when you make the clutch play he did late in the game, you forget the stats from earlier.. SF

Los Angeles Lakers. TARIK BLACK. C. 18 min, 1-3 FG, 2-2 FT, 4 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TOIt’s a middle-of-the-road grade for Black today, who didn’t see much time on the court, but was productive when he was there.. C

The Bench

C. 18 min, 1-2 FG, 2-2 FT, 4 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 3 BLK, 2 TOAnother player who didn’t have quite enough time on the court to positively or negatively affect the tank, although <a href=. PF. Los Angeles Lakers. ED DAVIS

24 min, 5-12 FG, 3-4 FT, 10 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TOOn a night when the Lakers could have really used a push-off foul late in the game to change the momentum, <a href=. PF. Los Angeles Lakers. CARLOS BOOZER. D+

B+. 23 min, 3-8 FG, 1-3 3P, 8-10 FT, 15 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 2 BLK, 5 TOWell, he was having a fairly bad tanking night until he took over late in the game. Unfortunately, <a href=. PG. Los Angeles Lakers. JEREMY LIN

A. 13 min, 1-4 FG, 0-1 3P, 0-0 FT, 2 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TOWelp. I just hope now that <a href=. PF. Los Angeles Lakers. RYAN KELLY

C. 20 min, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3P, 1-1 FT, 5 PTS, 0 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TOI think in just three games, <a href=. SG. Los Angeles Lakers. JABARI BROWN

Next: Lakers Finding Diamonds In The Rough, Bargains In Rebuild

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