The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a tough loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Here are six lessons.
Mark this game down Los Angeles Lakers fans, if the Lakers go into a tailspin, this game might be the one that started it all. The Lakers tried…BOY they tried, but did not win a game that they should have won.
After racing to a quick lead that ballooned to 21 at one point, the Lakers lost an overtime thriller to the Houston Rockets 138-134 that had to be easily one of the most entertaining games of the year.
Luke Walton joked before the game that if James Harden could be held under 50 points in the game it would be considered a success. Well let me tell you call it a success if you want, but Harden deposited 48 points and it could have easily been 50 had he not missed two free throws because of flat-out fatigue.
This was not like the last game when the “Beard” started a NBA civil war between the referees, the Lakers and the entire NBA fan base on how he gets to the free throw line. In this game, Luke Walton was prepared with a defensive scheme that worked for an entire half. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did a good job for the most part.
Now it’s not like Josh Hart didn’t try to bring up old stuff and get burned…
But the Los Angeles Lakers did what they could with a guy that is scoring at a clip that only Wilt Chamberlain has done in NBA history. He didn’t beat the Lakers…
Eric Gordon did…
Gordon, who recently returned to the Rockets lineup dropped 30 points including a “Boogie Down Pro—fessional shot to send it into overtime…
Sometimes you have to shake a man’s hand.
The real bad news is the ankle injury that Lonzo Ball suffered early in the 3rd quarter. He was carried off the floor and did not return. To make things worse, he had to go to the hospital because the X-ray machine in the arena did not work (Not making this up…maybe the Rockets can’t afford to eat Carmelo Anthony’s salary.).
What’s hurts here is that before he got hurt, the Rockets really had no chance of stopping the Lakers offense. The ball was moving and the Lakers were absolutely killing the Rockets to the point you could see the frustration in Harden the first half.
Rajon Rondo needs to come back ASAP and well wishes to Lonzo Ball. That injury looked serious, but there were no fractures so that is great news. But let’s be clear, he may be out a couple of weeks. At least.
Lots to get to…
Lake Show Life Lessons!
The Lakers may have shown the NBA how to slow Harden down
Before I start, I would like to give a special shout-out to Ms. Jeanie Buss! I have to give her credit for standing by Luke Walton (more on him in detail..stay tuned!). She saw something that I believe nobody saw in this guy for the last two weeks. No check that, after Sunday night’s loss to Cleveland.
Luke Walton came out with a new James Harden defense called the Harden Rules! (That’s what I’m calling it…heard it here first!) Before Lonzo Ball got hurt, it gave the Rockets fits.
Check out what Scottie Pippen says about defending Harden while he is in a zone that few of us on the Earth will ever understand…
Now in a nutshell, what Scottie Pippen said was to be effective (like somewhat…) jump on James Harden’s left shoulder and let the chips fall where they may. We have three examples below.
First point of emphasis...Play James Harden 94 feet and make him work hard…
KCP played on top of Harden bringing the ball up the floor. Now you see that Harden seems very wide open for the shot! What does that prove? Simple. He actually shoved KCP to create that massive space! But you see how hard he has to work to get his shot off.
Second point of emphasis... Play James Harden on his left shoulder and contest from the back side instead of the usual fly by defense that draws fouls
KCP was playing on his left shoulder and tight. When Harden shot the 3-pointer, KCP contested the left hander from the back side to avoid the foul and sending him to the line. Again, Harden hit the shot…you say so? One, you are not stopping James Harden from scoring until he cools off. Two, watch his feet! He walked.
Third point of emphasis…Make other players not named James Harden beat you!
Again you see, KCP parked on Harden’s left shoulder and forces him to the lane and pass the ball to Gerald Green. As you see, Green hit this shot but it was one of the very few that dropped in the first half. This defense caught the Rockets off guard and they struggled big time.
Now I bet you are asking how this worked on a guy that scored 48 points that follows a 50-point performance.
Let me tell you.
In overtime, James Harden was worn out. He had nothing else left. Why do you think Eric Gordon had the ball in his hand at the end of the game? Mark Jackson was talking unselfishness, I’m talking gassed.
Luke Walton did an outstanding job of preparing his team for this game. The Lakers continued the momentum from the OKC Thunder victory on Thursday with a 39 point 1st quarter performance against Houston.
Speaking of Walton…
Who is this Luke Walton!…I like this guy!!!
After the Cleveland Cavaliers loss and the near Chicago game debacle, Luke Walton has turned into the coach that the Lakers envisioned. He all of a sudden has turned into the “Steve Kerr” type coach that Jeanie Buss and the prior regime was looking for.
The defensive scheme that was laid out earlier was one thing, but the manner in which he coaches has drastically changed for the better.
Looking at how Luke Walton is coaching now, it should be evident that his job was on the line this week. It seems that he made a decision that if he was to go out, he was going out doing things his way! Let me put it this way, if Walton had this attitude at the beginning of the season, the Lakers could be in the top 4 in the Western Conference. No question.
These are the major changes…
Number one…the rotation patterns concerning the centers!
Ivica Zubac, who we’ll get to in a minute has played late in the last two Lakers games. He fouled out against Houston but the Lakers leaned on him heavily before he was disqualified. He noticed the positive impact from the Thunder game and continued the trend.
Was the JaVale McGee benching questionable? Sure. But give it up to Walton, he might have found something else positive in the move. Zubac minutes going up was that effect.
Number two…Lonzo Ball had turned the corner!
I’ll admit it…I thought Luke Walton was killing Lonzo Ball’s career…
But after Luke Walton challenged Lonzo Ball in that embarrassing loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he reached Ball and Lonzo was playing his best basketball of his career. Reports were floating that Lonzo Ball was being discussed in trade talks last month. That could really impact a young player like Lonzo, but Walton kept him engaged. Lonzo was shredding the Rockets defense with 8 points and 11 assists. We are talking about basically one half here. Plus he was showing off with the confidence and aggression that everyone wants to see.
Number three…Man Luke Walton got tossed out the game folks!
When Lonzo Ball, got hurt, ABC went to commercial. Twitter blew up that Walton got thrown out. By the time the game came back on, LUKE WALTON WAS GONE! It was at that point I knew that Luke Walton could coach this bunch. I saw the video of how Walton was talking to the referees and I had never seen him so animated. Remember in the first game against Houston where the fights broke out, one of my criticisms was Walton did not defend his players. Walton waited until the press conference of the NEXT game to complain…
Believe me there were plenty of Lakers fans that questioned Luke Walton and if this is the guy the Lakers need. How do I know? This article here was a major hit on my twitter line for weeks!
Hey Luke! I wasn’t your biggest advocate to say the least. But I can say for now…I’m a fan! Let’s see how long this lasts. The jury is still out until LeBron James comes back.
Kyle Kuzma is a baller folks…
I hear this all the time on NBA broadcasts and talk shows, that players have to adjust their games to play with LeBron James. Pfft! I really hate that narrative. Basketball is not rocket science. You play to your strengths, compete, play hard, and with confidence.
That is what Kyle Kuzma does. It has nothing to do with this constant…”Kyle Kuzma plays better with LeBron than the other guys!”
He doesn’t care. He just plays basketball.
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1086850809592250370
Kyle Kuzma filled the entire stat sheet scoring 32 points (20 in the 1st quarter) grabbed 8 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and had 2 steals.
What should have the Lakers fans excited is the fact that Kuzma had an all-around game. The Detroit game seduced him into being a gunner who looked to force the action. That was not the case in this game. Like in Oklahoma City, he was in control and played within the offense.
The Lakers (Again to Luke Walton’s credit) worked the offense to give him space to go one on one…
Plus he used hustle to be in the right place to get cheap baskets…
If you hear anything about Kyle Kuzma blowing the game in overtime, that bull. The play had no chance of working. The pass was deflected by James Harden and if Kuzma had caught it, there would have been no chance to shoot it. P.J. Tucker had him boxed in the corner.
He’s a budding star. No matter the circumstances. LeBron James in the lineup of not!
Brandon Ingram was late to the party…But he showed up and showed out!
I’m not going to even mention what he did for the first three and a half quarters because…
He was terrible! I mean really bad!
But in crunch time! Dude was flat-out balling!
Ingram scored 21 points (11 in overtime) and basically kept the Lakers in the game in the game’s extra five minutes. He also added 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Sure he had 6 turnovers but we are not going to talk about the first three quarters.
Let’s talk overtime because he couldn’t miss. He just gave the Rockets the business matching the Rockets’ every bucket.
But Brandon Ingram has to put this together for 48 minutes. Games like this is why the Lakers fans either love him or can’t stand him. He can show flashes of being the team’s best player based on his massive potential, but he can disappear to the point you would think he’s in the NBA witness protection program. He accomplished both in the same game against Houston!
The Lakers have to make a move in my opinion to have a legitimate shot at the playoffs. Once an “untouchable” player to the front office, that shine is gone with the emergence of Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball. If he doesn’t want to leave Lakers Nation, he has got to get consistent.
Meet your late game stars…”Dancing” Lance and Ivica Zubac!
Zubac does not start games, but we can get used to the notion that if he has it going, he will finish them. Before fouling out in overtime, Zubac scored 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
But what made him the star of the 4th quarter was that he stepped up and knocked down key free throws down the stretch. He did not miss any of his nine free throws.
The Lakers hit all of them in the last quarter. Remember, the Los Angeles Lakers are dead last in the NBA in free throw shooting and have blown games over this issue.
Over time, we’ve seen that Zubac is the most skilled offensive big man the Lakers have. At first it could be reasoned that the Lakers were giving him time to showcase him for a possible trade. The way he is playing late,
This is all he does…
He does his job setting the pick and making himself available at the rim! When LeBron James gets back, Zubac is going to murder NBA big men with his activity and movement.
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1086835132223258624
Notice who passed the ball to him? Yep! Lance Stephenson!
Lance broke out the banjo four times out of eight opportunities knocking down 4-for-8 from 3-point land. He parlayed that to a 16-point night with 4 assists. Half of his points were in crunch time to help send it into overtime! He did all of this in 25 minutes of action. Again, kudos to the coaching staff for staying with him when he was effective. Are you going to get this every night…no.
But when he is on, you have to ride out the wave.
Finally…
To the people blaming Caldwell-Pope…
First I get it if you at first glance wanted to fly to Houston and slap KCP. Even I was thinking Dude…What you doing?” But the play was called for him and he had absolutely no legs!
Why?
Because the man was chasing James Harden all over Texas trying to guard him. He did not have the legs to make the shot. It happens.
I challenge anyone to try what KCP tried to do defending Harden for basically the length of the court for 40 minutes and do better. The Lakers asked Caldwell-Pope to hold the one player that is on a historic streak of all eras in check the best he can with little help at times on the deep perimeter.
Plus he turned some defense into offense…
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1086813953290686464
He also ran hard filling lanes on the break…
KCP may be on the trading block and he could be gone by the trading deadline. But if he is traded, good luck getting anyone that could replace the heart that this man showed guarding the best scorer in the world right now.
There are reports that Alex Caruso could be called up from the G-League. No disrespect but I would love to see this guy…
The Los Angeles Lakers are now past the halfway point in their long journey through the NBA season. Lake Show Life will be there every step of the way. Continue to check in for Lakers news, previews and reviews.