Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Takeaways from win over Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Lakers were able to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers. Here are three takeaways from the win.

Alex Caruso of the Los Angeles Lakers have shown this season that anything is possible. I remember Kevin Garnett screaming that after the Boston Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals back in 2008. But to follow this team for a full year brings a whole new meaning to that phrase. Injuries, fighting, dysfunction and a complete beat down from the Golden State Warriors should have told anyone that the Lakers had no chance to beat the Clippers on Friday night.

The Los Angeles Clippers are battling for playoff position next week. On the other end of the hall the Los Angeles Lakers are scheduling exit interviews. The Clippers will be laying out uniforms in lockers. The Lakers will be cleaning out their lockers, some will be doing it for the last time. The Clippers had won 24 of the last 27 matchups between the two teams. No LeBron, no Kuzma, I mean you get the idea. Based on that logic there is absolutely no way the Los Angeles Lakers win this game right?

Umm…well that’s why they play the games on the schedule.

The South Bay…I mean the Los Angeles Lakers played spoiler to the Los Angeles Clippers 122-117. This is a major upset based on the circumstances. The Clippers can say they overlooked the Lakers in a meaningless game. Yeah right.

Even with the victory there will be drama for real Lakers fans to ponder and Lakers casuals to complain about. Since the Minnesota Timberwolves won their game, both teams are tied in the loss column which affects draft position in this upcoming draft.

The positions theoretically that are being looked at are the 10th and 11th spots. If the Lakers finish with a better record (They must finish at least tied thanks to Minnesota winning the season series…) than the Timberwolves they will receive the 11th pick unless something happens with the ping pong balls which will really set off conspiracy theories.

If you are Luke Walton, you have a game to put on your resume because he gave major minutes to three members of the Los Angeles…I mean the South Bay Lakers G-League team and out-coached Doc Rivers, who the Lakers wanted to replace him in the first place. He inspired a team that bullied Ivica Zubac at times to make the trade almost justifiable. Overall he reminded teams that will be searching for coaches this summer that he is a viable candidate.

Lets talk about a player that will definitely be on the roster next year…

Alex Caruso is balling out of his mind folks

Alex Caruso will be a restricted free agent going into this offseason. His salary will not affect the max level free agent chase. Even if it did, the Lakers had better make some plans to make sure that he is on the roster next year.

Hopefully these post game reports actually got to somebody in the Los Angeles Lakers organization to get Alex Caruso more minutes. Caruso was in the the starting lineup and played a Lakers-high 38 minutes and put in some serious work.

Alex Caruso had a career-night scoring 32 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists with 2 steals and a block. Then he brought out a new talent that even LeBron James himself had issues with this year. Get this Lakers fans.

Alex Caruso closed out the game in the 4th quarter. Let that sink in. The Los Angeles Lakers gave him the ball in crunch time and he went out and got buckets.

I mean the dude started his own band in the final quarter.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1114422057125601280

You see the caption…You have AC and the Sunshine Band! Coming to the Staples Center floor is “AC Fresh” along with “Make em Dance” Lance…LeBron James and Rajon Rondo. It’s a shame the act couldn’t go on the road for the playoffs.

Only one thing though for Alex Caruso…

I kinda missed seeing him dunk on people. If you haven’t watched the last few games, Caruso got some air beneath his wings.

He dunked on Kyle Korver in Utah on an alley oop he caught with one hand…

Then he dunked on Steven Adams earlier the week in the game against the Thunder…

24 hours earlier, Caruso dunked on the entire Golden State Warriors organization and half the Lakers employees as well.

Hurry back with those dunks Alex…Lake Show Life misses them!

But somebody made up the numbers in that department.

JaVale McGee outplayed Ivica Zubac 

The story of Ivica Zubac has been played on numerous platforms including Lake Show Life on that ill-fated trade that brought in Mike Muscala and cleared an alleged roster spot for Carmelo Anthony. Since then the Lakers front office have been roasted over the move to the point of definite and total embarrassment.

But something has gotten lost since the trade, JaVale McGee has been balling since he left.

JaVale McGee is back in basketball shape he was at the beginning of the season after that bout with pneumonia. Not only is he playing with energy, he is scoring the basketball at Wilt-like percentages of late. He continued the trend last night.

JaVale McGee scored 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting, while grabbing 10 rebounds, and sending back three blocked shots.

This had to be a special game for JaVale McGee going up against Zubac. He had to notice the Los Angeles Lakers fans pining for Zubac wishing he was still in a Lakers uniform. It looked like he had something extra for Zubac because he bullied him the entire 19 minutes he was on the floor.

He started early by blocking his shot and leaving him in the dust dunking on the other end…

Then this play right here set it off…

JaVale played the pick and roll with Rajon Rondo to perfection and just served up a total facial on Zubac. Notice the calmness of how the man walked away. JaVale just walked away like he had done it to the man in practice every day before he was traded. But ballers from Flint Michigan play like this.

Message to the rookie, follow JaVale’s example. No need to be hanging on rims for technical fouls.

I always questioned JaVale being benched for Zubac during the season. Luke Walton had been called out by JaVale for defensive schemes that left him out high and dry to be dunked on. The benching looked like a message.

That dunk sent a message to a lot of people in my opinion, message received.

This was close to being another blast job on KCP and Rondo’s play

I pride myself in these post game reports on being fair. For the last three games, I have been on record wondering why Rajon Rondo was getting all of these minutes based on some of the most inefficient basketball I’ve seen all season. He got more minutes that Alex Caruso. He was throwing up bricks and he was a train wreck on defense.

The man can’t play pick and roll offense to save his life,

But let me tell you something Lakers fans, this team does not win this game without Rajon Rondo. For the first three quarters of this game, he was terrible and it was supposed to be status quo.

But the 4th quarter happened and Rondo went off.

Rondo finished the game with 15 points and 12 assists. What was more important was 11 of the points were in the last quarter on the strength of the 3-point shot. Rondo hit three of them. He started the run the Lakers needed for separation that the Clippers couldn’t make up. Then he set the table for Caruso and the other guy that is a part of this discussion.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Oh he was bad at the beginning too. His defense was porous and the Clippers guards were having a field day getting to the basket. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was throwing up enough bricks to build a community center in downtown LA.

But then the 4th quarter happened. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished the game with 25 points and 6 boards. It looks good in the paper but if you take a look in the box scores it took him 25 shots to get there at a low percentage.

He shot only 9-for-25 from the floor which was four more than the 21 the entire Lakers bench got for the game. The bench matched his nine baskets and he only scored two more points. For three quarters Caldwell-Pope was just as inefficient as Rondo was.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1114404869824081920

But the timing of the shots he hit in crunch time were vital to the Lakers winning the game. This game looked like KCP is making it a point to showcase his skills in the last week of the season. Now it looks like he is gunning and taking bad shots. He went from a shot chucking selfish player to a shooter that played within the offense all in the same game.

The Los Angeles Lakers are now closing 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.