Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Takeaways from win over Utah Jazz

Here are four takeaways from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win against the Utah Jazz.

I have question for Los Angeles Lakers fans to ponder, which scenario is harder to believe? The Lakers acquiring the “Best player in the world” and watching the playoffs yet again next weekend? Or, the Lakers passing the keys to members of the South Bay Lakers and winning two straight games over playoff teams?

Trust me everyone, I will wait because right now I’m in a complete state of shock just asking you the questions.

The Los Angeles Lakers all of a sudden are a viable team these days after getting a “playoff mode” lesson by  the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers have now taken the practice “Being the spoiler” to a whole new level by defeating the cross the hall Clippers while they are battling for playoff seeding at the bottom of the Western Conference race. That was the introduction to Alex Caruso and his brand new band…AC and the Sunshine Band! 

Well against the Utah Jazz, who were fighting for playoff seeding near the top of the conference race, the Los Angeles Lakers did the improbable in the most improbable way possible. They brought seemingly the entire G-League team from South Bay, then told Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to lead the way. Guess what? The Lakers beat yet another playoff team with something to play for.

The Los Angeles Lakers shocked the Utah Jazz and the NBA world winning 113-109 with the usual cast of characters being out for the Lakers (LeBron, Kuzma, Lonzo, Ingram, the PR announcer, the top hot dog salesman of the month, etc.). In this game you can add Rajon Rondo being left out for a DNP-CD (Did not play-coaches decision).

According to Luke Walton, the Clippers game will be the last game you see Rondo barring some unforeseen circumstance. The last game, just like this one will be for evaluation. It was a subject that was brought up by the Lakers announcing crew so watch out for any events surrounding this situation this week.

The Los Angeles Lakers have put together three small winning streaks as of late with this one stretching out to two games. In all, the Lakers have now won six of their last nine games. Now that the Lakers are playing better, it does open up discussions for debate.

The Los Angeles Lakers are actually playing better with G-League talent

I find myself telling fans in the comment section and on social media all the time that everyone in the NBA can play. The talent level varies but so does the effort level. Alex Caruso, Jemerrio Jones and Johnathan Williams have basically exposed the established stars of the Lakers who are considered the future of the franchise.

These guys from South Bay outplayed and out-competed two playoff contenders while the established players lost to Cleveland, got swept by two New York teams (The Knicks have clinched being the worst team in the NBA), lost to the Atlanta Hawks in one game and should have lost the other.

The Los Angeles Lakers have problems but Luke Walton is not it

I will be the first to admit that Luke Walton was not on my favorite coaches list. I thought he should have been fired early in the season. But over the last few months, he has turned into a very good coach. A coach that will probably have a job next year. The front office let him down ignoring the suggestions of the roster.

He then had to answer questions about his relationship with Magic Johnson almost constantly.

Dealing with LeBron James’ “camp” (aka LeBron) asking for a coaching change in the middle of the season.

Then watching the combination of the two get desperate and basically erode the season chasing trade deadline phone calls for Anthony Davis…

With all of the injuries and undermining, it is amazing how well Luke Walton has performed this season. Luke Walton will be fired after the season in my opinion, no question. But his career as a coach will explode after he gets away from the toxic environment that has consumed this franchise.

Now that I am off the soap box, let’s talk about this game shall we?

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope exploded when the lights were brightest

The last two Lake Show Life post game reports were not kind to KCP. To be clear, the reports were downright rough and for good reason. Coming into the Utah game, KCP had come off back-to-back games where he shot a combined 12-for-44 from the field. I remember being on record wondering why KCP wasn’t accompanying Rajon Rondo on the bench for the rest of the season.

It takes a big man to say he might be wrong. For one game I was wrong.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did to the Utah Jazz in public what Jimmy Butler did to the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this year before getting traded. KCP basically led the South Bay Lakers to victory which included a fireworks scoring display in the 4th quarter. He just did it without cussing out Luke Walton, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. He didn’t storm out of the arena and have a ESPN interview with Rachel Nichols either.

His play did scream you guys need me though.

Caldwell-Pope led everyone in the Staples Center in scoring by a mile dropping 32 points while contributing 6 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal. He closed out the game scoring 18 points in the last frame on 8-for-9 shooting. I mean the man was everywhere.

He was active and moving on offense, not just sitting out at the 3-point line but cutting to the basket. He played defense Lakers fans, something I hadn’t seen for months.

Then when Caldwell-Pope established himself as the best player on the floor, he combined forces with JaVale McGee to shut the Staples Center down…

Like Alex Caruso in the Clippers game, the Lakers just handed the ball to KCP to make a play and he delivered. He took Joe Ingles off the dribble drew Rudy Gobert to him and he threw a perfect lob pass to JaVale to close the game out and blew the roof off the Staples Center.

But the question is…

Is the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that should be a part of the future, or is this just a player that is playing for his next contract? Only time will tell.

Speaking of Alex Caruso…

Alex Caruso may not be a Laker next year…Why? Somebody’s going to offer this guy a deal

We all remember the feel good story when Andre Ingram was brought up last year for the final two games of the season.

This is a little bit different. Alex Caruso can play some basketball. He belongs in the league and he will get a NBA paycheck. Alex Caruso took the opportunity that was given to him and not only exceeded expectations but the production of players in front of him on the roster.

He proved again that he is the real deal scoring 18 points, dishing out 11 assists to keep the offensive pace moving quickly. He did a nice job finding 3-point shooters, getting them quality shots like this one to Mike Muscala…

To be totally honest, I don’t know what is more impressive for Caruso. The double-double he had in the game or getting Mike Muscala involved in the offense. Muscala actually led the Lakers in scoring going into halftime with 13 points. A lot of that was done because the Jazz had to respect his scoring ability that he has shown over the last couple of games.

Last post game I mentioned missing Caruso dunking on people. Against the Jazz, he tried to climb up over Rudy Gobert.

Plus time and time again he challenged Rudy Gobert at the rim. He shot 8-for-20 for the game but his misses opened up opportunities for offensive rebounds which the Lakers capitalized on. The Lakers had 16 offensive rebounds ion the game that most were capitalized on.

Alex Caruso is a keeper folks. The question is can the Lakers keep him?

JaVale McGee was just dominant! Then he flexed his muscle on Gobert

JaVale McGee was reading to put in the work against Utah. On two occasions, Donovan Mitchell put him on a poster. JaVale McGee made it clear in the opening minutes of the game that there was not going to be a repeat performance…

That dunk was so nasty, I thought I was going to have to call somebody on the phone because that was almost criminal. The tone was set at that point and Rudy Gobert had an equal in physicality that opened up lanes for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso.

JaVale McGee filled the stat sheets with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 2 blocks. JaVale McGee has resurrected his career this season. The Lakers will not make the playoffs but he has little to do with outside of his illness in the middle of the season. He is playing his best basketball and actually has a go to move with a swinging hook shot.

How good is he?

If the Golden State Warriors had kept him playing like this, they would sweep their way to the NBA championship. He is actually playing better than DeMarcus Cousins right now.

We hear about players getting “buckets” Jemerrio Jones gets “rebounds”

Earlier in this report, it was stated that the inspired play of the G-League bunch exposed the effort level of the established stars. Well Los Angeles Lakers fans, let me introduce you to Jemerrio Jones.

This was his very first game starting for the Lakers. He didn’t do much but set a record grabbing 16 rebounds in the game with 5 assists, a steal and two blocks. Oh by the way, it wasn’t some scrub at the end of the Utah Jazz bench he blocked at the end of the game. One of them was on the Jazz’s best player Donovan Mitchell…

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1115097728424353793

This wasn’t luck. Jones was on the floor for 38 minutes playing lock down defense providing energy that slowed Mitchell to a 5-for-17 shooting night. Jones has been charged with defending the best player on the opposing team.

The man is not taking this for granted. If his teammates had done the same, your Los Angeles Lakers would be in the playoffs.

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.