Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Lessons from return win over Clippers

Kyle Kuzma and Dion Waiters were straight up balling for the Los Angeles Lakers…when they got a chance!

Kyle Kuzma was the star coming off the bench, but we need to talk about this Dion Waiters dude.

Dion Waiters:

Man, he may have a bad attitude, but he has a game to match. This dude has some serious game. He’s is an old school player! Some of the Lake Show Life staff (Writer included!) had their doubts about the signing of Dion Waiters.

Those doubts will totally disappear if he keeps playing like this. Waiters scored 11 points in 21 minutes on 5-10 shooting. He had a plus/minus of +17. Far and away a team-high — it seems nothing shakes him up. But he is shaking the Clippers up here.

He put Ivica Zubac in a blender and made him a smoothie with his quick move to the basket. But with Waiters, it’s much more than that. He still is leading all of the guards with the concept of doing what he does best. He does nothing more, nothing less. He stays within his comfort zone. Even though Alex Caruso made big defensive plays down the stretch, his play is still uneven at times.

While everyone is surprised at how he is fitting in, watch his demeanor. He looks like he wonders what the big deal is about. He is a confident ballplayer. he also found time to add 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a block!

Kyle Kuzma:

It’s games like these that make the staff wonder if Lakers players read our material. When they get controversial features written about them, they play well. The same day Lake Show Life calls Kuz the Los Angeles Lakers’ franchise X-factor, he goes out and has one of his most efficient games of the season. Kuzma scored 16 points on the strength of a team-high four 3-point shots. He also added 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.

This is the Kyle Kuzma we all have been looking for all season. He played a strong game with BOTH star players on the floor. Lakers fans have been looking for anyone on the roster that can defend one of the Clippers’ elite wings.

Is Kuzma that guy? No. But if he can put together an effort like he did in this game, the Lakers can work defensive schemes, which is not an option if he does not.

In conclusion:

• The Los Angeles Lakers got to the 50-win mark for the 33rd time in franchise history.
• This marks the 12th time in LeBron James’ career that he has helped a team get to that many wins in his 17 seasons. Dude wins a lot, doesn’t he?
• Speaking of wins, with this victory, LeBron passed Kobe Bryant for 9th on the all-time regular-season wins list.
• James also extended his NBA record of consecutive regular-season games with at least 10 points to 989.

The Los Angeles Lakers are back at it on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors.