Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons in Game 3 win over Portland Trail Blazers

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 22: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, center, is hugged by teammate Markieff Morris #88 as the team celebrates their win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game Three of the first round of the playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers at the AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 22, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 22: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, center, is hugged by teammate Markieff Morris #88 as the team celebrates their win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game Three of the first round of the playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers at the AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 22, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

The Los Angeles Lakers have taken control vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Los Angeles Lakers were back at it again against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series. The stars flipped the script in production as LeBron James went crazy and Anthony Davis disappeared again. Lake Show Life breaks the game down the game with Lake Show Life Lessons!

The Los Angeles Lakers stunk in game one to start the playoffs. This was a total team effort. One player could not take the blame. If Rob Pelinka wanted to have a press conference in frustration, he would well be within his rights. So many things were wrong in that loss.

  • LeBron James was not aggressive enough even though the stats said differently.
  • Anthony Davis was a no-show based on his skill and talent.
  • Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope helped with brick donations to help the homeless. 
  • Frank Vogel botched the rotations in the 4th quarter to let Portland get away.
  • The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t shoot 3 pointers and couldn’t stop Damian Lillard from hitting his.

That was Tuesday and the Lakers were down 1-0. On Sunday afternoon, man have things changed all of a sudden. Lake Show Life was all over this team for it’s listless and lazy play. Now it’s time to talk about this team putting their foot on the Trail Blazers throats because the defense has caught up and the Blazers frontline looks scared to death ESPECIALLY JUSUF NURKIC!

Lake Show Life boasts the most knowledgeable fans in Lakers Nation. One of our readers basically foretold the story for Game 3.

Slick:

"Portland is soft Bruh, they have scorers, but they don’t want to play a rough and tumble game. Melo has some dog in him, but he can lose his temper quickly and get out of his game. We should be starting Dwight Howard and riding him for as many minutes as those 6 fouls allow."

Lake Show Life Lessons can really be shut down for the rest of the series. We could report what happened but that quote alone is the story for the rest of the series until it’s over. Let’s break down what Slick said.

Carmelo Anthony has that dog in him, if it wasn’t for him, the Lakers would have run the Blazers back out to the West Coast.

Give it time on Dwight Howard starting. It won’t be in this series because it no longer matters, this series is over. But that time is coming. JaVale McGee finished with 4 points and 2 rebounds.

Comments like above usually come from salty Lakers fans that may have not watched the games, just YouTube highlights and box scores. This was the truth. Hassan Whiteside and Jusuf Nurkic were badly exposed. ESPECIALLY NURKIC!!!

By the end of the game, this is what Jusuf Nurkic was reduced to.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and their supporting cast have officially found their defensive dominance and control of this series with a 116-108 win over Portland on Saturday night.

Now this game didn’t get through without some real head-scratching moments.

  • The Los Angeles Lakers missed 15 free throws going only 28-43 from the line.
  • LeBron James missed 5 free throws and had 8 turnovers. He had six turnovers in game 2. Not a good look.
  • Anthony Davis missed get this…7 free throws! He started 1-5.
  • AD was awful in the first half, he barely looked at the basket and finished with 6 points.
  • Before the defense got delivered to the bubble in the second half, Damian Lillard (19 points) and C.J. McCollum (20 points) lit up the Lakers.

All of this shows is that the Portland Trail Blazers have been reduced to a regular 8th seed. They have no chance. The Lakers found the switch and it turns on the defense.

The Lakers now own a 2-1 series lead and have a chance to debut the new Kobe Bryant-themed jerseys on Monday for Mamba Day. (Happy Birthday to the late icon Kobe Bryant!) If they keep up the level of defense shown in the second half, this series will be over Wednesday.

To the new Los Angeles Lakers fans that are checking us out for the first time, welcome to Lake Show Life Lessons. An extended post-game report with video analysis.

Over the next several pages we will provide highlights of certain players and coaches. Afterward, the comment section is loaded with knowledgeable fans adding their basketball knowledge. We usually start with the stars.

Let’s get to Lesson One!