Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis smokes Phoenix Suns, 3 Lessons

Anthony Davis looked phenomenal in the Los Angeles Lakers’ last preseason game.

The Los Angeles Lakers closed out the preseason with their second game against the Phoenix Suns in three days. The games were basically the same as the Lakers fell behind early and made a surge in the second half. Lake Show Life breaks down the game in Lake Show Life Lessons, the only Los Angeles Lakers post-game report with highlights and in-depth analysis!

The Los Angeles Lakers have finished the preseason dress rehearsals and start their Hollywood production, “The Championship Sequel” on Tuesday against their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers. After the ring ceremonies, it’s on.

The Lake Show are the defending NBA champions, so winning preseason basketball games are last on the priority list of Frank Vogel and the coaching staff. Here are the goals on the list.

• Take a long look at Talen Horton-Tucker to see if or where he fits in the rotation for the season.
• Get the new offseason acquisitions a chance to run through the offensive and defensive sets of Frank Vogel.
• Get the overall team some reps considering they had basically no rest (70 days for the record is not fair when some teams haven’t played since the world was considered flat!).
• Figure out roster combinations.
• Give LeBron James and Anthony Davis some time to run up and own the floor before the season starts.
• The top three goals in neon? Make sure that Bron and AD DID NOT GET HURT! 

The Los Angeles Lakers pretty much went through the preseason as expected. The level of play fluctuated between jaw-dropping flashes of greatness at times and “What in the world are they doing?” in others.

In Friday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns, the entire preseason theme was on display. Like the previous game, the Lakers spotted the Suns a double-digit in the first quarter. This time, the sloppiness lasted the entire first half as Phoenix served up 69 points.

In the second half, Anthony Davis put on a show that could bring a federal investigation, seemingly assaulting any Phoenix player that dared to guard him.

His final shot here will have a lot of people not affiliated with the Lakers crying themselves to sleep at night.

While LeBron and AD sat down for the night, Talen Horton-Tucker led the second unit to close out the game for a last-second 114-113 win. The win closed out a perfect 4-0 preseason.

While the roster has gotten better, the handling of slow starts has not. Maybe it’s gotten worse.

For the second straight game, the Lakers looked disinterested as if Tuesday could not come soon enough. On Wednesday, they fell behind 20-7. In this one, the Suns were spotted a 22-7 lead and went to the locker room down 69-56.

Oh, it was ugly.  Phoenix was rolling in the first half.

They knocked down nine 3 point shots thanks most in part to Kyle Kuzma starring in a Roberta Flack “Killing Me Softly” video dying on every pick.

They finished at will in the paint, while Deandre Ayton went crazy hitting all of his shots at the rim. (Marc Gasol will struggle with athletic big men!). The others got layups over sloppy turnovers and very little defensive resistance.

Usually, the Lake Show Life Lessons series has a special “Sending a Limo” segment for opposing players that show out on the Lakers. This is the preseason, so it will be short.

Devin Booker sent a limo for Kyle Kuzma, who was in the starting lineup reportedly replacing Dennis Schroder (Out with an ankle issue). Booker had Kuzma chasing him all over the floor as he served up 20 of his 27 points in the first half. 

There will be points in the season when the Lakers play as if the games don’t matter like this one. But there is no rhyme or reason how they can play worse against a Suns team with no Chris Paul in the lineup falling behind 21 points before the lights warm up.

If this happens on Tuesday night, they will be 0-1 on the season. It will be understood if the focus is gone on Christmas Day (Good luck getting a focused post-game). If LeBron missed his family in the bubble, Thursday will just be a commitment not to get fined. This just in…Who could blame him?

To the new Los Angeles Lakers fans that are checking us out for the first time, welcome to Lake Show Life Lessons. Our extended post-game report with video analysis will cover the progress for the Los Angeles Lakers the entire season!

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.

Who was that player? Let’s get to Lesson One and find out!

The Los Angeles Lakers may have the most skilled player in the NBA in Anthony Davis!

What really matters: Anthony Davis did not get hurt in this game! We could stop, but there’s a story to be told about what this guy did.

The preseason is over and this website might be out of adjectives to describe Anthony Davis. It’s getting to the point, the staff is shaking their heads because of what showcase he put on in three quarters.

Don’t be surprised if you see people clipping toenails at your next respective pickup game. They are just imitating Anthony Davis. After his self-grooming of his feet, he went off!!!

Anthony Davis is no longer a problem for the NBA. He is officially an issue. See, problems can be solved. There’s a comment section down below daring anyone to come up with a scenario to stop this guy.

In 30 minutes, AD filled up the box score with 35 points (11-16 shooting), 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals. Now about that 3 point shooting. Davis hit a career-high six shots from the land of plenty, most with a hand in his face. Here’s how he ended his final quarter in the preseason.

• He scored 19 points, the most damage was by the long ball with Suns draped all over him.
• He brought the ball up the court, usually after contesting shots on defense. seemingly every Phoenix shot. In short, he basically played point guard for the Lakers when LeBron was off the court.
• We’ve already discussed the buzzer-beater to end his night in dominating fashion.
• What does all of this mean?  He got the Lakers back into the game. 

This was at half speed folks. If the game actually mattered, he would have scored 50.

The NBA media will present you Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo as favorites for MVP to start the season. Lakers Nation can start rolling their eyes.

Put Anthony Davis on the list!

That takes care of one of the superstars. Read on to see how LeBron James did!

LeBron James had an “Up and down” game for the Los Angeles Lakers!

What really matters: LeBron James did not get hurt in this game! We could stop, but there is a responsibility for analysis with Lake Show Life Lessons. 

The Los Angeles Lakers had to depend on LeBron James in the first half before Anthony Davis came through with a little bit of help. When the Lakers were down 30-13, LeBron went to work to keep the team within shouting distance.

Bron’s three shots from the land of the extra point sliced a 21 point deficit nearly in half by the break. The superstars’ accuracy from snipe world accounted for nine of the team’s sixteen 3 point shots.

But that doesn’t mean that LeBron played all that great. James finished with a solid 20 points (6-11 shooting, 3-4 from behind the arc!), 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

Now let’s talk about the real story.

LeBron James could have had the same night AD had if he didn’t blow four layups at the rim and miss five free throws. What was worse? He had 8 turnovers. Most of the night was spent watching him complain about non-calls to the referees. While that was going on, the Suns were running the other way.

His frustrations carried over to the defensive end where he was seen barking about defensive rotations. Granted it was warranted, but it’s not like his defense was NBA first team either.

Lake Show Life is going to go out on a limb and say that LeBron James and Anthony Davis will start. Our editor, Jason Reed is sweating but he can relax. The writer will go out on this limb. The last lesson is about a few other players that will be speculated until Tuesday.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope deserves to be in the starting lineup. Anyone that disagrees didn’t watch this game!

Dennis Schroder had a polite statement clarifying his desire to be in the starting lineup. He stated that he didn’t want to take anything from LeBron James.

"“LeBron has been doing this for 17 years. End of the day, I’m not trying to take anything from him.”"

Well, that’s nice for him to feel that way, because he doesn’t need to start. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope barring something crazy happening will be in the Lakers’ starting lineup. If this game didn’t send a message, nothing will.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope:

While the rest of his teammates were sleepwalking on both ends of the floor in the first half, KCP was the most efficient player on the floor for the Lakers (Yes, that includes AD too!). While LeBron and AD were trading missed free throws early, it was KCP knocking down 3 point shots to save the Lakers from total embarrassment.

Caldwell-Pope finished the preseason the same way he finished the NBA Finals hitting timely shots to the tune of 15 points (5-8 shooting 2-3 in 3 point shots!).

Talen Horton-Tucker:

He’s not going to start, but Talen Horton-Tucker needs minutes coming off the bench. The Lakers keep putting the ball in Horton-Tucker’s hands and he makes things happen when he gets it. For the second straight game, he carved up the Suns defense with pick-and-rolls plays to Montrezl Harrell and Devontae Cacok down the stretch while playing a strong floor game.

THT filled up the box scores again scoring 12 points (5-8 shooting while hitting two 3 point shots!), and collecting 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

This is why the man needs minutes.

With evidence of THT’s pick and roll understanding in play look at this play right here.

• He runs Mikal Bridges into a pick executed by Markieff Morris. Notice he is not in a rush so Morris doesn’t pick up an offensive foul for a moving screen.
• He splits Jae Crowder with a crossover dribble. 
• Then he challenges Deandre Ayton, a shot-blocker, absorbs the contact (Oh he was fouled too!) and finishes the shot.  

Whether he gets 10-15 minutes or 40, the Lakers are going to get maximum effort from THT. He plays hard and smart. He’s getting better with every game.

Kyle Kuzma: 

This series is done trying to figure this guy out. It’s either going to be “Good Kuz” or “Bad Kuz”.

The good thing about this game is that Kyle Kuzma showed the Lakers fanbase and Frank Vogel his tendencies. This year, Frank Vogel won’t give the Lakers Nation a chance to get frustrated. This team now has options and can bench him.

In this game, that’s just what happened. Vogel inserted Wesley Matthews in the second half. Strangely enough, the Suns (Particularly Devin Booker) had trouble scoring and the Lakers got rolling.

Kyle Kuzma’s defense will be his downfall. Devin Booker cooked him for most of the first half. Watching Kuz lag behind him and not fighting through screens will give the coaching staff all the evidence they need for those 12 minute nights.

Oh, by the way, he scored 4 points on 2-9 shooting.

Anybody ready for Los Angeles Lakers games next week when it counts?

That wraps up the preseason version of Lake Show Life Lessons! Don’t worry, it does not go away. Lake Show Life will be extending it’s post-game coverage this season! There will be a short post-game report shortly after the game in addition to the extended post-game of Lake Show Life Lessons! 

More championship coverage for championship fans.