Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron and the bench overcome Memphis, 5 Lessons
By Ronald Agers
The Los Angeles Lakers need to bring Dennis Schroder off the bench when Alex Caruso and/or KCP comes back!
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope wisely was held out of the game with sprained left ankle from the San Antonio game. Alex Caruso missed his fourth game under the NBA’s health and safety protocol and will miss Tuesday’s game as well.
When either of them come back, they need to replace Dennis Schroder in the starting lineup.
Dennis Schroder needs to come off the bench. Yes, Lake Show Life was on record asking for this in the preseason and will continue until it happens. He was wildly inefficient and his perimeter defense gets worse with each passing game. Good luck remembering the last time he executed offensive sets with any consistency.
If this is the point guard when LeBron is off the ball how can these things happen?
- LeBron James doesn’t keep getting the ball for scoring chances when he’s hot!
- Kyle Kuzma doesn’t get fed after watching two shots from distance fall in back to back possessions? Dennis was around Christmas Day right?
Schroder had 11 points and 5 assists. He didn’t shoot well (4-13 from the field, missing all 3 point shots!) and he was on the floor when the Lakers was getting lit up on a 27-5 run in the first quarter. What was worse? It seemed the guards had wide open shots, hitting seven of ten.
When Tyus Jones is giving you baskets along with Grizzlies players you’ve never heard of like Desmond Bane…
https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1345874969335623680
it’s time to start making changes.
This is just the defense and the playmaking. Let’s talk about the offense in the first half.
Dennis Schroder didn’t score a point until about 3 minutes left in the first half. The Lake Show Life readers are giving him about 20-25 games for Dennis to get it together. By then, they will see what the staff sees now.
For the Schroder apologists in the comment section looking for the box score to debate. Don’t bother. It doesn’t matter. He wasn’t good and it would be nice to see him set up his teammates instead of throwing up circus shots. If they go in, it’s going to make things worse.
At least Frank Vogel benched him in the second quarter and brought in Talen Horton Tucker. His teamwork with this player on the bench turned the entire game around!