The Los Angeles Lakers had their first real test on the road playing the Eastern Conference top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers. LeBron James and Joel Embiid battled throughout the game in a matchup of NBA conference leaders that actually lived up to the hype!
Just WOW!
TOBIAS HARRIS FOR THE WIN AGAINST THE LAKERS ... CASH 💰 pic.twitter.com/hws1zg3nnx
— ESPN (@espn) January 28, 2021
Before anyone starts blaming Alex Caruso for this loss, stop reading and go to another Los Angeles Lakers website that won’t notice ignorant comments. They get no play here.
The Philadelphia 76ers with that shot avoided a ridiculous 16-0 Los Angeles Lakers run to ESCAPE with a 107-106 win. Lake Show Life gives a huge shout out to beat writers and competing Lakers sites. They probably had to start over with four minutes left in the game. The first 44 minutes and the last four are two completely different stories and we mean DIFFERENT!
The Lakers finally lose a game on the road after winning ten straight games, but not without Sixers head coach, Doc Rivers probably losing his voice for a week screaming at his team…“What are you doing?!!!!!”.
The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
The Lakers actually handled early adversity very well:
The team has dealt with many different scenarios this season. Being punched in the mouth by a real contender wasn’t one of them. The Sixers were all over the Lakers early riding the Embiid wave to a lead of as much as 16 points. But thanks to LeBron’s 22 points in first half and a strong scoring start by AD.
These two always on the same page 📖 pic.twitter.com/gy70YP9lXI
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 28, 2021
The Lakers avoided an early night blowout that was reserved for their opponents.
Marc Gasol actually contributed in this game!
Kevin Germany is breathing a sigh of relief right now…
But Marc Gasol competed on the defensive end without fouling while making sharp passes to LeBron James on numerous occasions to keep the Lakers from being blown out of Philly in the first half.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 28, 2021
Look we all knew that he wasn’t going to stop Embiid in this game. The point here is he contributed in SOME way while he was on the floor. If you want to know what he contributed in the last two games just close your eyes. There’s the answer.
LeBron James wants the MVP…BADLY!
You’ve already seen the smooth moves of LeBron James scoring the basketball in collaboration with Marc Gasol, but he did a lot more than that. With Anthony Davis lumbering at times (More on that in a second!), LeBron continued his dominance and zone level shooting from the 4th quarter of the Cleveland game. He finished with 34 points.
Dennis Schroder’s second half:
Schroder was terrible in the first half missing all five of his shots and not scoring a point. In the second half he was huge scoring 16 points keeping the Lakers within shouting distance. But it’s the pick that allowed Anthony Davis room for the go ahead bucket at the end showed his best play of the game.
The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
The Los Angeles Lakers have started their last season trend of slow starts!
The reason the Lakers were playing catchup virtually the whole game was of the slow starts in the first and third quarters. Ben Simmons gashed the interior defense for easy baskets while Tobias Harris hurt the Lake Show from the wings. To put things into perspective, former Lakers wing, Danny Green was putting in work from the outside exacting some revenge.
Lake Show Life kind of wishes KCP and Alex Caruso wasn’t in the top three in 3 point shooting!
To be clear, we are all thrilled that two Lakers players are sitting at the top of the NBA in long distance shooting. That’s the best case scenario, now look at the worst. They are now officially on the scouting report and are being paid close attention to these days. Even though both hit huge 3 pointers late, the bottom line is…Since the world are now being reminded of their success, they haven’t shot well lately.
Anthony Davis’ rhythm is off:
By his standards AD’s game is off. He’s going to get his numbers because he’s one of the top five players in the league but since the Warriors game,(Other than the Chicago game!), his play hasn’t been the difference making level that Lakers fans have gotten used to. He’s missing free throws, he lacks his usual energy. Something is off mentally with him. There could be a reason why for this game. What is it?
AD’s knee was banged up pretty good:
Anthony Davis spent a lot of the first half on the bench getting treatment for his right knee. Hopefully, it’s just sore but if he has tendonitis or a bone bruise, UH OH!
The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
Don’t let the final score fool you Lakers fans!
The Los Angeles Lakers for the most part got beat. Sure they lost at the buzzer but take away one of the most furious comebacks in recent NBA history by the Lake Show, they waited until under five minutes to go in the game to get started.
(Any NBA GM Secretary’s voice) Rob Pelinka on line one for a center!
Even though Marc Gasol showed a pulse, the Lakers will struggle against elite teams until they find a center. Montrezl Harrell, Markieff Morris and Anthony Davis are power forwards. Joel Embiid is a center. He gave the frontline the business.
Ben Simmons showed a possible weakness at the wing position!
Simmons hurt the Lakers time and time again making winning plays with his size and speed. He ended up with a triple double and he looked very comfortable doing it.
Lake Show Life’s more in-depth breakdowns will come in Lake Show Life Lessons tomorrow. Keep it locked for the only Los Angeles Lakers post-game report with highlights and in-depth analysis.