Los Angeles Lakers ride LeBron and the bench to win over Denver!

The Los Angeles Lakers finally got to look inside the Staples Center after a seven-game road trip. Could they get over .500 at home? LeBron James is still making a statement for MVP and the Lakers defense from the bench locked up the Denver Nuggets after a slow start to win!

If you read this post-game report, you would look at the score and wonder, didn’t the Los Angeles Lakers blow out the Denver Nuggets, 114-93 with some of the analysis? Yes.

This is one of those games where if you watched the first half, there was an option to change the channel. But if you stayed past halftime, you watched one of the most dominant defensive performances of the entire NBA season. The Lakers ran by the Nuggets scoring 37-17 in the third quarter and 31-18 in the final quarter.

GAME OVER!

The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

LeBron James… PERIOD!

This game would have been an easy 25 point blowout for the Denver Nuggets if LeBron James had been held out for any reason. He scored 9 points in the first quarter before the arena lights got warm and sliced into a Denver Nuggets 12 point lead virtually by himself in the second half.

Folks, all broadcast teams mention that LeBron is in his 18th season to the point that it’s almost a cliché, but watching this guy destroy teams on some nights is almost Wilt Chamberlain-like.

Oh, by the way, LeBron James passed Wilt Chamberlain in all-time field goals made. That’s a tidbit for people that don’t think the man can put the ball in the basket at a high rate when the situation calls for it. He finished with a triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Los Angeles Lakers swallowed up the Nuggets offense in the third quarter.

The Lakers closed the third quarter on an absurd 15-0 run (20-4 extended!) to take a 8 point lead into the final quarter. It got started with Kyle Kuzma swatting a Michael Porter Jr. 3 pointer while Denver was on a 4-on-2 fast break and ended with this…

The Nuggets were held scoreless for 5:09 combining the end of the quarter into the fourth.

Nikola Jokic got in foul trouble and never got untracked!

Coming into this game, the Joker dropped 47 points on a red hot Utah Jazz team. The Lakers’ energy on defense really does bother him. He never got comfortable in the post. Not only did he struggle to score, but he did not have the chance to get his teammates involved.

When Jamal Murray started turning the ball over in the second half, the Lakers started making their move and Denver’s offense stalled.

Jokic finished with only 13 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

The Los Angeles Lakers did not stop the Denver Nuggets offense early!

The Lakers are much more talented than most of the teams they feasted on early this season. In this game, the Denver offense just continuously broke down the interior defense of the Lake Show.

Could you blame Marc Gasol (Oh there will be readers here that will!) for the problems? Sure, but Lake Show Life will start with the major reason for the defensive troubles.

Does anyone wonder why Lakers Nation loves Alex Caruso and THT so much? Dennis Schroder’s defense!

Let’s get this out of the way. Please don’t bring up the Dennis Schroder diving on the floor twice to gain a possession in the first half. Sure, Reggie Miller called it a “championship play”, but the Lakers wouldn’t have fallen down so far in the second quarter if it wasn’t for his bad perimeter defense.

Film don’t lie folks. Dennis Schroder’s defense is so undisciplined that sometimes you want to claw your eyes out. Forget that his shot selection is questionable. Forget he’s shooting 30 percent from 3 point range. Lake Show Life sees breakdowns every game from this guy like this.

This is what you call false hustle. This looks good to casuals, but here’s why the defense is so horrid.

• He’s not attached to Jamal Murray the way he should. This is an All-Star and the second-best player on the Nuggets team.
• Watch how HARD Jamal Murray runs the play with purpose while Schroder just jogs along behind him. 
• Instead of competing and trying to catch Murray to defend, he gives up throwing his hands up in the air.

He allowed Trae Young to go crazy last game with 25 points and 16 assists with dribble penetration. Look how the Denver guards did in the first half alone.

• Jamal Murray: 10 points…
• Monte Morris: 9 points…
• Will Barton: 7 points…

Plus the breakdowns allowed JaMychal Green to get loose scoring 12 points.

When the Lakers shut the Nuggets offense down, Schroder was on the bench.

Don’t start with the number of points Dennis Schroder scored in this game either (21). If he’s the “playmaker” when LeBron sits, why are we discussing this?

Anthony Davis spent three quarters on the outside looking in on offense.

AD shot eight times in the entire game. Six free throws. Only 13 points. Why did the Los Angeles Lakers win this game? On most nights, the Lakers lose. Read on to see why they didn’t.

The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

The Los Angeles Lakers bench delivered the knockout punch!

The bench REALLY picked up the slack for AD not having the greatest of nights. Talen Horton-Tucker had a great night (To think there is a reader that actually compared this guy to an AAU player!) with 17 points and 3 steals while wreaking havoc on the defensive end.

Alex Caruso continued to play strong defense and make winning plays. Kyle Kuzma played efficiently while being on the floor as well. But this dude right here…

Montrezl Harrell is just that dude! Man, he gave his business cards to the Denver front line!   

The numbers will not jump out at you, but his energy got Nikola Jokic in foul trouble in the second half. When Jokic sat on the bench, Trezl put in work at the center spot with 13 points on 6-8 shooting. But the toughness of Harrell wore the Nuggets out.

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.