The Los Angeles Lakers bench players gave LeBron the support needed to win this game!
Take a look at this picture. You see Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker doing something that turned the entire game around. They played lock down defense. It’s something that Frank Vogel notices and pay attention to this lineup to start the fourth quarter the next few games. This lineup was rolled out in the Boston game and may continue for awhile…
Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell.
Notice those are bench players that bring energy on the defensive end and will run the floor hard. Replace any of those bench players with Anthony Davis and the Lakers will not let you score. If this game showed any indication, one might want to pay attention. Check out how these guys played in the game.
Talen Horton-Tucker:
Talen Horton-Tucker continues to impress and make the Lake Show Life Lessons series look good (We made a request to stop all of these DNP-CDs) finishing with 17 points (8-12 shooting), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block!
He had a plus/minus of +17 and is definitely trying to cement his spot in the rotation. 12 of his 17 points were in the second half and he scored four straight baskets in one stretch.
Can’t spell “Talent” without Talen. pic.twitter.com/mcgVGVIL0w
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 5, 2021
Notice the chemistry that you see here along with the ball movement with Kuzma and Alex Caruso. Let’s go to them next.
Alex Caruso:
The best thing that happened to Caruso was losing the top spot in 3 point percentage. Now his effectiveness is back under the radar. His willingness to play strong defense and make winning plays continues to impress Lake Show Life. Even when Denver tried to slow the Lakers down by getting into a zone defense, Caruso’s strong cuts while moving the ball rendered the defense useless.
Kyle Kuzma:
Kuz is finally getting comfortable in his role with Vogel’s special new found lineup rotations. He played efficiently while being on the floor scoring 11 points (4-9 shooting, a couple of 3 pointers!), 3 rebounds (2 offensive!), 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Plus, his block on Michael Porter Jr.’s 3 pointer started the huge defensive stand that the Nuggets never recovered from.
Montrezl Harrell is just that dude!
The common phrase with this series is…Film don’t lie.
This is what is known around Lake Show Life as “Handing out those business cards!”
That #LakersWin Feeling pic.twitter.com/LLwUoXGdCY
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 5, 2021
- Almost seamlessly while LeBron had the ball on the left wing, Montrezl used his size to seal Will Barton III and get him on his back (Okay we’re being kind, bully him out of the paint!).
- LeBron hits Trezl with the pass at the right time in perfect position to score the basket.
- Monte Morris makes a wise career decision to leave bad intentions alone while Harrell tears the rim down.
Nikola Jokic got in foul trouble chasing Harrell up and down the floor. When he sat late in the third quarter, Denver was forced to use the small ball lineup and Montrezl Harrell ate the defense up.
Trezl put in work at the center spot when the matchups suited him with 13 points (6-8 shooting), 4 rebounds and an assist. The story here was toughness that wore the Nuggets out.
The bench picked up the scoring slack for Anthony Davis who did not score a lot. The bench dominated in this game scoring 41 points. Let’s see how AD’s night went.