Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons on repeat embarrassing OT win over OKC

Alex Caruso needs to get back in the Los Angeles Lakers rotation quickly!

Look, there are some basketball players out there that can relate to badly jamming fingers on a basketball court (Hurts the writer just reminiscing!), but Alex Caruso can’t be held out for much longer. His intangibles will make him millions of dollars soon. He is one of the few bench players in the NBA that can affect a basketball game without scoring a point.

The Lakers missed his defensive intensity, his strong cuts on offense and especially his chemistry with LeBron James. Now, this takes nothing from Wesley Matthews who would have never seen the floor if Caruso was healthy. Like Schroder, he had his part in burying OKC…again.

But the Lakers need Alex Caruso. When he gets back, how will the rotation work itself out? More on that in a second.

Kyle Kuzma:

The resident replacement for Anthony Davis finally returned. Kuzma shot much better in this game (especially from the 3 point line!), scoring 15 points on a very efficient 7-14 shooting. His team-leading 9 rebounds should be eye-popping. It was Kuz that was supporting the Montrezl Harrell comeback efforts when the Lakers started their final run for overtime.

Markieff Morris: 

He contributed 9 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes. But it’s this quote to Christian Rivas from SB Nation that should keep Lakers fans watching the bench during timeouts.

"Markieff Morris spoke really candidly about how he’s dealt with being taken out of the rotation. Specifically, he said he didn’t understand how he could be taken out of the rotation after he was a part of the rotation in the playoffs. He clearly wants to play. It should be noted that Markieff said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the Lakers win, but yeah — he’s definitely had a tough time with this."

The Derrick Rose trade over the weekend by Lake Show Life projections (Checking the watch!) starts the unofficial trade season. If Keef is not happy about his minutes now, he’s going to be mad when Caruso gets back. His minutes aren’t going anywhere.

Wesley Matthews handled the DNP-CDs like a professional and shot lights out when the Lakers needed it. Quotes like this from Markieff Morris can get you dropped off to another team in about a month if he’s not careful.

Lake Show Life upset alert:

The Memphis Grizzlies are up next on Friday. Ja’ Morant is playing after missing the first two matchups. They just dropped 130 points on the Charlotte Hornets. If the Lakers play like they did the last three games. The six-game winning streak is over!

Either way, it would be nice if the Lakers could keep this one to 48 minutes.

Lake Show Life has extended its post-game coverage this season! There will be short post-game reports shortly after the game in addition to the extended post-game of Lake Show Life Lessons! 

More championship coverage for championship fans.