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Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons in overtime loss to Wizards

Feb 22, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura (8) shoots against the defense of Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma (0) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 22, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura (8) shoots against the defense of Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma (0) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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Los Angeles Lakers
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers lost this game because Montrezl Harrell wasn’t on the floor in crunch time!  

Lake Show Life just hopes that Montrezl Harrell is not getting Doc Rivers (Aka Los Angeles Clippers!) flashbacks. If you thought the Clippers’ minutes rotations for Trez in the Denver series were strange last year in the bubble, the rotations now have this writer pulling out his hair (Fun fact: The writer is BALD!).

Let’s go over Montrezl Harrell’s resume, shall we?

  • Montrezl Harrell is the reigning NBA 6th Man of the Year.
  • He is at the top of the NBA in field goal percentage. In short, the man can’t be stopped scoring the basketball from the left baseline.
  • The dude runs the lanes harder than most big men in the league.
  • He’s averaging close to 20 points in the month of February.

Can anybody (Oh we are serious!) explain how in the world can this guy have fewer minutes than Marc Gasol and the same amount as Markieff Morris? There’s a comment section below for educated opinions.

After being yo-yoed the last two games minutes-wise, Trez continues to do damage to opposing teams’ frontlines while Gasol and Morris continue to struggle to gain any consistency.

  • Marc Gasol finished with 7 points (2-5 shooting!), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks before he fouled out after 27 minutes. Four of those points came at the beginning of the game when he was fouled by Moe Wagner shooting a 3 point shot!
  • Markieff Morris finished with 7 points (3-5 shooting!), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in 22 minutes.  
  • Montrezl Harrell had outperformed these two with15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in the FIRST HALF! 

Does the staff believe that Harrell needs to be in the Lakers’ starting lineup? No. He just needs to be closing games out in crunch time. Something that didn’t happen (Like…again!) in overtime of this one. After Harrell collected his fifth foul in the fourth quarter, he was never heard from again. Harrell finished the night 26 points with 9 rebounds.

To the casuals that bring out the “Well Montrezl Harrell would have been a liability on defense because he’s too small” excuses…just watch Marc Gasol get abused in the pick and roll…over and over and over…

With Quinn Cook being waived after the game, this writer would be shocked if DeMarcus Cousins wasn’t signed Wednesday. The Lakers need to try anything to get this leaking ship called rim protection fixed.

One thing is for sure, if Boogie Cousins does get signed and Marc Gasol is still closing games, it will be time to start looking at Frank Vogel and his rotation patterns. Lake Show Life believes if Trez was out there instead of Gasol, the Lakers win.

Speaking of Frank Vogel and his rotations, there’s no time like the present to talk about it. Read on! 

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