The Los Angeles Lakers started the second half of the season against the Indiana Pacers trying to snap a two-game losing streak. For three quarters, it looked like the losing streak was going to grow to three games before Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell exploded to preserve an important Lakers win.
Lake Show Life breaks down what else happened in Lake Show Life Lessons! The only Los Angeles Lakers extended post-game report with in-depth analysis and highlights.
The Los Angeles Lakers officially started phase two of their quest to repeat as NBA champions with a Staples Center matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Both teams were sliding down the standings with the Pacers losing six of their last nine games while the Lake Show was suffering through a two-game losing streak that extended to dropping six of their last eight.
The Lake Show Life staff wants to give a special shout-out to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for making sure Lakers Nation didn’t have to deal with yet ANOTHER overtime game against a subpar team. Covering 10:30 PM games on the East Coast can be brutal folks!
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This steal with less than 10 seconds in the game was enough to get out with a 105-100 win and saved Lakers fans at least five more minutes of wondering why the Lakers allow below .500 teams to give them so much trouble in the Staples Center.
Before the game, Anthony Davis’ injury status was the hot topic via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
"Anthony Davis has “been cleared to enter the next phase of his return to play process,” per the Lakers, after being seen by team doctors tonight. He’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks, per the team."
Let’s be clear here folks, the key words in that statement are “the next phase of his return to play process” and “He’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks”. So no, he will not be playing in an NBA game in two weeks.
Even though the Los Angeles Lakers survived this game, they have to get it together.
They aren’t playing well and the other contenders have started to raise their level of play significantly.
Until AD returns, the Lakers have to find consistent offense throughout the roster. LeBron James being the only Laker in double figures for three quarters will end up in Laker losses on most nights.
The two storylines?
- Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell (Much more on those two in a second!)
- The Lakers shut down Malcolm Brogdon is the second half!
Now understand Malcolm Brogdon was handing out business cards to the Lakers early. He finished with 29 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
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How dominant was Brogdon early?
- With just under three minutes left in the opening quarter, Malcolm Brogdon had 12 points on 5-7 shooting. There were no other players in the game with more than three points at the time.
- Malcolm Brogdon had 18 of the Indiana Pacers 28 first-quarter points on 7-10 shooting.
- He had 23 points by halftime.
- Brogdon was 4-7 from beyond the arc in the game. The rest of the Pacers had a 4-29 brick fest from behind the 3 point line.
But when the Pacers needed some offense from Brogdon in crunch time, the Lakers would not let him beat them. With Brogdon being slowed offensively, the Pacers could not score. The Lakers made their comeback outscoring Indiana 34-21 in the final quarter.
To the new Los Angeles Lakers fans that are checking us out for the first time, welcome to Lake Show Life Lessons. Our extended post-game report with video analysis will cover the progress for the Los Angeles Lakers the entire season!
Over the next several pages we will provide highlights of certain players and coaches. Afterward, the comment section is loaded with knowledgeable fans adding their basketball knowledge. We usually start with the stars.
Let’s get to Lesson One to find out who!