Los Angeles Lakers: 4 lessons from losing Andre Drummond vs. Bucks

Montrezl Harrell needs to be the first priority signing (If possible!) for the Los Angeles Lakers!

Hopefully with the hoopla of the Andre Drummond and the absence of the stars, the play of Montrezl Harrell does not get overlooked especially the way he is playing as of late.

Harrell continued being the best player on the roster scoring 19 points (6-11 shooting, made all seven free throws!), and 5 rebounds (3 offensive!). But the Lake Show Life Lessons staff wants to shine the light on his willingness to compete despite playing woefully out of position. Despite the Andre Drummond signing, it doesn’t look like Trezl will see the power forward position again.

On numerous occasions, Trezl was left to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo one on one in the post which is impossible. This discussion can be summed up by this play alone. The Lakers will struggle defending the pick and roll as long as Harrell is the center but there are other issues here.

When Khris Middleton runs the pick and roll with Brook Lopez just notice all of the defensive breakdowns.

• Wesley Matthews dies on the pick set by Brook Lopez instead of fighting through it.
• Markieff Morris does not close hard to trap and stop the ball allowing the pocket pass to go through.
• Dennis Schroder does not move to provide rotational support as Brook Lopez receives the pass.
• By the time Lopez gets a head of steam, a 6’7 Harrell is not going to stop a 7′ center from dunking the basketball. 

These small defensive breakdowns are consistently leaving Montrezl Harrell out to dry. His teammates are not bringing the same amount of intensity to these games which will be a growing problem the longer the superstars are out especially Anthony Davis.

For weeks, the narrative being fed fans is that the Lakers need Kyle Kuzma and Dennis Schroder to carry the team without the superstars. Neither has done so consistently, but Montrezl Harrell has.

Montrezl Harrell is on record stating that the Lakers are not just going to try and hold on until LeBron James and Anthony Davis come back. Following that statement up with everyone else get paid to win games shows heart and character that the rest of the roster needs to emulate if they want to stay in the playoff chase.

Speaking of Harrell’s teammates, let’s discuss them. The Lake Show Life Lessons staff doesn’t know if Dennis Schroder was distracted by the contract negotiations or the rumors that are getting leaked or not. However with DeAaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings coming up on Friday, if Schroder plays as he did against Jrue Holiday, he’ll get a 40-point whipping. Read on to see how he played.