Los Angeles Lakers: 4 lessons from bad loss to the New York Knicks

Apr 12, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker (5) shoots the ball over New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (5) in the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker (5) shoots the ball over New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (5) in the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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Los Angeles Lakers
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Andre Drummond got introduced to the top of the New York Knicks’ scouting report!

As crazy as it sounds, the regular season is almost over. Next month, the playoffs start. As we all know, coaching starts to become a factor. Nothing illustrates this point than the last two games the Lakers played in New York.

Lake Show Life message: Tom Thibodeau is a different brand of coach from Steve Nash!

It was clear that the Knicks staff was in front of a television monitor watching Andre Drummond mow down the Nets on Saturday night.

Notice that Brooklyn did not send one double team in any of those highlights. Well, let’s just say the Knicks are quick learners that Andre Drummond demands a double team because that’s what he saw all night long.

Tom Thibodeau devised a scheme that made SURE Andre Drummond would not get untracked offensively in the game. Every time Drummond touched the ball, Knicks players were coming from different angles and were ALL OVER him.

Drummond finished with 3 points (Only 1-3 shooting!), 10 rebounds and 4 turnovers. New York had a game plan and was ready for him. The Knicks were going to take something away and they chose Drummond and dared the Lakers to shoot 3 pointers like they did over the weekend.

The Lakers didn’t.

The other centers did fare much better.

Montrezl Harrell:

(Written in shock) Montrezl Harrell didn’t score a point in this game!

Mama said there would be days like this. In Harrell’s 14 minutes, he didn’t scratch with zero points (0-4 shooting!), 2 rebounds and with an assist and a block. Look for a monster performance in Charlotte. Why?

  • You know he’s not going to have two clunkers like this in a row…
  • The Charlotte Hornets will be throwing $100 million at him this offseason. Lake Show Life is pretty sure his agent will be reminding him of that!

Marc Gasol:

The fact that Gasol got off the bench should tell how bad things got late. Frank Vogel claims that he put Marc in to provide a spark (Stop laughing!). The Lakers actually made a small, 8-0 run when Marc Gasol checked in.

Gasol finished with 3 points, a rebound and a steal. Some readers want to see the Gasol/Harrell combination on the floor but, the Lessons staff doesn’t see that coming for a while. Good idea or not.

Lake Show Life sees a problem with the Lakers offense.

  • No, it’s not the 3 point shooting. It’s no secret, it’s bad!
  • The Lessons staff has complained about turnovers so much that plagiarism might come into play in a few weeks!
  • No, we are not picking on Dennis Schroder…

There’s a player that is in a zone right now that the Lakers aren’t utilizing enough. Read on to see who he is.