Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons in an overtime thriller over Utah Jazz

The Los Angeles Lakers played the Utah Jazz with no superstars. No problem, the Jazz didn’t either! It didn’t stop both teams from playing lights out into overtime. However, the Lakers turned up the defensive pressure, fell asleep, then rode Dennis Schroder and Andre Drummond to a wild overtime 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. 

This Lake Show Life Lessons piece was not planned. See, it would be a waste of time to analyze blowouts. This game was widely believe to be a Utah blowout. But the Los Angeles Lakers have shown us many things this season.

• With all of the games close together, no one knows what might happen.
• The Boston Celtics game showed the last five guys on the Lakers bench can blow you off any NBA court if you are not careful.
• This Los Angeles Lakers team can defensively throw you in a broom closet if focused.
• If you are patient enough realizing this season is a marathon and not a sprint (Stop smirking McKinley Webb!) players find their way in the Lakers system and can thrive! 

Considering that the Utah Jazz were missing their three best players (Including Donovan Mitchell, who 24 hours earlier suffered a severely sprained ankle) from their rotation, most will downplay the Lakers’ win in the first matchup of a two-game stretch for both teams in Los Angeles.

Okay… cool.

But all the Lakers can do is deliver Lakers Nation a 127-115 victory over the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Oh did we forget to mention the Lakers were without their own two best players?

Okay… cool.

This huge victory moves the Lakers to 35-22 and they stay the fifth seed in the Western Conference bracket. They run it back with the Jazz on Monday.

Let’s get this out of the way, Anthony Davis is OUT for the next Los Angeles Lakers game.

Before we get into a very exciting lessons discussion, Lake Show Life wants to make one thing perfectly clear. Sure there will be plenty of narratives and empty rhetoric on why the Lakers won.

Here’s why the Lakers won.

Ersan Ilyasova got in foul trouble early. That’s it

• He shot 5-5 from behind the arc for 15 points in the first quarter.
• Got three fouls by the 10:00 mark of the second quarter.
• Got his fourth foul early in the third quarter
• Then he eventually fouled out. The Jazz made a huge mistake not challenging his fifth foul because that was a missed call.

Ilyasova would have gone for 50 points had the fouls not slowed him. He was the key to matching Andre Drummond’s presence in the low post. It was working like a charm early.  Ersan finished with 20 points.

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!