Los Angeles Lakers survive Game 2 to even the series with Phoenix Suns

The Los Angeles Lakers were facing a must win in Game 2 after a Sunday loss capped by a subpar performance by superstars, Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The troubles of the Lakers offense was centered around AD playing the five spot (no pun intended!). The Lakers got the split they needed going back to Los Angeles.

Well one thing you cannot call Anthony Davis is a liar. After laying an egg in Game 1, he told the NBA world what was coming.

"“There’s no way we’re winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way that I played, “So, I mean, this is on me. I take full responsibility, for sure. We’ll be better Game 2.”"

Oh the Lakers were better, but Anthony Davis was just great. The Los Angeles Lakers evened the series with a 109-102 win over the Phoenix Suns. The teams go back to the Staples Center for Game 3 and if Chris Paul can’t go, this series maybe over.

The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

Checking notes…so let’s see Anthony Davis plays good when he’s aggressive!

Here’s a list of what Anthony Davis did in the first five minutes of the game.

• He blocked Devin Booker’s shot.
• He drew two fouls on Jae Crowder in less than seven seconds.
• He received a technical foul by kicking Crowder in the…nether region. 
• Scored 4 points while getting to the line four times. 
• Then there was this… 

Everyone is all over AD for 13 points on 5-16 shooting. Lake Show Life is all over AD for his lack of engagement. He was locked in on both ends of the floor in this one. The Suns turned the ball over numerous times early and it was Davis anchoring the defensive pressure.

In the fourth quarter in the last two minutes, AD locked up the Suns with a block on Ayton, forced Cameron Payton into a turnover and on offense working with a LeBron collaborations knocking down his free throws and a huge 3 pointer.

Davis handed out his business cards with 34 points (7-15 shooting!), 10 rebounds and 7 assists. He shot 18-21 from the line. Nothing else needs to be said.

Andre Drummond was balling early!

The other AD was making an impact like the original AD by beating up the Phoenix Suns on the backboard. Andre Drummond had 7 rebounds (4 offensive!) by the four minute mark of the first quarter! To put this in perspective, Deandre Ayton had 8 offensive boards in Game 1. Drummond was bodying him up with offensive put backs much like Deandre did in the first game. Oh he also found time to score 6 points and 2 steals as well.

He finished with 15 points (7-11 shooting!), 12 rebounds (5 offensive!) with 2 steals and a block.

The constant Lakers runs spread out over the game.

One of the bugaboos for the Los Angeles Lakers is having at least one bad quarter. That wasn’t the case in this one. The Lake Show had at least one major run in each of the first three quarters.

• 14-2 in the first quarter.
• 8-0 in the second quarter.
• 10-1 immediately coming out of halftime!

This game was hard fought and played virtually even. The Lakers dominated the frontline while Phoenix dominated the backcourt matchups. The Lakers runs kept them the lead throughout the game. Then the Lakers turned on the defense and locked up Ayton and Devin Booker.

The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

The majority of the guards on the Los Angeles Lakers!

We will get to Dennis Schroder in a minute because he played well. But the rest of the guards are officially scared to step up to shoot the ball or flat out can’t shoot. Lakers Nation, you make the call.

• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 0-4 from the field. Missed all shots from 3 point land. 0 points at halftime. Finished with 0 points.
• Talen Horton-Tucker: 0-2 from the field. Missed all shots from 3 point land. 1 point at halftime. Finished with 1 point.
• Alex Caruso: 0-2 from the field. Missed all shots from 3 point land. 0 points at halftime. Finished with 4 points on 2-5 shooting!
• Wesley Matthews: 0-1 from the field. 0 points at halftime. He finished with 0 points.

LeBron James is going to drive and kick to the shooters like he has done his entire career. Anthony Davis will command double teams if he is aggressive and dominant. That means these guys are going to get open shots because Phoenix will gladly give these up.

It’s not asking a lot for one or two of these guys to hit one or two open shots a game. The way these guys have looked, it’s going to be hard pressed to see them hit one or two shots in a week.

The Lakers can’t stop Deandre Ayton!

Ayton missed one shot in Game 1. He rebounded that miss and scored anyway. He had a double-double. He almost repeated that performance in this game. He finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He was 11-13 from the floor.

Kyle Kuzma’s contributions…

He’s averaging 1 point for the series. Need some highlights? Close your eyes. What do you see? Nothing? Moving on.

The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

The Los Angeles Lakers had a pulse in this game and they competed.

The Lakers played like they were embarrassed from the players to the coaching staff. This is a good thing. It was borderline irritating to read quotes of players and coaches downplaying their poor play.

• AD looked for the ball early and wrecked the Suns early offense.
• Andre Drummond gave Deandre Ayton work down low and had a double double by the half time break.
• LeBron James looked engaged and dissected the Suns weaknesses providing the proper balance  running the Lakers offense and scoring the basketball. Then he closed the game out like superstars do.

On the coaching end, Frank Vogel used multiple rotations early to see proper fits. Ten Lakers played in this game and this shows in game adjustments from the coaching staff. The Lake Show can’t survive this championship run with just rolling the ball out, assuming AD and LeBron goes crazy and expect that it’s a recipe for success.

Dennis Schroder played within himself and played well.

Schroder finished with 24 points (8-16 shooting!) with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He kept giving what the Suns gave him due to the fact AD was going crazy. The question is can he keep this up?

Chris Paul is injured. Not hurt…but injured. 

That shoulder is a lot worse off than the media is letting on. Shoulder injuries are brutal folks. Watching CP3 shoot the ball, its plain to see that he is gutting it out. But Game 2 exposed the severity of the injury.

The rebounding!

This will be the gauge of the series. The Suns worked them on the glass in Game 1. The Lakers outrebounded them in this one.

LeBron James showed up late and did work…

Hey Skip Bayless! Get that excuse ready.

LeBron closed out the game and possibly the Suns chance of controlling the series with 23 points (9-16 shooting!) and 9 assists. He knocked down four shots from the land of the extra point.

In Lake Show Life’s best 30 for 30 voice: What if I told you that LeBron James is the best 3 point shooter on the Los Angeles Lakers team in this series?

Series tied 1-1.