The Los Angeles Lakers started their road trip pointing east taking on the rebuilding San Antonio Spurs. The list of the wounded had another member as the Lake Show added one of the “Big 3” to the party. Cue the M.A.S.H. theme folks.
- Wayne Ellington is still out with hamstring issues. However, he was seen working out before the game and reportedly will be back soon.
- Kendrick Nunn is still out with a bone bruise. No timetable on his return.
- Talen Horton-Tucker is out with hand surgery. However, he has been seen with coach Phil Handy working on some drills. No timetable on his return.
- Trevor Ariza is still out with his ankle surgery before the season…AND
- LeBron James sat out with a sore ankle suffered from a player falling awkwardly into his lower leg.
Fast forward to this game where Anthony Davis tweaked his ankle in the third quarter and scared Lakers Nation half to death when he fell to the ground holding his knee late in regulation. The Lakers erased a 12-point 4th quarter deficit to rally and finally win in overtime 125-121.
The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:
The centers for the Los Angeles Lakers have played so much better in the last couple of games!
It’s almost like Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan woke up and realized that they both are bigger and more athletic than most of the centers in the NBA. For most of the preseason and the first two games of the regular season, it seemed like they wanted to show everyone they had Anthony Davis’ skillset instead of bullying the paint.
Jordan is officially (For now!) is out of Lake Show Life’s doghouse because he now has figured out that if he runs the floor hard and gets to the rim, Russell Westbrook will find him.
The coaching staff needs to archive this video and show it to both centers before each game for the rest of the season. Sure, this is a great steal by Russ, but pay attention to this timeline.
https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1453164089962688517
- Russell Westbrook steals the ball from Dejounte Murray and races down the court to keep it from going out of bounds.
- He then drives to the basket setting up the lob.
- Russ finds Jordan in the rafters for a nasty slam dunk.
Now, why is this play so important? First DeAndre ran the floor hard not taking for granted that Russ would take the ball himself and score. Second, he outran not only his man down the floor but Anthony Davis. When was the last time anyone could say that? Third, he is gaining confidence in his point guard. Big men are not going to run the floor hard for nothing. This chemistry was started in the first quarter of the last game and Jordan believing he will get the ball will keep him engaged all season long. Not only is her rebounding the ball effectively and blocking shots, but he is protecting the rim much better.
As for Dwight Howard, when was the last time he hit four free throws in a row cleanly? Yes Lakers fans, the centers have finally woken up.
When the Lakers went small, Jakob Poeltl went crazy and finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Yes, the AD at the five debate will continue.
Anthony Davis is getting aggressive again and leaving behind his fadeaway jumper!
The problem with AD sometimes is that he knows he can get his 15-foot jumper anytime he wants. Sure, he can hit it at a high rate, but for the Los Angeles Lakers to contend for a title AD needs to make plays like these.
Fundamentals. pic.twitter.com/4Pu58GCMdH
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 27, 2021
The Spurs big men had no answer for any of the Lakers big men as they were pounded on over and over again in the paint.
After AD fell on the floor in the first quarter, it seemed that he got even more aggressive looking for his offense. This has to continue when LeBron James comes back to the lineup. AD is the only unstoppable force (Yes the only one!) that no NBA team can stop if he’s this aggressive. In 42 minutes, AD produced 35 points, 17 rebounds (7 offensive!), 4 assists and 4 blocks. There are no reports if he drove the bus or not but he did nearly everything else.
Whatever Davis didn’t do, the player being discussed next took care of.
Russell Westbrook is getting better game by game.
It’s no secret that Russ has struggled this season. But it is plainly obvious that he is in the film room trying to figure it out. The formula for success in the last couple of games is attacking the defense looking to get his teammates involved while ramping up his energy by not thinking so much.
Russ finished two assists shy of a triple-double with a stat line of 33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. He cut down his turnovers and the only thing that slowed him was foul trouble (More on that later!).
This is the first game that Westbrook was comfortable being himself in Lakers purple and gold.