Los Angeles Lakers small-ball lineup won’t hold up against contending teams
By Ronald Agers
The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:
Russell Westbrook…
To make this point, we have to take you fans back to the Christmas Day game against the Brooklyn Nets. Remember when Russ shot 4-20 and single-handedly stymied that great Lakers comeback by ignoring LeBron James when he was in a zone for a driving dunk that was blocked by the rim? Then he left the arena for David Fizdale and LeBron to defend him?
This game was worse.
Russell Westbrook had seven turnovers in the first half. No this is not a typo. No this is not copied from the other 25 post-game reports pointing out that this is some of the worst point guard play since Smush Parker. Maybe Carlos Huerta? Jeremy Lin? If anyone has a worse player…there’s a comment section below.
For the Russell Westbrook apologists bringing up the triple-double streak, the Lake Show Life staff has a question… Are ten turnovers acceptable for an NBA point guard? College? Overseas? AAU? YMCA? Remember those toy Dr. J basketball goals for little kids? Just asking.
Who told Frank Vogel that it was a good idea to guard a professional NBA center with Stanley Johnson?
To be clear here, this is far from an indictment for Stanley Johnson. He has done a very nice job providing energy on the defensive end that hasn’t been seen all year. He will be signed soon to a contract.
However…
Naz Reid is an undersized center. He’s 6’9 and 264 pounds. Stanley Johnson is an undersized power forward. He’s 6’6 242 pounds. See the picture? Stanley can’t guard Naz. Simple physics. Now let’s get to common sense. If this is such a bad matchup, why not send a double team against a Minnesota team full of non-shooters? Well, the Lakers allowed Reid to go off for 17 points in the first half and was the main reason why the defense broke down for most of the game. Speaking of defense…
Rebounding.
With the small-ball lineup, there has to be some discipline on finishing possessions defensively. Man the Lakers haven’t figured out that concept yet. The Minnesota Timberwolves got 20 offensive rebounds in this game. Throw in Russ’ turnovers all over the place helps illustrate why the Timberwolves stayed close throughout the game.