Los Angeles Lakers win a wild overtime affair over the New York Knicks

The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

Anthony Davis absolutely manhandled the Knicks frontline!

Sure, AD’s numbers might not be as pretty as his previous games, but in this outing, he was dominant. If the Los Angeles Lakers want to insist on the small ball lineup, Davis has to dominate the center position. He threw the Knicks centers in the broom closet and took their lunch money. Just compare the numbers…

• Anthony Davis: 28 points, 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 3 steals.
• Nerlens Noel: 5 points, 1 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist and 1 steal.
• Mitchell Robinson: 4 points, 11 rebounds, 0 blocks, 0 assists and 3 steals.

Couple this with anchoring a defense that basically shut down the Knicks offense in the second half. DeAndre Jordan played three minutes of the worst rim protection in NBA history.

The Los Angeles Lakers NEED Anthony Davis to play center. He’s going to have to get used to that way of life in the NBA playing for this team.

The third quarter!

The New York Knicks did the exact collapse in the third quarter as they did in Madison Square Garden because the Lakers rolled over them 31-13. They drove to the basket and easy buckets and this guy that the readers and the staff of Lake Show Life has been begging for to get a permanent starting job had an explosion to the tune of outscoring a NBA team in the third quarter!

Malik…Monk…is…that…dude!

To all the readers that kept their comments going for Malik Monk…thank you.

Finally, Avery Bradley was benched for Malik Monk in the starting lineup. He didn’t do much in the first half (No one outside of AD did!) but man he gave out some business cards in the third quarter!

Malik Monk OUTSCORED the New York Knicks 18-13 to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the lead by the end of the third quarter. This guy is a scoring machine when he gets in a rhythm. The difference in this game? Frank Vogel left Monk alone while Tom Thibodeau slowed his scorers by benching them!

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1490162967110766593

Malik Monk put on a offensive clinic scoring 25 of his 29 points after halftime!

The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win (First half only!):

The Lakers allowed RJ Barrett to explode in the first quarter!

Sure Anthony Davis and LeBron James got their numbers early, that’s a given right? But it doesn’t matter when RJ Barrett runs roughshod over the Lakers defense for 17 points on 6-8 shooting, three shots from behind the arc, and puts Russell Westbrook in an icebox to freeze with a post-move.

https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1490146358535274502

Just be glad that Tom Thibodeau’s rotations are as bad as Frank Vogel, because Barrett slowed down in the second half. He had 21 points at the half.

R.J. Barrett finished with 36 points, but it was a lot harder for him after halftime.

The Los Angeles Lakers allowed Julius Randle to explode in the first half! 

To understand the context of this analysis, allow this writer to give you Lakers fans some insight on how bad this season is going for Julius Randle. After winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award last year and leading his team to the playoffs for the first time since like forever, his production has taken a nosedive.

• Julius Randle has beefed with the Knicks fanbase that has booed him at times this season.
• He gave a thumbs down to the crowd in Madison Square Garden and had to make a statement to apologize.
• His attitude has gone sour.
• Every stat has declined from last season!
• For those millennials and Generation Z’ers out there…He stopped following the Knicks on Instagram!  

You would have thought that Randle was going to the All-Star Game based on what he did to the Lakers in the first half. What Barrett started in the first quarter, Randle just picked up in the second quarter as he dropped 20 points before the break.

Julius Randle finished with 32 points but like Barrett, it was a lot harder for him after halftime.

Russell Westbrook:

To all the fans that were booing Russ and yelling NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! when he shot the ball, the Lake Show Life staff has a handbook for you to read.

• A Lakers fan’s handbook to the understanding of Russell Westbrook

More on him later!

The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

LeBron James…(Like there was another story out there!)

This guy was out numerous games for knee swelling and he comes back on a Saturday night against the New York Knicks and does things like this!

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1490179014991826948

LeBron took over in this game with yet another triple double scoring 29 points (13-24 shooting!), grabbing 13 rebounds (3 offensive!) and dishing out 10 assists. The main thing looking forward to Tuesday night is if the Lakers rest him after 40 minutes of playing time in this one. The knee swelling is not going anywhere and management of minutes will as big a story as the numbers he puts up.

Russell Westbrook was benched for the entire overtime period.

Man…Thursday’s NBA trade deadline is going to be interesting. Russ finished with 5 points on 1-10 shooting. His confidence was gone in this game. He missed free throws, he turned the ball over and two Lakers players had to talk to him to keep his spirits up.

To the Los Angeles Lakers fanbase that have dogged him throughout the season, you better pray the Lakers want to give up that first-round pick because his psyche is officially in question as far as Lake Show Life is concerned.