2. A role player steps up with an unlikely game
This is another reason why the Los Angeles Lakers are not winning games. Unless LeBron James drops 50 points, the Lakers have needed unlikely heroic efforts from role players that do not typically have huge games.
When Anthony Davis returns this will be a bit different because you figure he will slide into that second most-impactful role and as long as he is not awful, the Lakers will need Westbrook to play well and not a standout game from a role player.
However, right now, it is taking these standout performances for the Lakers to get victories. They do not happen all that often, though, which is why the team has really struggled since the All-Star Break.
The big game against the Cleveland Cavaliers was obviously D.J. Augustin, who had his best game of the season. Augustin hit six of six threes and finished the game with 20 points on seven of seven shooting. It is not often that Augustin scores 20 points.
The unlikely player that stepped up against the Toronto Raptors was Wenyen Gabriel, who scored a career-high 17 points in the Lakers’ win. Even if we go back to the Lakers’ win over the Wizards where LeBron scored 50, Malik Monk still had to score 21.