Way-too-small Lakers prove they are still owned by the Clippers
By Ronald Agers
The Los Angeles Lakers, coming fresh off a loss to the World Champion Golden State Warriors on opening night, got some more run on national television against their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers. But is it a rivalry at this point? Coming into the game the Clippers have won 32 of the last 39 games against the Lake Show.
This one was a wild back-and-forth affair, but the Clippers outlasted the Los Angeles Lakers 103-97. Effort is celebrated here and this is what Lake Show Life took from this game.
- The Lakers have found a niche in their offensive system that this website knew years ago. Nobody and we mean NOBODY can stop LeBron James when he is in the post. An important adjustment was made when he made it a point to get Anthony Davis engaged early in the game.
- LeBron James is really trying folks. He’s REAALLLYYYY trying.
- Anthony Davis played with heart (25 points and 8 rebounds), but his back will be a problem for quite a while. He couldn’t move at the end of the game.
- Darvin Ham is the right coach for this team!
- But the bench is horrid scoring the basketball.
The Lakers are 0-2 and have lost 32 of their last 44 regular season games. They have eight straight losses to the Clippers. Save the history lessons, because this is a current events website.
The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
Man…if there was a smart signing that Rob Pelinka made this summer it’s Lonnie Walker IV!
People do not know this guy because he was buried under Gregg Popovich’s regimented system in San Antonio, but this dude is exactly what the Lakers need. One, he’s athletic and can get his own shot. Two, he is one of the few players on this team that does not have panic attacks or is not seen praying when shooting from outside.
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1583291780228730880
Lonnie finished with 26 points and made this game worth watching. If he didn’t play as well as he did, LeBron would have pulled what hair he had left out.
The 20-4 run to tie the game at halftime…
If Frank Vogel was coaching this team, this post-game report could be posted in the third quarter. Darvin Ham was telling his team to contest without fouling in a timeout and the Lakers went crazy. The Clippers were getting anything they wanted for the first 15 minutes of the game before that timeout. All of this added up to a 56-56 game at halftime.
Seeing John Wall back on an NBA court!
This is bigger than basketball. Who cares if he plays for the Clippers? This is a guy that was banished from the league struggling with personal loss, anxiety, and poor mental health. True NBA fans had to be happy to see this guy back on the court and playing well. He finished with 15 points and he basically saved the Clippers from a total disaster with Reggie Jackson running the point.
The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
Remember that 20-4 run to tie the game at half?
Never mind, the Clippers went on a 17-0 run in the third quarter. These third-quarter scoring droughts have to stop. This goes back to last year.
The Los Angeles Lakers are too little!
No contending NBA team is going to take this Los Angeles Lakers team seriously if they don’t figure out the center situation. Anthony Davis is not going to play the five. Let it go. Now that he’s out of the equation, the Lakers were small anyway with Damian Jones and the injured Thomas Bryant, who is undersized. The Lakers were outrebounded 58-38.
Anthony Davis fell HARD on his back!
That 82-game goal AD had will probably go by the wayside the next game. He already was listed probable with back issues before the game. In this game, he fell hard on his back trying to block Kawhi Leonard’s shot. Hopefully, he will be okay, but the fall he took anyone that has played basketball can relate.
Russell Westbrook…Kendrick Nunn and Lakers 3-point shooting…
Well, LeBron tells it best right…
- Russell Westbrook: 0-11 from the field (0-6 from long distance!)…2 points.
- Kendrick Nunn: 0-7 from the field (0-4 from long distance!)…Close your eyes for five seconds and tell us what you see?
- Patrick Beverley: 1-7 from the field (1-6 from long distance!)…5 points.
- 3-point shooting: 9-45 from the land of the extra point. This was worse than Tuesday.
What’s the point? Teams will be all over AD and LeBron like cheap cologne for the rest of the season.
The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
Never say that the staff of Lake Show Life is not scared to tell the truth!
The Lakers are not constructed to win games that really matter at this point. That’s no secret. The real secret is that the team knows it and has an agenda for this season. First, let’s return to opening night’s post-game report…
"Oh my goodness, how can LeBron James be doing all of this in his 20th season? He is going to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar quickly this season at the scoring rate he’s at this season. He’s got to be the G.O.A.T.! Get used to these phrases because that’s all the Lakers have to stay relevant this season."
Then J.J. Redick went on First Take and spills the beans…
LeBron played a masterful game. He did exactly what he was supposed to do in the system the Lakers run. He played great defense and those Nike commercials are tight. But it’s not working. At this rate, the Lakers will help “Father Time” win.