Thomas Bryant exposes Nikola Jokic in Lakers’ win over Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers played the second game of their homestand against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. This coming after a heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics in overtime on Tuesday. To be totally honest, this game looked more like a Summer League game than two teams trying to strengthen their position in the Western Conference.

For a while, it looked like both teams were looking forward to just getting to the holiday season. In the second half, particularly in the final 12 minutes, the Lakers let the L.A. Fitness style of play go and blew out the Denver Nuggets, 126-108. This was a beatdown and it was done without the services of Anthony Davis in the second half. Shocking? Let’s give you some more…

• Patrick Beverley scored in double digits in an NBA basketball game and shot over 50 percent!
• Max Christie put in some solid production knocking down two 3-point shots to start the huge Lakers run to put things away!
• Russell Westbrook achieved yet another triple-double off of the bench (15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds)! He now has two. The other player in 75 years of Lakers basketball? Magic Johnson. 

This was a solid team win and it will be celebrated here!

The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

Man… that Austin Reaves is making himself millions in his next contract!

The staff of Lake Show Life has already made it clear that the Los Angeles Lakers are mishandling his minutes (aka his production!) on this roster. He has outplayed all of the other guards and wings on this roster by a country mile. Russell Westbrook is the only player not named LeBron James and Anthony Davis that could be considered in the conversation.

Reaves showed that in the second quarter alone!

He finished with 11 points while scoring 10 of the last Lakers points to end the half. This entire diatribe started with the final shot he missed. Austin created a final shot at the buzzer hanging in the air and shooting a confident flip at the basket that was slightly off. Would you believe he walked off the floor looking like he should have MADE the shot? This dude is a basketball player…PERIOD!

Let’s see if the Lakers faithful agree…

https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1603966998534184960

When the Lakers were immersed in a large Nuggets run, it was Reaves that gave the Lake Show life on the offensive end when they really needed it.

For the record, he is nowhere near being the MVP. But can’t the dude get the starting nod over Patrick Beverley at least?

Reaves finished with 16 points and 4 rebounds.

LeBron James scored…a lot!

Look, LeBron James is still a star in the NBA. On the offensive end of the floor, LeBron James can break the internet. In fact, with this play, everyone on Twitter brushed off the experience on his resume and the age on his birth certificate…

LeBron finished with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The most important part of his play was that he was aggressive. He only shout four time behind the arc.

It’s time to have a serious conversation about Thomas Bryant and his CONSISTENT minutes!

Thomas Bryant was low-key doing work on the Denver Nuggets down low. What happened to hard work and energy leading to minutes? Bryant started working Nikola Jokic down low and bodied him up for points. He finished with a season-high 21 points (9-11 shooting!), 6 rebounds (4 offensive!) with 2 steals.

The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

Well…Anthony Davis did not come out in the second half!

After scoring 10 points, grabbing 4 rebounds with 2 assists, AD did not return to the game due to a foot injury. Keep the “Street Clothes” jokes away from this comment section because if the Lakers wasn’t running into the ground with this ridiculous run, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

Troy Brown Jr…

Anybody remember the last time this guy made a significant play? This week? This month? Hands?

He was brought in to be a 3-and-D player. This guy’s production has been on milk cartons and Post Office walls lately. This game was no different.

Lonnie Walker IV…

3 points are not going to do it to keep the starting nod! He’s turning himself into a floating 3-point shooter and that is not his game.

The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ win:

The Los Angeles Lakers may have exposed the two-time MVP!

Let’s be clear here, Nikola Jokic is the two-time MVP for a reason. He’s that good and even though he had an off-night, the Joker still finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. But Thomas Bryant gave him the business folks!

On offense, the Lakers SOUGHT him out and put him in defensive situations that wore him down. When was the last time a team tried to HIDE an MVP on defense? But zone defenses will not stop teams from outworking you which is what the Lakers did tonight. Then Bryant’s cardio rim running workout took Jokic out of the game.

The missed free agent from the summer that is still haunting the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers could have had one of the best shooters in the entire league if they made the right signings over the summer.

The Anthony Davis foot watch is now in effect.