3. The lack of bench scoring
LeBron James is LeBron James, and even 75% of current LeBron is good enough to win you a series like this. Davis appears to have figured out what was causing his volatility early in the series and has put together a few strong games in a row. Besides that, the rest of the crew did not help those two out.
Dennis Schroder gets a pass, as he was in double figures fairly early and did his best to keep the second unit working despite a barrage of shots made early by the Warriors. Jarred Vanderbilt went invisible on offense at the worst time, and the 1-2 punch of Rui Hachimura and Lonnie Walker had just seven attempts through their first 44 combined minutes.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ bench must step up.
The Warriors are obviously a star-driven team, but part of the reason they won last season and upset the Kings this year is their ability to muster up solid performances from names like Gary Payton II and Kevin Looney, who vacillate between the bench and starting lineup. LA gets them sometimes, but not as often.
All the Lakers need is more than one player who comes in and provides enough offensive pop to supplement the stars. This won’t be achieved through Austin Reaves doing wild stuff or Walker holding the ball all game long.
The 14 greatest playoff games in Lakers franchise history
Looking back and ranking 14 of the best NBA playoff games (and performances) in the illustrious history of the Los Angeles Lakers.