A Blog devoted to Lakers News, Commentary, and Analysis
The Lakers were struggling early in January. Los Angeles had lost four of five games, with its only win coming against a mediocre Atlanta Hawks team. In defense of the Lakers, they were playing without Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura also missed some games during this stretch. Still, they looked more like a play-in team […]
13 days ago | 0 reads
Rui Hachimura’s talent is undeniable. He’s an elite shooter who is converting on 43.9% of his 3-point attempts on the season, making him the best perimeter threat on the Lakers. Recently, though, he’s been struggling. His calf injury forced him to miss seven straight games and upon his return, his production dipped. Hachimura averaged just […]
14 days ago | 0 reads
Down nine to start the second quarter in Denver, the team readied to go to the most unproductive bench in the league, scoring-wise. Seizing an opportunity in recent games, two-way center Drew Timme checks in for the Lakers in his new spot in the rotation next to fellow big man Deandre Ayton. His impact was […]
14 days ago | 1 read
Ironically, on a night when the Bulls seemingly could not miss from three, the Lakers had one of their best defensive performances of the season. The box score does not bear it out too much, but that felt as locked in as the team has been defensively in some time. It tailed off a bit […]
14 days ago | 2 reads
Luka Dončić poured in 46 points and the Lakers put together one of their better defensive performances of the season as they knocked off the Bulls in Chicago, 129-118. LA shot 56.1% from the field and 16-33 from the 3-point line. Defensively, they forced 15 turnovers, 12 in the first half, turning it into 23 […]
14 days ago | 2 reads
Coming into the season, one of the biggest questions surrounding the team was who would be the fifth starter with the debate centered on Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart. While the Lakers don’t feel all that much closer to finding the solution, one thing they appeared to have landed on is Rui coming off the […]
14 days ago | 1 read
With the NBA’s trade deadline fast approaching, so is the Lakers’ next chance to reshape their roster in Luka Dončić‘s image. After an offseason that did little to clarify the team’s long-term outlook, many pointed to this deadline and the upcoming summer as the transactional periods that would officially usher in the team’s new chapter. […]
15 days ago | 1 read
The Lakers (27-17) look to build off their recent victory in Dallas where they will take on the Bulls (23-22), who are also coming off an impressive win. This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. Start time and TV schedule Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Chicago Bulls When: 5 p.m. PT, Jan. 26 Where: […]
15 days ago | 1 read
Everything had to go right for the Lakers down the stretch to beat the Mavericks. With Dallas going on a 6-0 run to start the fourth, LA was down by 14 with just under 10 minutes left. The comeback that followed as the Lakers beat Dallas 116-110 was improbable given the flow of the game. […]
15 days ago | 0 reads
UPDATE: The Lakers did, in fact, make it out of Dallas, getting through half the battle, at least. The team took off from Dallas-Fort Worth instead of Love Field, allowing them to get out of Dallas when the Mavericks could not. This doesn’t mean the Lakers-Bulls go is definitely on for Monday, but it does […]
15 days ago | 2 reads
As a role player, Marcus Smart’s job is fairly simple: play hard on defense, hit your open shots and be a banshee. That means doing all the dirty work that goes unnoticed so the Lakers can be in a position to win games. What also went unnoticed was a bit of medical work he did […]
15 days ago | 0 reads
While there is still much the Lakers have to figure out with their roster and lineup, it does appear they’ve found a solution to some of their bench scoring woes. Upon his return from injury, Rui Hachimura came off the bench as he was playing under a minutes restriction. However, as many thought would be […]
16 days ago | 3 reads
What a truly hilarious and odd game from the Lakers. If you simply fell asleep at halftime and woke up for the final minutes of the contest, you’d think it was a straightforward, comfortable win where the Lakers controlled things throughout. Across the first, second and fourth quarters, the Lakers outscored the Mavs 112-75. They […]
16 days ago | 0 reads
The Lakers led by as many as 14 and trailed by as many as 15 before coming from behind down the stretch to beat the Mavs, 116-110. The Lakers used a strong first half to hold a comfortable lead for much of the second half. All of that disappeared in the third quarter as LA […]
16 days ago | 0 reads
The return of Austin Reaves is not only on the horizon for the Lakers, but it is imminent. Slated to come back during the team’s eight-game road trip, Reaves’ return looks increasingly likely to come in the next week. Prior to Saturday’s game against the Mavs, head coach JJ Redick gave the latest update on […]
16 days ago | 1 read
Initially, the signing of Deandre Ayton looked to have potentially filled the hole at center for the future. However, as the season has progressed, Ayton has looked less and less like the perfect solution, opening up the search for the long-term answer at the position. One of the names that could come up in the […]
16 days ago | 2 reads
The Lakers (26-17) will continue their road trip in Dallas, where they will face the Mavericks (19-26). LA looks to get back in the win column by snapping Dallas’ current four-game winning streak. Start time and TV schedule Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks When: 5:30 p.m. PT, Jan. 24 Where: American Airlines Center Watch: ABC The […]
17 days ago | 1 read
Believe it or not, it still hasn’t been a year since Luka Dončić joined the Lakers. He’s already played in LA for parts of two seasons and has signed a contract extension, securing the Lakers as his new home for years to come. Still, Luka has a lot more memories in a Dallas Mavericks jersey, […]
17 days ago | 2 reads
The Clippers were in control for the majority of the game against the Lakers on Thursday night. They jumped out to a double-digit lead early and had everything going their way. By halftime, the trio of Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac, and James Harden were all in double figures. Kobe Sanders was also dominating, shooting a […]
17 days ago | 3 reads
Early on, against the Clippers, the Lakers’ offense was humming. This was largely due to Luka Dončić. He was aggressive, like he typically is at the start of games, which helped LA jump out to a four-point lead midway through the opening quarter. However, LA’s offense quickly stalled. While Luka’s shot diet consisted of double-digit […]
18 days ago | 1 read
Luka Dončić has been the best player on every team he’s been on for nearly a decade. Considering he first started playing professionally in Spain for powerhouse Real Madrid at 16 and will not be 27 for another month, that’s saying something. But, Dončić is a true prodigy, someone whose preternatural feel for the game […]
18 days ago | 0 reads
Buss family drama is not new to the Lakers or their fanbase. From the moment team governor Jeanie removed her brother, Jim, from his front office role, the Lakers have, at times, resembled a soap opera more than a basketball team. However, that has often existed in a vacuum, existing alongside the on-court Lakers and […]
18 days ago | 1 read
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but a late, if not spirited, Lakers comeback fell short as they ultimately lost to the Clippers on Thursday. It’s a common theme for the team in recent years to fall behind big, fake a comeback and make the score closer than it deserved to be. As was […]
18 days ago | 4 reads
The Lakers nearly pulled off an improbable comeback against the Clippers on Thursday before coming up just short, falling 112-104. After trailing by as many as 26 in the second half, the Lakers cut the deficit to two points, setting up a frantic finish. Despite an improved defensive effort in the second half, LA ran […]
18 days ago | 2 reads
This recent week of Lakers basketball was so dramatic that it makes HBO’s show “Winning Time” look like a reality TV show. On the court, we had bad losses like falling to the Hornets in a game they made LaMelo Ball look like prime Steph Curry, allowing him to hit nine 3-pointers. We also witnessed […]
18 days ago | 0 reads