Lakers move up to 5-4 after a win over the short-handed 76ers.
In their 9th game of the season, the Los Angeles Lakes faced off against a short-handed 76ers team without Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey. Unsurprisingly, the Lakers came out with the 116-106 win to end their losing streak and move up to 5-4 on the season.
Anthony Davis led both teams in scoring with 31 points (11-20 FG), 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 35:30 minutes. He was dominant on both ends of the floor and helped open up the court for LeBron James, who finished with 21 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds on 64.3% shooting. Rui Hachimura had 9 points and 4 rebounds on 37.5% shooting.
In the aftermath of his 76ers debut, Paul George tried his best to put the team on his back for this win. Instead, he only scored 9 points (4-13 shooting) and his team never stood a chance. Andre Drummond, who started in place of Embiid, tallied 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals in 22:20 minutes of action.
For two teams with ultimate title ambitions, this game was a good test to see how they stack up against each other. The 76ers were clearly not at full strength and they were easily beaten tonight by a Lakers team showing great promise this season.
Cam Reddish Over D’Angelo Russell
Fans couldn’t help but notice D’Angelo Russell’s benching from the start of the game. After coach Redick publicly called out Russell’s competitive spirit in the last game, he made the decision to have him come off the bench in this contest and it did have some effect.
Russell finished with 18 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds on 7-12 shooting in 25:24. He was crucial for a Lakers team that needed shooting in the second unit and he was +13 by the end of the game. Meanwhile, Cam Reddish was able to provide some size and versatility in the starting unit. While he only dropped 3 points and 5 rebounds in the game, he played well and looked comfortable in the rotation.
Going forward, it remains to be seen how JJ Redick will handle the point guard position but it will be an important storyline to follow for the rest of the season. If Russell can’t earn his starting spot back, we could see Redick try a number of different players at the position.
LeBron James Is The Main Facilitator
With 13 dimes tonight, LeBron James accounted for almost half the team’s assists total. This season, just like in years past, he’s taken on full point guard duties with a season average of 7.5 assists per game. Fortunately, LeBron as the main distributor is when the Lakers are at their best and we saw that in action tonight.
Behind LeBron’s lead, the team shot 51.8% from the field and 45.7% from three. LeBron helped four Lakers players hit double-figures including Austin Reaves who dropped 20 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds on 7-13 shooting.
This season, in year 22, it’s more imperative than ever that LeBron trends toward sharing the ball more instead of taking on an increased scoring load. As LeBron gets older in age and nears his inevitable retirement, both he and the Lakers would be best served by making him more of a playmaker and letting Anthony Davis handle the bulk of the scoring.
Poor Transition Defense Almost Cost The Game
Perhaps one of the Lakers’ biggest problems this season is getting back in transition. Coming into the game, the team was allowing 31.3 points in transition per game, the league’s second-worst mark, and coach Redick doesn’t feel like they’ve made any progress.
In the match tonight, the 76ers absolutely thrived on fast-break opportunities against the older, slower, and lazier Lakers who would often jog back on misses or get out-ran for easy buckets. In the very first quarter, Redick was forced to take a timeout after his team gave up a quick 9-2 run that included some poor transition defense.
For the Lakers to really become a contender and challenge the likes of the Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder, and Suns, they’ll need to show some more effort and energy to run out in transition and limit fast break opportunities.
In the past, these changes might have been hopeless for the Lakers but with LeBron James and new head coach JJ Redick there is hope that they might turn it around and get the Lakers playing the kind of basketball that can make waves in the West. We’ve already seen glimpses of it this season.
Next on the calendar for the Lakers is a visit from the Raptors on Sunday, November 10th, at 9:30 PM EST at Crypto.com arena. They play the Grizzlies at home again on Wednesday before heading out to San Antonio for a game against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs next Friday.
