LAKERS -vs- PELICANS - 12-7-23 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Annihilation... It felt like an All Star Game. For the Lakers only.

Once LeBron buried three straight threes early in the second quarter, the Lakers were off like a locomotive without brakes. Get out of the way.

LeBron dropped 18 points in the second quarter. In the third, the Lakers defense held the Pelicans to just 6 points in 6 minutes. Meanwhile, that locomotive only picked up speed. By the end of the third, L.A. had a 41-point lead.

Not only did Bron set the tone offensively, he took three charges in the first half.

“When we defend, we’re going to give ourselves a chance in any ball game,” Bron said. Throw in perimeter shooting and there you have it.

The Lakers had an entire fourth quarter of garbage time and cruised to the 133-89 win. The Lakers last win by 40+ points was in 2011.


LeBron -- -- Seeing a healthy Bron in a playoff-like game this early in the season, it’s impressive. He hit a flurry of threes early in the second quarter. The first was a catch and shoot at the wing. The next time down, he pulled up at the NBA logo and drilled a three. Next time down, a little further out at the logo area and he rattled it in. He’d cut shortly later and Reaves would hit him for a layup and his 11th-straight points. He bullied his way to an And-1 runner in the middle of the paint a couple minutes later. Then draw his second charge of the night on the other end of that for a stop. He sat and the Lakers were up 10, he returned and they were up just 2. He quickly got downhill for a layup. He’d then draw another charge on Zion to get a stop. Then, he’d score a couple more FTs to close out that quarter. He had 21 points on 7-9 shooting and was a +19 in the first half, 18 in that second quarter. The most he’s had in a quarter this year. No stop in the third. Look at these numbers in just 23 minutes. Insane. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 9-12 shooting (4-4 from three, 8-8 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 8 assists and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a +36.

Davis -- -- Defensively, he could roam a bit off Valanciunas to put out some fires and guys rotated well behind him. Throw in Bron drawing charges. Prince and Cam shutting down the perimeter shooters and the defense just locked in and locked down. Ham said AD allows all those guys to play free and be aggressive defensively. He had 10 boards (4 offensive), 2 steals and 2 blocks in the first half. In the third, he’d scratch out a few points rolling to the hoop for Bron to find him, but also did a good job hitting teammates from the post when the Pelicans sent help. With the Lakers playing super unselfish on offense and battling on defense, this game got out of hand quick. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-10 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 15 boards (5 offensive), 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 31 minutes. He was a +35.

Russell -- -- The perimeter shot was working early as he hit a three and some midrange for 9 points in the first half. He’d bury another three in the second half and score a layup on a cut, Bron finding him on both. When we’re getting Russell and Prince contributing buckets, the squad is tough to beat. A little sloppy with the passes, which is unusual. His assist-to-turnover ratio is rarely this upside down. Defensively, we had some issues early on the defensive boards, including Russell letting a man go around him for putback, but once that was over, things changes. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-10 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a +23.

Prince -- -- He gave the Lakers some much needed three shooting, sinking 4-6 in the first half. We found him open in the corners or at the wing against the zone. Defensively, he and Vando had the BI assignment at times. It was mostly Prince. BI had just 9 points on 4-13 shooting. Love having more length on him. Prince’s shooting will regress positively to the mean. This team is very tough when the three ball is falling. Just give us two or three a game. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting (5-8 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +23.

Reddish -- -- He got the McCollum assignment and helped hold him to 7 points on 3-10 shooting in the first half. McCollum was a -21 in that first half. He’d finish with 9 points on 4-14 shooting. He just harassed him around the court, challenging shots, always on him. I think there was a possession early where he tried to help and CJ was wide open for a score. But after that, Reddish stayed tight and made his night miserable. It also helped Cam buried an early three. He outplayed CJ. Cam is going to have his hands full in the next one. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a +31.

Reaves -- -- He quickly sank a couple of threes off the bench late in the first quarter. He’d draw some FTs on a crossover in transition later. Good job moving the ball, including running the short-roll with Bron, taking the pass and hitting Hayes with a bounce pass for the And-1 layup.In the second half, he slipped through multiple defenders off the dribble for a layup and would knock down a pull-up three when the D was flat-footed. Stuffed the stat sheet in his 23 minutes. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-9 shooting (3-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnover and no fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +21.

Hachimura -- -- He had an early dunk cutting off AD’s post up and then would get some late buckets when this game was out of hand. I thought with Zion on the mix he might have a bigger role, but Bron and AD didn’t need any help there. Easy night for Rui to get himself back into the flow. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists and 3 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +9.

Hayes -- -- Got to go up against his former team. That didn’t change his approach. Again to start the second quarter while AD sat, we were able to play net positive with Hayes at the center spot. It helped that Bron was going off offensively. He was a +6 in that first half shift. Those minutes were still in the thick of the fight and for the second game in a row that AD-less second unit was strong again. Very nice. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +9.

Vanderbilt -- -- Pretty quiet night for Vando. Cam has really allowed us to pick our spots for Vando. That just makes it easier to keep the offense flowing, while getting Vando’s hustle and activity in the mix. We’ve got a lot of length and energy now in the mix and good things are happening. His only bucket was a dunk off a Reddish outlet when the team was dominating. He’d find Prince in the corner for a three, as well. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +9.

Christie -- -- In for Reddish in the first after just 7 minutes (Reaves still out at this point). Good to see him in early. The team has been playing well with him and you want to see him still in the mix. It will be tougher to find opportunities when Vincent returns. He’d hit a pull-up at the elbow. Knock down a floater. And then hit another pull-up at the FT line again. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 block and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +6.

Wood -- -- It appears he’s out of the rotation for now. He got some garbage-time run. I’d love for the Lakers to win the tournament for guys like Wood who took that minimum money. That’s a big incentive for minimum players when choosing teams. Wood had a couple of layups and battled on the boards in the fourth quarter garbage time. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist and 2 turnovers in 8 minutes. He was a +6.

Hood-Schifino -- -- I was not expecting to take some JHS notes in this game. He missed all three shots he took (apparently no threes, but I thought he was in three range). Not pretty. He seems to get places on the court with relative ease, but is just not completing plays. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-3 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a +6.

Lewis -- -- He choked a breakaway dunk trying to put some extra emphasis on it. Couldn’t finish a lob on the break, either. He drained a three on a kickout. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting (!-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 8 minutes. He was a +6.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: Bron gave the team momentum in that second quarter, but having the Lakers come out and dominate the first 6 minutes, holding the Pelicans to just 6 points while scoring at will. The Lakers took their hearts right there and won the third 43-17. Between the second and third quarters, the Lakers outscored the Pelicans 81-41.

Key Substitution: In the second quarter, the Lakers had a 10-point lead when Bron sat. When he returned it was just 2. As soon as Bron got back on the floor, the lead quickly built to double digits again.

Key Stats: The Lakers shot 11-21 from three in the first half. The Pelicans were 6-16. The Lakers would finish 17-35 from three (49%). The Pelicans would finish 7-31 (23%). The 133-89 score. Look at that. They locked down, holding them to 89 and just destroyed them on the other end. Last time the Lakers won by 40+ was 2011. Just a dominant performance.

[Theseus]

The victory cigar! Thanks for the great write up!

[mhan00]

Now that was a game.

[Hanging from Rafters]

Good write up DB, thanks! It was good seeing extended run from the Laker pups!
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“When it looks as if it is a realistic possibility, I want to focus on winning a ship like it’s a goal that can’t be denied. I didn’t see that this off season.”

[mad55557777]

Out of the 23 games we played so far, 18 were against teams that were over .500

[jonnybravo]

Game was a 48 minute highlight reel. Fun!
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KOBE

[Dr. Laker]

Nice to crush a decent team, for a change.

Thanks, DB!
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[ocho]

Climbed into the 4 seed. Half game out of 2nd.
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14-5-3-12

[pio2u]

Thanks DB!

[Startrout]

Unexpected blowout, I loved it.

[MJST]

Great game, we need to replicate this kind of performance vs Indiana They're no joke and an offensive juggernaut this year.
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How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk

[slavavov]

I just hope the Lakers keep playing with this kind of focus, effort and execution once the IST is over. Interestingly, they have shot the 3-ball very well in these IST games, which seems to suggest they're capable of being at least an average 3-point shooting team.
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Lakers 49ers Chargers Dodgers

[AtlLaker]

Doubt we can keep this level of play up, but one can sure be hopeful vs the upper echelon of teams.

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB! Bron on a mission!

[SGSD32]

LeBron's 3s in the second quarter literally sucked the life out of the Pelicans. It was over.

[lordtrapula]

Most wins against teams above .500 this season:

9 — Celtics
9 — Lakers

[eddiejonze]

Congrats to Max Lewis Making 200K! takes the sting out of going undrafted IMO...
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Creatures crawl in search of blood, To terrorize y'alls neighborhood.

[P.K.]

[tox]

That was fun! Chose to watch a rerun since I missed the game.
LeBron has been incredible. We have this LeBron last year and the Lakers might have #18, but injuries are what they are

[Nobody]

One of the most satisfying games in recent memory. Loved seeing them play with so much effort. Please, continue!

[governator]

Zion looked fat
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“The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.“

[PenG_]

Flawless minutes from LeBron. That was wild

[Dennis_D]

Thanks, DB!
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<-- My avatar is Margaret Nolan from one of the Carry On films. She was the girl who got painted gold in "Goldfinger". Thanks to CaliRyderX for identifying her.

[JamezAmp]

Awesome write up. Freakin LeBron is just incredible. We've never seen a player like him. That's a fact.
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824

[lakerjoshua]

Thanks DB! Hell of a game!