LAKERS -at- PELICANS - 4-14-24 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Single Elimination Avoided... Final seeding for the play-in would come down the final game for both the Pelicans and Lakers.

L.A. got off to a strong 17-7 start behind LeBron orchestrating the offense early with 7 assists on the first 7 Laker buckets.

In the second quarter, the offense took it to another level. The good passing continued as they found Rui multiple times cutting baseline as heads were turned. LeBron got to the rim against smaller defenders with ease, and AD imposed his size for lobs and putback jams.

Defensively, they held the Pelicans without a field goal for 4 minutes straight and they extended to a 22-point lead.

The Lakers led 70-53 at the half and came out storming the castle to start the third quarter. With Reaves and Russell scoring on just about every possession, they extended to a 32-point lead after just 5 minutes.

L.A. would put it in cruise control from there. AD picked up some foul trouble, and some Laker turnovers gave the Pelicans a little momentum. But nothing crazy would happen (although AD would come up in pain and asked to be removed).

L.A. took the 124-108 win and will avoid the single-elimination game.


LeBron -- -- Triple-double game, but the passing was next level. He was setting the table early and often for the Lakers, assisting on the Lakers first 7 baskets (could have easily been 10). He worked from the top of the arc for a lot of those. He’d finish with 8 assists in the first quarter. In the second quarter, he set a personal best for most assists in a half. On a couple he found Rui cutting for scores (one he bounced with some spin, perfectly timed on the cut). Rui fumbled away a sure dunk on a no-looker from Bron on the break that would have made for a great highlight. Bron also missed a dunk off a steal to end the half. He’d finish the half with 13 points and 13 assists. A lot of bully ball to get layups for Bron for his scoring in the half. Whenever the Pelicans put a smaller man on him, he just abused it, went right through defenders with some ease. Defensively, good job by him and others keeping Zion in check and manning the boards. When the Pelicans had their attention, Bron and others played some strong team D. No fouls by Bron today. When our attention disappeared a bit with the big lead, the D didn’t look so hot. Crazy numbers. Only been done once before by Magic, apparently. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 11-20 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 17 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and no fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +19.

Davis -- -- Strong first quarter 14 points on 7-10 shooting with some good work by teammates setting him up for lobs or interior feeds. He also had a tip in and hit a pull-up jumper. The lob was fully in play all first half. One in transition, another from Bron, another from Russell. He’d finish with 18 points at the half. He also imposed his size on the offensive glass. He’d pick up his fourth foul with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter and sat. The Lakers kept their lead during that period, but things certainly looked ugly. Late in the game, up by 20+, he came up in pain. He asked to be pulled from the game, and they stretched him out on the sidelines and then he slowly limped back to the bench. Hard to say where it happened, but Ham said it was a spasm. The Pelicans were trying to go at AD to get that fifth foul on him. There was a possession against Valanciunas where AD didn’t budge in the post and blocked his shot, but you could see maybe a play like that tweaking him some. So that happened. We’ll see what he looks like in the next one. He’s been very durable this season, but not without a lot of these bumps and bruises. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 13-17 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +15.

Russell -- -- Glad to see that three ball back in action as he sank 5-10. That opening of the third quarter, the Lakers took control of the game pretty much for good off Russell bombing threes along with Reaves scoring. The front court had really taken it to the body of the Pelicans in the first half. Now the guards when for the K.O. Bron was more of the point of attack/table-setter in this one. Russell did have a great lob to AD off the dribble as Russell curled into the lane. Great job by the Laker backcourt today. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 6-13 shooting (5-10 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +26.

Reaves -- -- He had 20 points with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter. He and Russell helped the Lakers get rolling in that third quarter. When they gave him room, he was hitting the three ball. With CJ on him quite a bit, he was able to find that space off screens. He won the head-to-head match up for the most part. CJ got some buckets against others. Reaves had some really strong D early on that helped set the tone. He was forcing CJ to pass while in the air and also blocked him once recovering on the perimeter. Loved seeing him attack Zion when he had him in front of him. He crossed him over for a floater on one. He split him and another defender in transition for a layup. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-12 shooting (3-7 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 foul sin 29 minutes. He was a +13.

Hachimura -- -- Some nice passing sequences in the first half. One was on a short-roll with Bron where he hit AD cutting for a dunk. Another was on a rebound pushout where he fired a chest pass the length of the court to Reaves for a dunk. Anytime you can get a 4-assist game from Rui is a good thing. Scoring-wise, great job cutting baseline weakside as his defender was occupied with what was happening on the strong side. Rui would finish with 11 points on 5-9 shooting in the half. Much quieter second half. Only noticeable play was a steal of a post entry pass. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 7 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a +10.

Dinwiddie -- -- There was a stretch late in the third where they put the ball in his hands quite a bit. He threw a pass away against pressure D on the sideline. He worked the two-man game and banked a runner. He swished a wing three on the catch. Not a great game, but at least he scratched. He and Gabe could be x-factors if we could integrate them well, but we haven’t really seen that happen yet. Good to see him get some reps on the ball, though. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 14 minutes. He was a -4.

Prince -- -- Some really good moments offensively off the dribble in the first half. The Pelicans tried to put Zion on him defensively and Prince took advantage, blowing by him a couple of times for layups. He also sank a three on a perimeter exchange with Russell. On the bad side, he threw a pass to no one and also traveled. Good enough overall game and the Lakers are playing mostly bigger lineups now. (Still could use Wood/Vando.) The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 20 minutes. He was a +13.

Hayes -- -- Lead grew to 13 by the time AD returned after Hayes’ first shift. In the third, he came in early with over 5 minutes left after AD picked up a third foul. We held the line there, as well. A lot of lobs for AD, but Hayes didn’t see anything at the rim. The Stats: He had 3 boards and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a +3.

Vincent -- -- He had a nice play working strong side with AD and hitting Rui cutting baseline weakside for a dunk. No scoring for Gabe. He missed a three and choked a point-blank layup. Steady play, but he definitely hasn’t gotten enough reps in for the season. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 assist and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +10.

Christie -- -- Not in the rotation in this one as Vincent/Dinwiddie got the backup guard minutes. The Stats: He had 1 board in 2 minutes. He was a -5.

Mays -- -- Nothing to report. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting in 2 minutes. He was a -5.

Castleton -- -- He blew an easy left handed layup, he probably should have tried to dunk. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 foul in 2 minutes. He was a -5.

Giles III -- -- Nothing to report. The Stats: He had 2 boards in 2 minutes. He was a -5.

Lewis -- -- He missed a wing three. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 turnover in 2 minutes. He was a -5.

Ham -- -- Key Moment: After that 70-point first half where they throttled the Pelicans in the paint with their front court, the Lakers opened the third with a barrage of guard scoring. Once the lead got to 30+, the Lakers put it in cruise control. Ham had to call a few timeouts to deal with that, but winning the first 5 minutes of the third to extend the lead changed the complexion.

Key Substitution: We managed a +3 in Haye’s 12 minutes of action. I might have missed it, but I don’t think they played small in this one with Prince. But holding the line when AD was out was huge.

Key Stats: Points in the paint in the first half, Lakers with 50-12 advantage. Laker bigs, Bron, Rui, AD were imposing their size and mobility. Lakers were 5-14 from three, Pelicans 9-25. The Lakers had just 6 turnovers, which the Pelicans only scored 2 points off of in the first half. In the second half, the Lakers lost the points in the paint by 12 points, 30-18. A lot of relaxed D there. Lakers made 6-15 from three in the second half, the Pelicans went 6-12. The Lakers won the points off turnover battle 27-12 on the day.

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB! Well, it is what it is, but if there were no play-in we would be the 8th seed going against OKC after a week's rest for AD and his back. Now we either play Denver after beating NOP once more or play two play-in games before OKC (if we win).

Good win but the scenario kind of sucks.

[Hammett]

Thanks for another season of write-ups, DB!
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Lakers. Built different.

[Laker7]

Fun game to watch as long as you didn't think about the game on Tuesday and possibly having to face Denver in the first round. Thanks DB!
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[Dr. Laker]

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".

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB for another excellent write up to wrap up another regular season. Good to see the Lakers break out to a lead, then hold a solid margin all game long. Here's hoping AD can treat the hip spasms and come out strong in a couple days.

[ribeye]

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. If they can stay healthy, the Lakers team that whooped the Pels yesterday can beat the Nuggets.

[Rek]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[Nobody]

[LakerDYnasty72]

[Richcbt]

[danzag]

Season isn't over yet!!!! DB will still write up seventeen more victories