That was fun! The Lakers almost won a game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Although moral victories do not count towards a win-loss record, the Lakers showed a ton of heart (this is cliche, I’m sorry) and were able to take the lead during the fourth quarter despite being down 22 points during the 3rd quarter. It was pretty encouraging to see the young team fight back, but ultimately the team with the veterans were able to take control of the game when it really mattered in crunch time, finishing up with an 11-0 run to win the game 119 to 112.
What could have been a blown out was quickly turned into a close game and I gotta say it was nice for the Lakers to show they weren’t going to just give up in the face of adversity. This team wasn’t projected to make the playoffs or anything but it’s nice to know they’re going to make it fun.
The DEFENSE LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED
In the first half, the Lakers allowed the Pelicans to score 68 points. Within 3 minutes of the third quarter, the Pelicans had 80. The star-studded frontcourt from New Orleans did not have many issues getting to the basket. Having 2 skilled bigs that could score in a myriad of ways could hurt a team and boy did they.
Anthony Davis finished with 27 points and 17 rebounds while Demarcus Cousins nearly had a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. They weren’t the only ones scoring with ease as Holiday, Clark, and Moore ended with double-digit points. Lakers did little to reduce the damage inflicted on them as their transition defense could not do anything to stop the Pelicans’ fast break opportunities. The Lakers did not have any bigs that could cover Davis or Cousins and the double teaming on them allowed the other Pelicans players to have their scoring opportunities.
YOU DOWN WITH KCP; YEAH YOU KNOW ME
Welcome, Kentavious! The free agent signing made up for the starters with his scoring, finishing with 20 points off of a very efficient 7-11 shooting clip. It was a pretty good Laker debut, and it’s nice to see what it’s like to have the full starting lineup that we will see throughout this season. After averaging 13.8 ppg last season with the Pistons, we will see how he does as he gets more integrated into the Laker team.
JORDAN CLARKSON FOR SIXTH MAN (It’s not gonna happen but imagine)
Say what you want about Jordan Clarkson, but he’s been providing scoring when the Lakers need it most. Having quite a roller coaster of a career in the purple and gold, going from D-Fender to starting point guard, to becoming a shooting guard to coming off the bench, it seems that he finally found his role. Jordan had 11 minutes in the first half but made the most of it contributing 13 points to an otherwise anemic offense. He finished with 24 points shooting 10-18.
Clarkson was on absolute fire tonight when the Lakers needed it. He was doing a good job off the bench the past two games but today he really was the catalyst (Miss you Marcelo) of the comeback. To go along with the shooting, he did a good job of probing and finding Kuzma and Randle for baskets en route to 5 assists. After stating that he was aiming to win Sixth Man of the Year, everyone laughed. I know it’s just three games but Clarkson is embracing the sixth man role and doing a fantastic job of providing offense on the bench. (He’s still not going to win the award though)
Next Game:
Los Angeles Lakers play the Washington Wizards at Staples Center, Wednesday October 25 at 7:30pm (PST).
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