After facing what feels like their millionth stretch of doubt in this 2018-19 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers were blessed by the Schedule Gods with a game against the Phoenix Suns (who were playing without DeAndre Ayton). The Lakers didn't have Kyle Kuzma in the lineup due to hip issues, so coupled with the absences of Lonzo & LeBron you wondered where their offense was going to come from. Timely momentum-swinging contributions by Lance Stephenson (17 pts, 7/10 FG), KCP (24 pts, 6 rebs) and huge games by young prospects Brandon Ingram (22 pts, 3 reb 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 9/11 FG) and Ivica Zubac (24 pts, 16 rebs, 4 blocks, 9/16 FG) were the recipe for a win over the Phoenix Nuns, 102-116.
This win breaks a four-game losing streak for the Los Angeles Lakers. I can't help but remind myself of our first game of the year versus the Suns, where we started out the season 0-3 until we had a cushy game against Booker and the rookies. This win felt like your first shot of tequila after just arriving at happy hour on Friday night. A comforting, satisfying start - but you want to get another ASAP. Check out the rhythm of the game and takeaways below!
Rhythm Of The Game
Without Kyle Kuzma in this ballgame, you wondered how the Lakers were going to get buckets tonight. Oftentimes we've turned our eyes to Brandon Ingram to step up offensively, but every time it seems like he falls short.
The Lakers held a four-point advantage after a sloppy, but promising first quarter. The Lakers were just killing the Suns in the paint. Brandon Ingram was smartly choosing to drive to the rim while the Laker bigs picked up scoring opportunities set up by the guards. The Suns sank a few bombs from deep but Devin Booker was running the show as they stared at a 27-31 hole heading into the second.
Whatever concerns about the offense coming into this game were somewhat quelled for the Lakers. Rondo's presence greased the wheels to the tune of five assists early on while Brandon Ingram and Zubac led the purple and gold in the scoring department( (17 & 12).
The Sun's paint defense was like a Las Vegas buffet wait staff and the Lakers were effectively a group of drunken hungry bachelors at 3 AM. They gave LA anything they wanted. LA's offense was humming as they ran a bunch of nifty off-ball actions that they don't normally employ. The Lakers were undoubtedly in the driver's seat heading into the second half, 53-65. If only they could lock down on defense they could run away with this in the third and rest up during the fourth.
The third quarter was more of the Brandon Ingram show. Rondo was still in their guiding the ship with his veteran hand. His presence was a much-welcomed aspect of this sputtering Laker team. They kept finding Kentavious Caldwell Pope wide open for three's which he gladly converted. The Lakeshow pushed the lead all the way up to sixteen before Devin Booker got pissed and went on a mini-run by himself to cut it down to twelve. Amidst all the ruckus, Ivica Zubac was having another huge game for the hobbling Lakers with 20 points and 10 boards in 25 minutes. Nine-point Laker lead heading into the final quarter, 81-90.
The Lakers needed to come out strong to start this fourth quarter. So what did they do to open things up? Gave up a wide-open dunk with the foul to Phoenix, bringing it to a seven-point game. The last thing you wanted to do was empower these garbage-ass Suns, but that's exactly what LA was doing.
Who were the Lakers going to turn to in their time of need?....LAAAAAAANCE STEPHENSON. Born Ready proceeded to go on a self-induced run by draining four three's and a layup to put LA back up by ten-plus, 88-102. After the fireworks that were Lance Stephenson, the Lakers slightly struggled to find new offense. Ivica Zubac came up with a couple free throws and paint buckets to put a stopgap to the Phoenix momentum. Then with three and a half minutes to play, Brandon Ingram fouled himself out with a sketchy offensive foul. The Lakers needed to pull away in this one now before they'd regret losing Brandon in the fourth. Thankfully, they made the necessary plays to close out a much-needed home win over the Phoenix Suns, 102-116. Thank goodness.
Takeaways
With Ayton out, Booker was the only guy who could've killed the Lakers tonight. I thought Luke and the Lakers did a nice job of sending multiple defenders at him at the top of the arc, which forced him to give the ball up to teammates. Booker had an OK game for himself (21 pts, 6 assists 9/18 FG), but as the lone offensive threat he probably had to go for 35-40 to get the win tonight.
Props to the coaching staff and Laker defense for executing where they absolutely had to. And Props to Zu, KCP, Lance, and BI for being the main providers of offense tonight(87 pts combined). The team truly demolished the Suns in the Paint Points category, 46-70. They also shot well above their season average (33.4%) at the three-point line tonight (43.5%), which was a major key in grabbing and maintaining that home-court momentum
I really wasn't looking forward to watching this game. Most Laker games have been a frustrating chore of an activity with all these injuries relentlessly piling up. Every time we take one step forward, it's three steps back with another injury to a key guy. That's why Rondo's return felt like a godsend. His 11 assists brought welcome stability to a normally shaky composition of our next-up Laker ball-handlers (Ingram, Lance). His presence probably saved us from four or five crunch time BI/Lance turnovers that would've eventually tied the game and made me viciously bang my head against a wall. Rondo also does a great job of setting the table for Zubac, hence the big stat line by the Croatian.
On Tuesday, the Lakers will take on the star-studded Philadelphia 76ers at Staples Center. It's a shame that we are going to be facing Philly with a shell of our true team, but I think we are capable of surprising them. Zubac will have his hands beyond full with Joel Embiid, but he's coming into this game confident after the 24 PT/16 REB effort. Also, never underestimate National TV Game Rondo. He rears his headband-toting head when the world is tuned in, and he transforms back into early 2010's Celtics Rondo. See: Golden State Warriors Christmas Day. If you're playing daily fantasy, Rondo is great play for Tuesday night.
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