Tonight wasn't a game the Lakers were supposed to win. Still, I was obviously hoping for an upset given our neck-and-neck circumstances in the Western Conference playoff race. We started out the evening with a chance to go within one game of striking distance for the eighth seed behind the inner-city rival Clippers. Alas, we predictably slid back down after an onslaught of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Jimmy Butler points and playmaking.
The one silver lining of tonight was Brandon Ingram. The Lakers are in a flurry of trade rumors thanks to Anthony Davis' recent announcement, and you can't help but wonder how the young pups must feel being in the eye of the storm of legitimate trade chatter. They've always been off limits unless a big fish like Davis became available, and today is that day.
It's going to be a tornado of questions and media scrutiny until the trade deadline passes nine days from now. In the face of all that strife, Brandon Ingram put up a career-high 36 points, 5 boards, and 5 dimes on 16/20 shooting. Philly still got the win 121-105, but a bump in Brandon Ingram's trade value probably served as a win depending on how you look at it. Check out the Rhythm of the Game and takeaways below.
Rhythm Of The Game
This game didn't really start until midway through the second quarter. And when that game started, boy did it START. This contest was just turning into a Philadelphia 76ers basketball lovefest with Ben Simmons transition plays here, TJ McConnell dishes there, and Joel Embiid controlling the glass/pounding the rock on the inside while simultaneously stroking the ball from deep. The Sixers went up near twenty after one quarter of play, 39-20.
And you understood why it was happening. For the last 48 hours, the NBA world became set ablaze when word got out that Anthony Davis was seeking a trade to a team set to contend for championships. Given that Rich Paul shares LeBron James and Davis as clients, the world only did the reasonable and connected the dots. Word then got out that the Lakers would be willing to part with any and all of their young pieces for Anthony Davis. You have to wonder what kind of toll it was taking on the young players. Their sloppy, uninspired play was looking like a culmination of being in the midst of harrowing uncertainty. This game started to feel like an exercise in futility.
But then, something just clicked. It's like they knew what kind of message this would send if the Lakers got waxed on their home floor in primetime. Even without LeBron, this ain't a good look. Rajon Rondo just took control off the offense while Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, JaVale McGee, and Svi all crashed boards and ran the lanes like a group of James Worthys. A few big dunks later and the Lakers cut the once 20+-point lead to less than ten!
They played at an even clip through the rest of the second quarter to end up down eleven at the half, 64-53. Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 16 & 6, but to the surprise of many, Brandon Ingram led the show with 22 big first-half points. The kid was sending a message, "I don't care where you put me...I can PLAY". One more half of basketball to go.
In the third quarter, Philly threatened to stretch that lead back to twenty after an ineffective shooting stretch by the Lakeshow. Brandon Ingram cooled off, but no one was really stepping up to provide that necessary bucket at this critical juncture. Credit must be given to Philly's defense, which was doing a great job of jumping passing lanes all game leading to steals and transition buckets. Turnovers were still killing the Lakeshow. When all was said and done, Philly led the home team by fifteen, 96-81. Could LA muster up enough fourth quarter offense to tie it up?
The Sixers kicked things off with a run while LA floundered on the offensive end. They were able to get back in it off of some nice interior play by Zubac, cutting the once-fifteen point lead down to nine. Joel Embiid then hurt his back on an awkward landing post-lob from Ben Simmons during a rousing transition play. He had to check out of the game and go to the locker room, setting up a prime opportunity for LA to pull off an unexpected upset. The table was set!
Philly responded strongly though, pushing the advantage all the way back to seventeen off of crisp defense and air-tight ball movement. Five minutes left to go and the Lakers were running out of time to pull off the improbable. Brandon Ingram looked like he was going to put the team on his back and do it himself as the young trade chip nailed a few crucial buckets to bring it back to nine. He was incredible, shooting 16/20 from the field with a new career high of 36. It was a great night for Ingram, but it wasn't enough for a Lakers win. Philly took home the victory 121-105.
Takeaways
It's getting harder and harder to take anything new away from these LeBron-less Lakers. I guess one new thing is that Brandon Ingram still has some dog in him when he's getting his ass beat. The team is way more injured than just LeBron - they were also missing Kuzma and Lonzo tonight. Hart was playing through injury as well. We've been robbed of obtaining a decent sample size of the Lakers as a whole because of this crippling injury bug. That's how the sports world works though. Not every team can live up to their potential.
Lonzo Ball should be back in early March according to my gut. That's when we should have all the boys relatively healthy again. He's going to need time to rediscover his timing, conditioning, and even worse - his confidence. Lonzo never hits the ground running after sitting out an extended period of time. He's very up and down, but the highs are quite high while the lows make you question your fandom. He'll have a month to get his shit together before playoffs start in early April. By that time, every game for the month of March will already feel like a playoff game in the cutthroat West. They'll be fighting tooth and nail the whole way for a playoff spot.
This would've been a nice night to slap a W in the win/loss column, but Philly just had too much firepower. I'm proud of how the boys fought though. There was a moment in the first quarter where past versions of themselves would've totally just rolled over, but in the second quarter pride took over. That's when Brandon Ingram got the monstrous dunk and reeeally went on a tear. Pride would've saved us a couple losses if only they flexed it in previous fourth quarters when we were protecting a lead. Let's hope they come out with that same level of unabashed hubris against the Clippers on Thursday.
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