Lakers News: Inside The LA Bench's 61-Point Night Against Toronto
Every game for the Purple and Gold going forward is crucial, and last night's matchup against Eastern Conference opponent Toronto Raptors was no exception.
Your Los Angeles Lakers picked up a much-needed win against the Raptors last night, 122-112. Beyond D'Angelo Russell's high-scoring night, the team's bench was the main reason for that victory.
Lakers superstar Anthony Davis had a not-so-great night scoring only 8 points and snatching 9 rebounds; however, the others picked up the slack for once.
LA's bench, led by Rui Hachimura, Wenyen Gabriel, Dennis Schröder and Austin Reaves, combined for 61 points and outscored the Raptors bench 61-12. Those four guys changed the game's dynamic and carried the Lakers to victory.
The presence of guard D'Angelo Russell was significant too, but right now, it's all about the bench.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves spoke to the media after the game and said they wanted to match Toronto's energy they had to open the game.
"We gave a really good effort. We had to make a couple of adjustments and play harder. The bench tonight, everyone was almost a +20, and that's what we're capable of because we're so deep."
AD has been carrying this Lakers team, and now it was time for the bench to carry, and they did not disappoint.
Hachimura was a +21, Gabriel was a +19, Reaves was a +26, and the game's leader in plus/minus was Schröder with a +32. Those four guys, plus Russell, were the difference in the game and were due to have a big game.
Gabriel caught up with the media after the game and couldn't believe the huge disparity between the benches.
"I didn't realize that was the margin we had there. We had a great rhythm, and that is something we hope to continue throughout the season."
The bench performance was unexpected for the Lakers and is something that may not happen again at that level in the immediate future. However, the Lakers are clearly deeper than we may have initially thought, and any one of these individual bench players seems capable of going off again in the games to come.
I don't expect another poor AD performance, but I do expect great outings by the bench on a consistent bias, with or without LeBron James.
LA's bench will look to ride that wave tomorrow night when the team hosts the New York Knicks.
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