Lakers: LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis Are Praised by Frank Vogel
The Lakers Tuesday night's win over the Rockets was not pretty. The defensive inconsistencies were still there. The offensive balance from the Lakers' big names, however, was smooth-sailing. The Lakers big 3 combined for 84 points on 56% shooting. Coach Frank Vogel was impressed and pleased with the results, especially from the Lakers' "Big 3."
Coach Vogel on LeBron James
"I just think those guys are all an attack mode. I thought we did a great job screening, in particular at the beginning of the 4th. That stretch in the 4th where LeBron was just going downhill possession, after possession, after possession. The screens were great you know? They free him up. Those are the things we're working on to improve."
James had multiple drives to the line resulting in scores. He used his bigger body and footwork to pound the paint. 24 hours ago we had to discuss James' three-point woes that the pundits blamed on his inability to get foul calls. This was not the case last night. He frequently was able to get to the rim. He wasn't the only one.
Coach Vogel on Russell Westbrook
"I thought Russell did a great job really slowing down at the point of his explosion to just be a little more under control with his finishes and shot a higher percentage."
Coach Vogel's observations are terrific. Over the previous few games, Westbrook had done a great job getting to the rim with limited success. A lot of his layups appeared forced or out of rhythm. Tuesday night, almost all of Westbrook's drives to the rim resulted in a score. His three-point shooting is still abysmal, but Westbrook is never going to be a sharpshooter.
Coach Vogel on Anthony Davis
"You know AD is AD. Just a lot of garbage points. a lot of runs to the basket. We're encouraging him to stay with the three-point shot and keep shooting those without hesitation. He's off to a slow start shooting a ball from three but that's going to come around for him."
Davis is always going to get alley-oops with distributors like Westbrook and James. James had a few underrated inlet passes to the Davis that got overlooked. Davis' best offensive games are the ones where most of his points come near the rim, and the Lakers did a good job of that Tuesday night.
The Rest of the Offense
Carmelo Anthony continued with his 6th man of the year campaign by adding 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting. He hit 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. He is currently shooting over 50% from the field and from beyond the arc. He has been the best name off the bench offensively and his defensive improvements are notable.
The Lakers take on the Thunder on Thursday night, 7:30 PST.
