Lakers: Was This Magic Win A Turning Point?
Your Los Angeles Lakers rode a commanding third-quarter run (what a concept!) to seal their second straight victory tonight, a 106-94 margin at the Staples Center against the visiting Orlando Magic. With the loss, Orlando dropped to a paltry 5-23 record. The Brooklyn Nets they ain't, but we'll take it.
With the win, the Lakers saw their record rise to 15-13 on the 2021-22 NBA season. All-Star forward LeBron James led the way on both ends of the floor. James turned back the clock to show off some incredible defensive moves, making three mind-bending blocks including two chase-down masterpieces. Oh, and he also logged yet another triple-double, this time notching 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
$44.2 million point guard Russell Westbrook turned in an impressive performance of his own tonight, playing totally in control to score 19 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The Long Beach native also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out five assists and picked off two steals to help LA secure the W.
No need to discuss the two stars' combined 11 turnovers. This is a happy article.
Small forward/shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker (19 points, six steals, three assists and one rebound) and power forward Carmelo Anthony (13 points, three rebounds, two blocks and a dime) made big contributions among the Lakers' role players. The Magic were led in scoring by impressively speedy second-year point guard Cole Anthony, who had an inefficient 21 points on 6-of-18 shooting, and promising rookie small forward Franz Wagner, who scored 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting.
After trailing 52-49 at the half, the Lakers broke the game open in the third quarter, benefitting the most from a 23-0 scoring run, concluded by a throwback DeAndre Jordan moment:
The Lakers built their lead to a 25-point advantage near the end of the frame. Things got scary in the fourth quarter thanks to a 23-9 Magic run, but a pair of three-pointers from LeBron James and rookie shooting guard Austin Reaves settled things down.
LA began the 2021-22 season with championship expectations, largely predicated on the pedigree of the team's three stars: James, Westbrook, and big man Anthony Davis. Instead, the team's roster has struggled through injuries and inherent defensive limitations to a disappointingly uneven season start. Could the Lakers finally be building some momentum with tonight's victory over the Magic, LA's second straight win and third in their last four contests?
It's quite possible. Despite injuries to Anthony Davis, Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn, the Lakers could handily stay afloat for what looks to be a relatively breezy stretch of upcoming games. Though Davis has missed the last two games (both double-digit wins against young lottery-bound teams), he is merely considered day-to-day with what sounds like a fairly minor knee injury.
The rest of December could mark a terrific opportunity for the Lakers to finally capitalize on some winnable games. 11 of the Lakers' next 15 contests will be played against teams at or below .500 records.
Those teams: the 13-13 Dallas Mavericks, the 12-15 Minnesota Timberwolves (twice), the 10-16 San Antonio Spurs, the 8-18 Houston Rockets, the 11-16 Portland Trail Blazers, the 11-16 Sacramento Kings (twice), the 13-13 Atlanta Hawks, and the 13-13 Denver Nuggets.
Among the .500-level clubs, several could be playing without major contributors: the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic is questionable for Wednesday's contest against Los Angeles due to an ankle injury, the Hawks are missing a bunch of forwards, and the Nuggets are without their second- and third-best players (Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.) indefinitely. The health status of these players could shift over the ensuing weeks, yes, but the Lakers look to be in good shape going forward, assuming AD returns within the next week or so.
LA coach Frank Vogel appears to have discovered his preferred healthy role players to slot alongside the core trio of James, Westbrook and Davis: THT, Avery Bradley, Melo, Austin Reaves, Dwight Howard and Malik Monk. Though Jordan and Wayne Ellington saw spot minutes tonight, they seem most likely to cede their playing time and join Kent Bazemore and Rajon Rondo in DNP-CD purgatory when the rest of LA's roster returns.
On that front, it remains to be seen how Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn, out since before the start of the season with injuries, will slot in, but both players could conceivably chip away at minutes from some of these guys. My guess is that Ariza, a power forward, could eat into Anthony and Howard's minutes a bit. Nunn, a 6'2" combo guard who can't defend, could cut into the minutes of Monk most of all, with Bradley and Reaves also potentially liable to lose ground, though both are much better defenders than the ex-Heat guard.
Has the Lakers' luck turned for good, or will we be treated to more of the peaks and valleys that have defined this season thus far? Time will tell.
