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Lakers: Undermanned LA Fights, Falls Valiantly Against Bucks

Good vibes abound nevertheless, with reinforcements coming.
Alex Kirschenbaum|
Lakers: Undermanned LA Fights, Falls Valiantly Against Bucks
Lakers: Undermanned LA Fights, Falls Valiantly Against Bucks

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Los Angeles LakersMilwaukee Bucks

Tonight, Los Angeles Lakers fans got their first look at three of the five (!) new players they added in the last two days in point guard D'Angelo Russell, shooting guard Malik Beasley, and reserve big man Jarred Vanderbilt.

Unfortunately, it was in street clothes, as was the case for the NBA's new all-time leading regular season scorer (38,390 points and counting!), 19-time All-Star Lakers power forward LeBron James. LeBron has also been the all-time leading scorer in combined regular season and postseason points since last year. That number now stands at 46,021 points, per StatMuse.

James was treated to a second celebration of his passing Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time scorer ahead of the game, and framed everything in a very Lakers-centric context:

So the Lakers, fielding a roster of just nine available bodies thanks to all its dealmaking and an LBJ ankle injury, had virtually no chance against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks tonight. But they looked pretty darn good all the same, thanks primarily to terrific performances out of starting point guard Dennis Schröder (who will likely be supplanted by Russell soon), center Anthony Davis, and reserve shooting guard Austin Reaves.

The funny thing is, among those three players, only Davis seems guaranteed to log major minutes on this wholly-revamped roster. But Schröder and Reaves certainly made a case for themselves.

LA had its work cut out for it tonight, against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, which itself got a little better at the trade deadline Thursday, adding power forward Jae Crowder to the mix for a whopping five second-round draft picks. The Bucks are the top rebounding team in NBA, and accordingly had their seventh straight game of 50+ boards against a shorthanded Lakers squad. They had 51 rebounds to LA's 43 tonight.

The Lakers got off to a fast start, happily nailing oodles of tough jumpers to build up a small 31-26 lead over the Bucks after the game's first quarter. Davis and Reaves each chipped in eight points apiece.

In the second, the good vibes continued, as Reaves in particularly had an impressive little run throughout the first half, capped by this impressive crossover over the greatest basketball player in the world right now:

LA led at the halftime break, 58-50, with Reaves and Schroder pacing the club with 13 points per. Davis was well on his way to yet another double-double, with 12 points and eight boards.

Milwaukee remembered that it was playing a Lakers team missing five of its top seven players in the third quarter, as LA's charmed time leading the game came to a close. The Bucks outscored the Lakers 38-23, powered by their two All-Stars: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12 points, Jrue Holiday had 14.

There's no shame in getting beaten by this Bucks team with so many Lakers not yet available. Especially when the club's defense was operating at such a high level:

Antetokounmpo, never known as a passer, showed off his growth in that department with a Steve Nash-channeling no-look dime midway through the fourth:

Midway through the fourth quarter, LA fought back, thanks to a Dennis Schröder triple that knotted up the game midway through the period.

Ultimately, the Bucks' transition play, defense, size, and available talent proved just too tough a hurdle for the Lakers to overcome. Milwaukee ended up just barely beating the game's anticipated eight-point spread, 115-106.

Schröder at least had perhaps his best game this season, scoring 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor and dished out 12 assists (against zero turnovers), in making his case for major rotation minutes even when he is supplanted by Russell.

Anthony Davis notched his 23rd double-double of the season so far, in just 32 games! He had 23 points while shooting 9-of-22 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, grabbed 16 boards, and two dimes.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, finished with 38 points (in just 36 minutes!) on 14-of-23 shooting from the floor and 9-of-13 shooting rom deep, along with 10 rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block.

LA has lost its third straight game, falling to a 25-31 on the season. The Bucks, meanwhile, are now 25 games over .500 for the first time this season, elevating their record to 38-17.

The Lakers finished the game actually shooting more efficiently from the field than the Bucks, having gone 42-of-89 from the floor (47.2%) as opposed to Milwaukee's 45-of-99 night from the floor (but you'll note that Milwaukee got 10 more field goal tries up). Though the Lakers made their threes at a higher rate than the Bucks, the massive disparity in triple tries (a familiar issue for the Lakers this year) was part of the reason they didn't win tonight. The Bucks took 47 (!) treys, almost triple the Lakers' total (18).

But never fear, Lakers fans. Help is on the way.

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Alex Kirschenbaum
ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Currently also a scribe for Newsweek, Hoops Rumors, The Sporting News and "Gremlins" director Joe Dante's film site Trailers From Hell, Alex is an alum of Men's Journal, Grizzlies fan site Grizzly Bear Blues, and Bulls fan sites Blog-A-Bull and Pippen Ain't Easy, among others.

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