Back in a Flash
By: Peyton Schultze
The Lakers cruised to two easy victories over the last two nights, led by solid efforts on the defensive side of the ball.
The Lakers vanquished another week full of drama by easily picking up two solid wins in a rare back-to-back home stretch against the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks. After two separate reports saying that superstar, LeBron James, was ignoring Luke Walton’s play calls and that Magic Johnson was unhappy with the usage of James by Walton, the Lakers were able to block out the outside noise and provide nice energy on back to back nights. Now 6th in the Western Conference with upcoming matchups against foes like San Antonio and Memphis, the Lakers were able to pick up wins that they were supposed to win. It did not, however, come without some type of drama and excitement that is once again starting to become the norm in Lakerland. One night after almost blowing a 23 point lead to Indiana, the Lakers put on a display of highlight reel worthy plays from the likes of James, Lonzo Ball, and JaVale McGee. Few, however, matched this extraordinary play from James at the end of the 4th against Dallas that once again left Laker fans, and players, in awe:
At 13-9, the Lakers are right in the thick of a packed Western Conference full of wannabe challengers to the mighty Golden State Warriors. Much of that credit should belong to James. He is, in fact, in the midst of another potential MVP caliber season, averaging 28.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 6.6 APG. However, head coach Luke Walton also deserves a handful of praise for being able to take the heat from the Los Angeles media and from Johnson himself, in addition to managing the minutes of James and helping the young players of the team grow. Walton was famously praised by Laker great, Kobe Bryant, for being an extension of former coach, Phil Jackson, and said that it was no surprise to see him as a head coach in the league. He seems to now be applying not only what he knows and has learned on the court from Jackson, but off of it, as well: how to coach the marquee basketball franchise, how to handle the media from the second largest US market, and how to manage a superstar such as James’ caliber. Walton’s even keel personality has seemed to help keep this Laker team under control to this point in the season and will certainly be helpful down the stretch as tension and the want to win starts to increase.
James, McGee, and the Lakers have now won two in a row at Staples Center.
Another key facet behind the Lakers’ decent success this year has been the shockingly great play from the center position. Starting center, JaVale McGee, has proven to be an outstanding free agent signing by the Laker front office and helps solidify the back end of the defense by averaging 2.8 blocks per game, second in the league to Heat center, Hassan Whiteside. Off the bench, Tyson Chandler has brought a ton of energy since being acquired from the Suns in the early part of the season. He was huge in last night’s victory after McGee fouled out and was solid in the paint and not allowing Mavericks like rookie, Luka Doncic, to do any type of damage in the 4th. In fact, Chandler will get his first shot at his former team tomorrow night in Los Angeles, as the Lakers go to battle with Phoenix (12:30 PT, SPEC). The Lakers will hope to get another great night from their centers, as they are tested by the young and emerging center, DeAndre Ayton from the University of Arizona.
The King and the Lakers will hope to move up even higher this week in the Western Conference standings.
The Lakers will have a tough two-game road test this coming week against San Antonio and Memphis, two teams that have been consistent West powers for years. At this point in the year, the Lakers have just about met expectations due to the dominance of LeBron and solid play from newcomers like McGee, Chandler, and Lance Stephenson. As the Lakers move closer to Christmas with the Warriors waiting in Oakland on December 25th, Los Angeles hopes to keep moving along through opposing teams until their statement matchup of the season shows them where they are really at. Until then, however, look for James and the young Lakers to once again provide drama, excitement, and a glimpse of Showtime to fans of the Purple and Gold.