Definitely, the matches follow each other and look alike for the Lakers. Even more when they face the Clippersbecause they no longer beat their neighbor angeleno for almost… two and a half years. You will have understood it, the derby of this night was no exception to the rule, since the teammates of Paul George (29 points, 6 rebounds) won quite logically (114-101) against LeBron James (30 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists), Anthony Davis (21 points, 9 rebounds) and others.
“Quite logically”, because Darvin Ham’s men could very well have come away with something other than a ninth defeat in eleven games this season, if they had, for example, attacked each half with bite, rather than waiting for more. to be ten points behind to finally start playing. For their part, the players of Tyronn Lue obviously did not have to be asked to punish the largesse of the “Purple & Gold”.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— LeBron James chains the baskets … then gets injured. Already in physical difficulty since the start of the season, between a virus that had knocked him out and a sore foot, the “King” had to leave his teammates in the middle of the fourth quarter, when the match was over. Initially, it was thought that he was affected in the groin, the part of the body which greatly handicapped him in 2018/19. Finally, he suffers from the left leg and, for the time being, we do not know more about his state of health. Before that, he had chained the baskets (30 points in 32 minutes) without managing to give rhythm to the collective of the Lakers.
— Paul George continues his momentum. Perfect leader of the Clippers collective, “PG13” did not really have to force his talent against these Lakers. Author of a cannon start, with 15 points in the first quarter alone, he ideally launched Tyronn Lue’s men in this part, with his only offensive talent. Then, as soon as his team needed him to regain momentum on offense, the All-Star winger responded and assumed his leadership status. Confirming, at the same time, that he has indeed returned to his best level.
— The Lakers took on water at the start of each half. Dominated 38-21 and 33-23 in the first and third quarters, the “Purple & Gold” clearly took too long to come back from the locker room. Clumsy in attack (and at 3-pts, of course…), expensive with the ball, absent in defense and collectively too limited behind the James/Davis duo, they simply didn’t measure up each time. Luckily for them, the Clippers weren’t particularly consistent, allowing them to stay (a little) alive, because we know teams that would have crushed them much faster…
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ The Clippers Collective. Behind the elusive Paul George, Tyronn Lue was able to count on the good contribution of his second knives. From Norman Powell (18 points) to Ivica Zubac (10 points, 8 rebounds), via Reggie Jackson (14 points), Luke Kennard (13 points), Marcus Morris (11 points, 8 rebounds) or even John Wall (10 points, 6 assists), no fewer than seven players finished in “double face”. A rather impressive bench depth, with which the Lakers have never been able to compete.
✅ Troy Brown Jr.. Rare ray of sunshine from the Lakers, with his 14 points and 4 rebounds (6/10 on shots, including 2/6 at 3-pts), the 23-year-old winger has as it were ” does the job » in the shadow of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Effective in attack, where he was even able to take the game on his own in the second half, and always ready to sacrifice himself in defense, the former Wizards and Bulls player confirms, with this kind of performance, that he did not steal his place in Darvin Ham’s five.
⛔ The Clippers’ second quarter. It is an understatement to say that Paul George’s teammates have long given the stick to be beaten in this game. Comfortably installed in the lead after a quarter of an hour (45-28), they saw the Lakers inflict a… 20-3 on them, to return to equality and revive the interest of the match! Unable to set the sights and score points other than on the free throw line, in addition to being punished in the paint by Anthony Davis and his family, the “Clipper’s” however managed to turn their backs, thanks to Paul George, so as not to let go of the controls.
⛔ Kendrick Nunn. If there is much to say about the difficulties of the back lines of the Lakers, it is difficult to do worse than the umpteenth phantom performance of “K-Nunn”. Mute in scoring and overwhelmed in defense, he once again wandered like a lost soul on a floor. In the end, the former Heat player will only have shown himself in the pass, when he nicely sent Anthony Davis twice to the alley oop. But that’s not necessarily what Darvin Ham expects of him…
THE FOLLOWING
LA Clippers (7-5) : Brooklyn reception, Saturday evening (10:00 p.m.).
LA Lakers (2-9) : trip to Sacramento, in the night from Friday to Saturday (04:30).
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
