When the Lakers played the Boston Celtics last Thursday one team came into the game as the defending NBA champions. The other team played like the defending NBA champions. The Lakers were the latter, coming up with their most impressive win of the season, beating down the Boston Celtics 117-96. It felt like the two teams reversed roles.
The Celtics are the fourth highest scoring team in the NBA at 118 points per game, but the Lakers held them to their second lowest total of the season, and the 21-point margin marked the Celtics’ biggest in defeat. The Celtics take the most three points shots in the history of the NBA, averaging 49 per game this season, but the Lakers made more three pointers, making 15 out of 35 compared the Boston’s 14 for 41. The Lakers came into the game 27th in the rebounding margin, but they were plus 11 on the boards against a good Celtic rebounding squad.
How did they do it? It took a combination of defensive strategy and effort. The Lakers didn’t double team the center position even when Kristaps Porzingis or Jaylen Brown had an advantage. They cut off drives to the basket, not allowing the Celtics to kick the ball out and take open threes. “I thought it was one of if not the best games in terms of executing our defensive game plan,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick after the game.
The Lakers held the Celtics back court of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White to a combined six points on two out of 11 from the field. The Celtics best player, Jason Tatum scored only 16 points.
Conversely the Lakers came out of the gate fast, shooting 3’s with confidence, knocking down 11 of 20 in the first half while taking a 19-point halftime lead which was the largest halftime lead over the Celtics since 2000.
“A lot of what we have done the last two games, we have played the game the right way,” said Austin Reaves of the Lakers. “Our shot profile has been really good even on misses. We are making the right play and when we do that, we are a hard team to guard.”
Anthony Davis led the team with 24 points to go along with his eight rebounds and three blocks. Reaves had 23 points and six assists. LeBron James, who was named an NBA All-Star starter before the game and will play in his 21st All-Star game, had 20 points 14 rebounds, six assists and he added another turn back to clock dunk at the end of the first quarter caping off a 17 to 5 run and the Lakers never looked back.
The Lakers bench came to play too. Gabe Vincent had another solid game, scoring 12 points with four assists in 26 minutes. Rookie Dalton Knecht who has been struggling with his shot had 13 points. With the game put away, Bonny James played for four minutes, but he did not score, he was 0-1 from the field.
The Lakers made a statement with their performance but what does that really mean in the grand scheme of the season. “Hopefully there’s some reinforcement, maybe some establishment, but some belief that gets reinforced here about what can be and how good we can be,” said Redick.
James took a toned-down approach regarding the significance of beating Boston. “It’s one game, they hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy, we are trying to get there.”
Last Tuesday the Lakers ran past the lowly Washington Wizards 111-88. James had his ninth triple double of the season with 21 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, becoming only the second player in NBA history to record a triple double at the age of 40. Karl Malone in a Laker uniform was the other player to accomplish that feat.
Against the Wizards Dorian Finney-Smith had his breakout game as a Laker scoring 16 points. It was his second game back in the lineup after the birth of his son.
“We are still searching for more consistency night to night,” said Redick. “I really love our group when we are connected and when we play professional and competitive basketball and we execute, we are a really good team.”
The Lakers will be on the road for their annual Grammy Awards trip starting Saturday. They will play six straight games away from Crypto.com Arena, culminating with another matchup against the Clippers at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
On Saturday, the Lakers will face the struggling Warriors. They have fallen outside of the West’s top 10 teams in the standings, but they still have Steph Curry. The Lakers must stay connected to their shooters, disrupt their offense and be physical on their cuts and screens. Jarred Vanderbilt is scheduled to return to the Lakers for the first time in almost a year. Integrating him back into the lineup can pay dividends defensively.
On Monday the Lakers travel to Charlotte to play one of the leagues bottom feeders. The Hornets are once again a lottery pick team. Chino Hills’ native LaMelo Ball is having one of his best NBA seasons, scoring 29 points per game (4th in the NBA) and he is having fun. The Lakers need to make Ball take tough shots and run their set plays. A pickup style game will favor the Hornets, who have nothing to lose. Nothing would be better for the Lakers than a blowout win in front of back-to-back games.
On Tuesday, January 28, the Lakers were supposed to be playing a title contending 76er team but because Philadelphia has suffered so many injuries this year to key players this game should favor the Lakers. It’s unclear whether Joel Embiid will be back for this matchup. He’s only played 13 games all season and is currently on the self with swelling in his left knee. The Lakers must be aware of Tyrese Maxey in transition and lock into their pick and roll coverage.
The Lakers will face the Washington Wizards on Thursday, and they are doing their best impression of the Washington Generals this season, having lost 12 straight games, they are by far the worst team in the NBA. But of their six wins, five have come at home and you can’t take any team for granted in the NBA. Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma will get their shots if they are on the court. The Lakers must contest their shooters and don’t give them confidence early in the game.
On February 1, the Lakers visit the New York Knicks. This will likely be the toughest opponent on the trip because the Knicks are highly efficient. They are third in the league in field goal percentage, third in free throw percentage and six in three-point percentage. Don’t let Karl Anthony-Towns get comfortable, especially taking uncontested 3-pointers. The Lakers will have to match their intensity and toughness. James should put on a show in Madison Square Garden.
The last game on the road trip will be in Inglewood when they take on the Clippers in the Intuit Dome. Their first visit to the Dome didn’t go as planned with a 116-102 loss. Everything looked easy for the Clippers as they shot 53% from the field and led by as many as 26 points. The Lakers will need to play with an edge. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard thrive on playing at their pace and getting to their spots. The Lakers need to prevent them from getting to their spots, mix up their defensive coverages and don’t give up easy buckets. Offensively the Lakers need to take care of the ball and limit their turnovers. The Clippers are second in the NBA in points off of turnovers.