Lakers Recap: Team Finally Wins! Three Observations of the Lakers-Grizzles Game

It looks like the Lakers longest film session on Saturday paid off for today’s game, as the Lakers won 121-118. The purple and gold made an emphasis to punish the Grizzles around the paint. They started the game off scoring 10 quick points in the paint, and that translated to the other strengths of the Lakers. Their defense picked up which helped their transition offense, and that really opened up their half-court offense. Unlike the first two games, there was not much isolation ball, and there was a lot of passing this game that led to wide open looks.

Defense Leading to Fast Break Points, Which Opened Up Their Entire Offense

After the Lakers went down 7-17 to start the game, they finished the first quarter on a 22-7 run, to take a five-point lead. The emphasis on scoring around the paint and defense definitely were staples of the team’s success throughout the entire night. Still, playing 48 minutes of consistent defense still needs improvement as the Lakers were outscored by 9 in the third quarter, giving up 34 points.

Carmelo Anthony Heroics Help the Lakers Win and Leaps Into #9 All-Time Scoring

If not for Carmelo Anthony’s shot making the Lakers could really have been staring at a 0-3 start to the season. Anthony nailed six treys on eight attempts in 27 minutes of play. In the process, he moved up to 9^th all-time in scoring, passing Moses Malone. Anthony’s accuracy opened up much of the needed spacing for the team, which will be a common problem all season long.

They Need to Clean Up the Offensive Rebounds

The Grizzles had over a 10-point advantage on second chance points. The Grizzles played a lot of two big basketball, with Steven Adams picking up eight offensive rebounds. The Lakers did end up playing a lot of Anthony Davis at the five, which may have been the reason for the Grizzles controlling the rebounding battle. The Grizzles out-rebounded the Lakers 49 to 36. If the Lakers can control the rebounding battle against other teams down the road, they should have an easier time picking up wins.