The Lakers power 4 | NBA
Still deprived of Anthony Davis, the Lakers are still undefeated in 2023! Last night’s winners of the Hawks (130-114) in a match that was mastered from start to finish, LeBron James’ teammates chained a 4th consecutive victory, and they are getting closer to the qualifying places for in “play-in”.
Last night, we told ourselves that they would have a good night because Thomas Bryant, 3-pointers, started the battle, while Juan Toscano-Anderson punctuated 9-2 after 70 seconds of the game. At first, Dejounte Murray resisted, but the Hawks would give up quickly.
Russell Westbrook’s offense allowed the Lakers to take a 10-point lead, as Kendrick Nunn found his footing. After twelve minutes, the gap is made (37-28), and Darvin Ham players continue with a 14-2 to take a 21-point lead (51-30).
On the Atlanta side, there was no reaction, and the return of the incumbents made no difference. Dennis Schroder provided a layer, and LeBron, well served by Westbrook, brought the gap to +26 (62-36). At the break, the Lakers scored 70 points with five players scoring 10 or more points. LeBron is only the 4th leading scorer on the team…
The second half was of little interest despite the awakening of Trae Young, and the Lakers maintained a 15-20 point lead throughout the second half. Coming in, 4th in a row, 5th in six games, and here they are on the heels of the Jazz, currently 10th in the Western Conference.
WHAT YOU SHOULD REMEMBER
A positive balance without Davis. We don’t talk about it much anymore but Darvin Ham still achieved a small victory because his players now have a positive record without Anthony Davis: 6 wins for 5 losses. It’s all the more remarkable because that night, Lonnie Walker, Troy Brown, Damian Jones and Austin Reaves were also missing. Result: The Lakers have lined up their 21st different starting five!
LeBron’s accuracy. After a bad cold game, LeBron is back, and he doesn’t need to put up 40-plus points to save the team. One stat is impressive: this is his 12th straight game shooting 50% or better. He got stronger as the match progressed, and his 4th quarter was perfect to stave off any fears with some big dunks to set the Crypto.com Arena on fire.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅Russell Westbrook. We have to think hard about him for the best 6th man trophy. He fully fulfills his role as an energizer, and when he plays the Hawks explode. He finished one pass away from a triple-double.
✅ Thomas Bryant. A new double-double for Anthony Davis lining. His 3-pointer, from the first possession, set the tone for the game. His rebounding dominance allowed for a lot of quick plays.
✅ Kendrick Nunn. Finally, a big game from him, and he, in the 2nd quarter, was responsible for putting the Hawks’ head under water.
✅Trae Young. Transparent in the first half, he woke up when he came back from the locker room. Really single-mindedly trying to make things happen, even if it leads to waste.
⛔John Collins. After his two performances against the Warriors and Kings, John Collins is back to his ways. Pushed back off, he didn’t put one in!
THE FOLLOWING
LA Lakers (18-21) : back-to-back on the Sacramento side.
Atlanta (18-21) : Sunday, still in the same room, facing the Clippers.
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