For the second time in the previous month, the Lakers fought hard in a game without LeBron James. For the second time in a month, it was all for naught.
The Lakers fought valiantly against the Clippers on Tuesday. The 13 offensive rebounds are the clearest indication of how hard they played in the game.
But there’s a reason why the Clippers are one of the top NBA teams. And if you are not perfect against them, as Darvin Ham stated in the postgame, you will fall short. Despite being outscored 18-3 on second-chance points and conceding 22 points off turnovers, the Clippers shot 59.1% from the field and 51.9% from three-point range..
Moral wins are useless when the Lakers require actual ones. However, they soften the blow of a defeat.
So, let us rate the loss. As always, grades are based on each player’s expected performance. A “B” grade signifies an average performance for that player..
33 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4-10 FG, 2-6 3PT, 1-1 FT, -5
Prince had a rather average night, with a few of standout plays but a lack of consistency. Many Lakers wings struggled, as is to be expected when you play Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden for 48 minutes straight.
Grade: C-
Rui Hachimura.
30-minute stats: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5-8 FG, 1-1 3-pointer, -8
Rui, along with other Lakers wings, struggled defensively on Tuesday. Kawhi, in particular, worked him over and produced numerous open looks. Perhaps you should have chosen him over Prince, but neither was doing well defensively.
Grade: C++
Anthony Davis
36 minutes, 26 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 12-20 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT, -9
At least in this game sans LeBron, AD contributed significantly. Unfortunately, it was not enough. But he fought for rebounds all game long, so it’s surprising he only had four offensive boards.
The Lakers could have given him more opportunities down the stretch, but it didn’t matter because they were never going to get stops anyhow.
Grade: A-
Austin Reaves
34 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5-14 FG, 2-8 3PT, -8
Reaves played an outstanding game, man. Just as it appeared like he had broken out of his shooting rut, he had a particularly terrible night. And defensively, he was working so hard but doing nothing to stop Kawhi time and again.
This season, he’s got more than his fair share of them. This year’s expectations were high, and he’s had a lot of disappointments. But any rumors about whether they should trade him because of his troubles this year seem extremely premature..
Grade: F
D’Angelo Russell
40 minutes, 27 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 block, 9-21 FG, 4-10 3PT, 5-6 FT, -7
D’Lo’s recent performance has been quite amazing. He had every incentive in the world to leave this squad until a trade, which seemed imminent. Instead, he replied with some of his finest basketball yet.
He literally carried the Lakers at moments tonight. Every time it seemed like the game was slipping away, he’d reply with a jumper, a drive to the hoop, or a pass to a cutter. He was essential in so much of what the Lakers accomplished tonight.
And he had a block on the rim.
Is all of this enough to make the Lakers reconsider dealing him? That seems unlikely. But he’s making that decision a lot tougher now.
Grade: A+
Jarred Vanderbilt
25 minutes, 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 4-10 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-4 FT, -9
Vando is such an interesting player. He had six offensive rebounds. He got three thefts. He blocked a shot. He also went 4-10 from the field, missed a few jumpers at the rim, and turned the ball over twice.
Unlocking him is difficult, but if successful, he might be a dynamic player. Seeing him as a roller is intriguing…until he reaches the rim and fails to make contact. It’s wonderful to see him get an offensive rebound…until he gets it stripped while trying to go back up. Twice.
There is so much talent and opportunity there. So many question marks..
Grade: A-
Max Christie
10 minutes, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT
Max had a relatively peaceful night, which I suppose is better than his noisy awful night against Portland. Prior to his injury tonight, his minutes appeared to be split around D’Lo, Vando, and Cam Reddish. I can’t really blame Darvin for this right now.There is so much talent and opportunity there. So many question marks.
Grade: D
Cam Reddish
16 minutes, 9 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 3-5 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-4 FT, -1
Reddish looked as bouncy and spry on Tuesday as he had since his return. It is apparent that his knee and groin ailments were severely limiting him.
This makes his ankle injury even more serious. He has also had a really difficult season in terms of injuries.
Grade: B+
Christian Wood
14 minutes, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists 2-2 FG, 2-5 FT, -5
Wood delivered a standout performance, punishing Daniel Theis for much of the game. Perhaps he could have played more, but with the Clippers going small, it would have been difficult to have him and AD on the court together.
Grade: A-
Darvin Ham
I guarantee there’s nothing sinister about mistakenly leaving him out of these. I normally use the box score as a guide and forget to include him at the end.
Again, I didn’t think much about Ham or his decisions after watching this game. There could have been a few squabbles about minutes, but he had the players coming out and playing hard from the start.
Grade: B
