The Lakers are finally back to looking like the Lakers we saw at the beginning of the season. At 10 games in, it’s not too early to start reflecting on how the Lakers have started the season.
The Lakers started the season 3-0 and have remained undefeated at home, indicating LA’s true resiliency on home court. On the flip side, the Lakers have struggled immensely on the road. They are currently 0-4 on the road. Their road losses to the Pistons and Grizzlies could have been easily avoidable if not for poor shooting performances from D’Angelo Russell. The Lakers have really needed him to be a leader on the team, and he hasn’t done that yet early in this season. However, LA still looks like a stout team that could potentially make a deep playoff run.
Wednesday’s game was entertaining. Both the Lakers and the Grizzlies were constantly going back and forth, having runs of their own to take leads throughout the game. LeBron James was the highlight of the night for the Lakers’ offense. He put up an insane 12-rebound and 14-assist night to tag along with his 35-point performance for a triple-double. James was simply picking apart the Grizzlies’ defense.
Memphis was without star guard Ja Morant due to a hip injury.
The Lakers might’ve hit the lottery with their first-round pick, Dalton Knecht. Knecht was an absolute highlight for the Lakers as well. Knecht had a bench-high 31 minutes of action, and he was a game-high plus-19 with his presence for the Lakers. We leaned on Dalton Knecht; that’s what we did … He looked like he was back at Tennessee,” James said in a postgame interview with ESPN.
Knecht did not miss a 3-point field goal. He provided much-needed efficiency for the Lakers and was recognized by his teammates.
The Lakers have now moved Russell to the bench because he has struggled to produce offensively. He has seen a significant dip in his playing time, as last night he was only in the game for 20 minutes.
LA now heads to San Antonio to face off against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs on Friday. Wembanyama has been offensively dominant lately, and he will try to continue his streak against the Lakers. This game will have higher stakes as it will be Los Angeles’ first NBA Cup group-stage game.
