If it isn’t a new day for the Los Angeles Lakers after the three trades they made just ahead of the trade deadline, it at least looks like the sun has come out for them after a long rainstorm.
Their new-look roster took the court in San Francisco versus the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night and showed some qualities their previous iteration failed to display.
Even without LeBron James (Golden State was without Stephen Curry), L.A. played with good energy throughout and held up remarkably well throughout a close and somewhat physical contest.
Lately, the Lakers have had lots of trouble winning close contests. But tonight, they continually got stops and made enough smart plays offensively to close out the defending NBA champs, 109-103.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before the Purple and Gold return to their customary spot in the upper echelon of the league.
Anthony Davis: C/C+
At first glance, it looked like a terrible game for Davis and his third consecutive subpar outing. He was just 5-of-19 from the field and scored only 36 points as his shots outside the paint simply weren’t falling. But a closer look reveals that perhaps it wasn’t as bad as that stat line would indicate.
For one, he was going up against Draymond Green, who is a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate, not to mention a really smart defender. In addition, the Warriors knocked the ball away from Davis multiple times, and they also were able to get steals and deflections when his teammates tried to set up him near the basket while on the move.
But he helped the Lakers win by grabbing 16 rebounds, which is an indicator that he was putting in a sincere effort overall. He also blocked three shots, including a key block on Klay Thompson and another one on Donte DiVincenzo down the stretch.
Rui Hachimura: B+/A-
Hachimura has struggled at times in his first several games as a Laker. But tonight, despite getting off to a slow start, he was one reason they won.
He shot 6-of-11 from the field, as well as 2-of-4 from 3-point range, giving 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, one assist and one steal in 31 minutes.
He showed good discipline when it came to his shot selection, as a couple of times he faked the 3-pointer and could’ve shot one right after getting his defender out of position. Instead, he drove in closer and hit the mid-range jumper.
Troy Brown Jr.: C+
This was a quiet night for Brown, who had five points on 2-of-5 shooting and six rebounds in 22 minutes. With all the new faces L.A. has (five in all), Brown could possibly see his minutes go down a bit over time.
Dennis Schroder: A
With James out, Schroder was the one who took the initiative to pick up the most offensive slack. He got the start, which surprised some who perhaps expected Austin Reaves to be in the starting lineup instead.
Schroder scored 26 points while shooting 7-of-12 overall and 3-of-4 from downtown, and he got to the free throw line often, converting 9-of-11 attempts there.
The German native also added three rebounds and three assists while committing just one turnover.
He has been inconsistent with his offensive aggression and shot-making this season, but he has come up big the last two games with James unable to play.
D'Angelo Russell: A-
Russell had a very solid return to the Purple and Gold. He shot 6-of-12 and scored 15 points while also getting five rebounds and dishing off six assists in 35 minutes.
During his first stint with the team, which spanned his first two years in the league, he was clearly talented and skilled, but immature and somewhat inconsistent. He appears to be more refined and smarter this time around.
The key for Russell will be his shooting efficiency, especially from 3-point land. If he keeps those numbers high, as they’ve been so far this season, he should be the long-sought solution to the Lakers’ point guard problem.
Jarred Vanderbilt: A
Vanderbilt instantly made an impact when he came into the game late in the first quarter. He grabbed several rebounds and threw his weight around defensively, sometimes rotating over to guard more than one player on the same defensive possession.
He is mainly a defensive stud and a good rebounder, but he also flashed some other abilities. A few times he grabbed the defensive rebound and attempted to run the fast break himself like a guard. In one of those situations, he executed a nice spin move while going downhill and converted a layup.
Vanderbilt also hit a perimeter jumper with the shot clock running down and got a dunk on a fast-break setup by Reaves. He finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal in just 17 minutes.
Simply put, Vanderbilt is a winning player.
Wenyen Gabriel: B+/A-
Gabriel did well in 12 minutes, scoring six points on 3-of-4 shooting and getting three rebounds. He may see his minutes go down with the addition of Vanderbilt and center Mo Bamba, who is currently serving a four-game suspension, and head coach Darvin Ham will have some difficult decisions to make as far as how to distribute minutes throughout a suddenly deep Lakers team.
Malik Beasley: D
It was an ugly debut for Beasley, who went 2-of-9 overall and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. He is a streaky shooter, but when he’s on a good streak, he is deadly, and he can provide plenty of value to the Lakers if he finds a way to be hot more often than he is cold.
Austin Reaves: B
Reaves made his usual contribution by helping the Lakers’ cause without putting up significant numbers. He scored eight points and went 1-of-2 from beyond the arc while adding two rebounds, one assist and one block.
It will be interesting to see what Ham does with the starting lineup once all his new players get up to speed. Will he continue to start Schroder and Russell and go with those two ball-handlers, or may he eventually opt to start Reaves alongside Russell for his defense, 3-point shooting and intangibles?
Lonnie Walker IV: C+
Walker had a quiet game with four points and two assists in 15 minutes. If Beasley starts to shoot well on a consistent basis, Walker could be the odd man out in L.A.’s backcourt rotation.
