Lakers Get 129-120 Win Over Thunder, fueled by LeBron, Anthony Davis, New Starting Lineup

Lakers Get 129-120 Win Over Thunder, fueled by LeBron, Anthony Davis, New Starting Lineup

Coming up on a special bonus edition of locked on Lakers Anthony Davis called tonight’s game in Oklahoma City must win for the Lakers and they took care of their business that is Next you are locked on Lakers your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day And thanks for making lock on Lakers your first listen wherever you get your podcast Monday through Friday and occasionally on weekends always free never behind a pay wall and locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can get together hang out with a community of over 22,000 Lakers fans subscribers cool

People who undoubtedly are excited after this win in Oklahoma City 1291 20 over the Thunder and Beyond just the ramifications by the way Brian Andy kineski Brian not here tonight unable to uh attend but definitely wanted to make sure that we had something for the audience because this really was not

Just a spectacular win by the Lakers Oklahoma City one of the best teams in the league and the Lakers really manag to control this game from start to finish despite a really strong fourth quarter push from the Thunder they staved them off you know led by Shay

Gilis Alexander and one of the Jay Williams’s uh they they are a really really strong team Chad hram I think right now is the front runner for Rookie of the Year Oklahoma City is one of the toughest places to play in the league and the Lakers had been in a really

Fragile place and we talked about after Thursdays loss in Minnesota to the Timberwolves that despite the fact that there are no moral victories in NBA basketball particularly for a team that wants to get themselves good seating trying to get on you know on a championship run you need to win games

And the Lakers had lost I believe either four of their last five or five of their last six and they had been in a place ever since the I the inseason tournament where they had been lacking they had been lacking Focus they had sometimes been lacking players you had

LeBron missing a game Anthony Davis D’Angelo Russell and cam reddish missing a game Jared Vanderbilt I believe had been in and out Gabe Vincent we’ll talk about at the end of the show had been in and out of the lineup as well and so the Lakers been lacking continuity but

Despite all of that there had been some positive signs in Minnesota in terms of just the Lakers their focus and their intensity and I thought them leaning back on the defensive identity that they had built up during what what had been their best stretch so far this season so

I thought that there had been a lot that could be built upon in that loss but it was a loss nonetheless and Anthony Davis raised a lot of eyebrows when he called this game the believe 30th of the season for the Lakers that it was must-win

And I know that struck some people as hyperbole it struck other people as a sign of panic I actually thought it was just them recognizing where they are at this moment and not you don’t want to fall to 500 you know they’re now 16 and

14 you don’t want to all of a sudden go into Christmas day you know that game against the Celtics that is going to be difficult even in your house Boston is arguably the best team in the League you don’t want to be looking at that game

With oh my God if we lose this we are going to fall below 500 and you know where they were at the beginning of the Season where because of guys in and out of the lineup they got off to this difficult start that they they managed

To not really put themselves in a hole certainly like last season with a two and 10 start but there I think both practically and emotionally there was a lot riding on this game and Darin ham made a very surprising if not necessarily shocking when you think about it lineup decision he decided to

Put D’Angelo Russell on the bench and start Jared Vanderbilt and what to me felt like an extension of again that defensive identity where the Lakers have been at their best and not necessarily tonight because the offense tonight was really clicking they were 50 uh 50% from the three-point line 52% overall they

Were able to move in transition they were able to get into the paint like there was a lot working for the Lakers offensively but as a whole this season the offense is definitely been behind the defense frankly the offense has been behind the defense for the entire LeBron

Ad era which is surprising when you consider that LeBron and AD are the focal points of this team but that’s where it’s been and I I remember towards the end of the show after the Timberwolves loss Brian and I were debating the idea of whether or not you

Could go sustain stretches with in particular cam reddish and Jared Vanderbilt together Brian had been skeptical of it I had been more of a proponent of it and the reason being it would offer the Lakers an opportunity just to lean into their strengths and at

The end of the day I think this team has has more defensive upside than offensive upside which does not take away from the onus and the necessity to fix some things with their offense because it is difficult in the 2023 2024 NBA to to survive without being able to score you

Know with relative ease it’s just difficult it’s a really offensively driven league but at the same time you have to be who you are and the Lakers I think are a team that if nothing else they’re going to find themselves in the best position to score by leaning on

Their defense and this ended up being a game where I thought the starting lineup paid some of the dividends that darham was looking for you know oklah Oklahoma City was able to score in this game they were able to score in the first quarter of this game but the Lakers defense was

Disruptive I thought they made Oklahoma City work for a lot of what they were doing Darin talked afterwards about how when OKC did Miss because you had a bigger Longer lineup with in particular Jared Vanderbilt in there you had the ability to limit OKC to one and outs

When they did Miss and Oklahoma City did end up with 17 Second Chance points but they’re a they’re a really good team and you know there’s in a lot of respects like what OKC does to you is baked into the cake because they can pretty much do anything

Against anybody it’s they’re one of the best teams in the league but I thought the Lakers were able to really lay down in the first quarter especially the third quarter a foundation of defensive disruption defensive purpose rebounding physicality like things that had been lacking in a lot of these really bad

First quarters that we’ve seen over the course of this whole season the first quarter has been regularly by far the Lakers worst and I I really liked what we ended up seeing with this new starting lineup I liked the way it the way it affected the second unit D’Angelo

Russell I thought took what could very I think easily and rightly be seen as a demotion seemed to take it fine he had 15 points five of nine from the field three of six from behind The Arc you know a little bit of momentum that he carried from the fourth quarter against

Minnesota he struggled a lot in the first three quarters but had played aggressively and it seemed to be fine with now playing Off the Bench him and Reeves together which is ironic I guess considering where we started this season then being separated where we are now

But the two of them played well off each other and the second unit had some real pop that can hopefully help them sustain some of these periods better and easier when LeBron sits or as we saw in the first half of this game when Anthony Davis sits the the Lakers had a long

Stretch in the first half without Anthony Davis if they actually won those minutes and that’s really big you know we talk a lot about winning the non- LeBron minutes and those matter and make sure to talk about LeBron because he was fantastic in this game but the non-ad

Minutes matter as well and they did it was just a really strong game across the board from the lak with the groundwork and Foundation being LeBron James and Anthony Davis LeBron 40 points 13 of 20 from the field five of five from behind the arc nine of nine at

The line 15 of those 40 points in the fourth quarter where he was carrying the Lakers through their offense starting to stagnate a bit and in the meantime Oklahoma City was just relentlessly driving toward towards the basket and they are a difficult team to stop when they run and they were really

Really making a point of just attacking attacking attacking after every Laker possession make or Miss and LeBron was really instrumental in staving off that damage and you know in the loss to Minnesota and even that pretty unimpressive win in San Antonio where they only won by three we had commented

About how that was really where you missed LeBron just the fourth quarter and closing things out and Beyond the organization that he brings to the offense and the ability to put everyone in the right places and just the intelligence LeBron’s been one of the best fourth quarter players in the

League this season even with his 39th birthday on the horizon and he was spectacular in this game especially down the stretch Anthony Davis 26 points 11 rebounds seven assists two blocks and a steel he uh three offensive rebounds he played all 24 minutes of the second half

Darin ham a couple times asked him if he wanted to come out ad said no remember ad was the guy who called this a must-win game and he had I thought a really a few really key rebounds getting the ball away from Chad hram he often

Had to grab rebounds in traffic he was swarmed a lot did a really good job moving the ball off double teams you know there there was a sequence where the Lakers ran in back-to-back plays ad he was isolated at the high post the double comes he moved the ball to

Reddish who was filling the area unoccupied under the basket the defender comes over to reddish LeBron Dives one time he ended up getting a basket another time fouled sent to the line ad was really just moving the ball well did a nice job at times of having things run

Through him um ruy haimura Off the Bench 21 points six rebounds he was three of five from behind the behind the line um he had a couple Miss dunks but beyond that it was a really good game for ruy on both sides of the ball mentioned D’Angelo Russell game Austin Reeves had

Nine assists tan Prince 10 points two of five from behind the behind the arc and then Jared Vanderbilt and cam reddish combined for just six points but you know cam had seven assists which is really really nice ball movement from cam reddish I thought the last couple

Games his decision making has been very very good and very alert the two of them were just very disruptive very you know you’re not gonna shut down Shay gilis Alexander you’re not gonna shut down a lot guys on this team it’s really high powerered this young Thunder Group but I

Thought they were really really good just making shots difficult that you know making guys work for what they got that’s the best that you can do against you know Shay gildas Alexander on any night and Jaylen Williams on a night where he’s got it going you know Chad

Hram had 19 and 10 you know four offensive rebounds again it’s a really really strong team but the Lakers just across the board I thought this was a really strong night for them at least for one game what Darin wanted from this new lineup new rotation worked I just

Thought it was interesting beyond the opening first beyond the first quarter and the third quarter the opening like five or six minutes once either cam reddish or Jared Vanderbilt was subbed out I don’t remember off the top of my head who was subbed out first I don’t think they played any more minutes

Together um if they did it was limited at best they probably if I had to guess played anywhere from 10 to 13 combined minutes together as a starting Duo part of the starting five and that felt to me very much like Darin aware of wanting to set that defensive tone set that

Disruptiveness and that physicality and trying to prevent you know Shay gilis Alexander for example from getting off to a really strong comfortable start but also being mindful of what could be offensive limitations and looking for The Best of Both Worlds I I thought Darin’s substitution patterns in this

Game and just what he was looking to have happen I I thought were really strong and you know there’s been a period where I know fans have been really down on Darin and Brian and I have been critical of some of his decisions over the last few games but

This was a game where I thought Darin ham had a really strong game plan last last bit of business and we’ll talk about this more in future shows um sham shiria from the athletic reported that Gabe Vincent who was downgraded to out in this game is quote strongly

Considering surgery on his left knee with a timetable of six to8 weeks League sources tell the athletic in stadium Vincent rehab for almost two months for his return but the swelling is back and the procedure is now a real likelihood you Gabe Vincent played the one game against Chicago then didn’t

Play against Minnesota which didn’t seem like much at the time because it could felt like just he’s missed 24 games second end of a back-to-back wouldn’t expect him to play but this obviously is a new and not good development for the Lakers big picture you know they they

Were counting on Gabe Vincent to have a prominent role on this team Off the Bench potentially as as a a closer at times I think just because of his defensive ability and he’s now looking like he can end up when it’s all said and done missing three quarters of the

Season and depending on when he comes back who knows how he’ll be you know reintegrated into the rotation but I was thinking about it and I want to make it clear this this is not positive news for the Lakers and certainly not for Gabe Vincent I feel

Bad for him but if you’re looking for any type of bright side it’s that the Lakers who really need to start getting on a run of games with the same players where Darin can really figure out what he has in this rotation get guys familiar with each other on a game in

Game out basis you are at least removing the challenge of integrating Vincent into a rotation after him only having played five games he he is really new on this team Beyond it being his first season he’s somebody that I don’t think anyone else on this team has ever even

Played with so he’s one of the the real challenge guys in terms of everyone growing comfortable with him again I’m not trying to spin this as good for the Lakers but if there is a bright side to at least some of the issues they’ve been dealing with it’s

It’s one less thing to figure out at least for the immediate future again huge huge win for the Lakers 129 120 in OKC over the Thunder probably not doing a show for Monday morning just because we’re going to be recording later on Monday anyway because of the Christmas

Day game against Boston plus everybody doing their Christmas festivities in the morning I the the show I don’t think is going to get much traction or really much shelf life so you will hear from from us later in the day on Monday but probably not Monday morning just be

Aware of that appreciate everybody being here want to make sure everyone knows that locked on Lakers is brought to you by but before we go want to make sure everyone knows Lockton Lakers is brought to you by prize picks the largest independently owned daily fantasy sports platform in North America instead of

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Heading into Oklahoma City, Anthony Davis called this game against the Thunder “must-win,” which may have raised eyebrows for a December contest, but considering they had lost five of the previous six, and had already pulled themselves out of a sub .500 state earlier this season, the urgency was in fact warranted. So much so, in fact, that Darvin Ham opted to change the starting lineup again. Defensive specialist Jarred Vanderbilt joined the first five, while D’Angelo Russell moved to the bench.

The result? An extension of the Lakers at their best, with more physicality and defensive intensity to set a tone for opening halves. Davis made good on his call to arms, putting up 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks. And LeBron James was phenomenal, with 40 points (15 in the fourth quarter to hold off a surging OKC), plus seven rebounds and seven assists. In the meantime, Russell responded well to the move, scoring an efficient 15 points, and forming quite the offensive punch with Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.

Is this new look the cure to the Lakers’ ails moving forward? It’s too early to tell, although the Christmas day game against the Celtics will definitely offer more clues. But for now, the Lakers can head back to L.A. feeling good, and enjoy the holiday before getting back to work shortly afterward.

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