NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points as Brooklyn Nets get a surprise win over Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers v Brooklyn NetsIn a cross-conference match, the Los Angeles Lakers visited the Brooklyn Nets hoping to end their Eastern Conference road trip on a winning note. But to their surprise, the Nets were all ready and pumped up to increase their own winning streak to six, and that’s exactly what they did.
D’Angelo Russell and Co. came up with a close 115-110 victory over the short-handed Lakers, who were missing their young star Brandon Ingram and veteran guard Rajon Rondo.
LeBron James had a good game for the Lakers, but this time he couldn’t carry his team to a win, even though other youngsters like Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma also showed up with 23 points and 22 points respectively.
The game was tight throughout, and was pretty fun to watch. Now, let’s look at 3 talking points from the surprise result:
#3. The parity in 3-point effectiveness
Los Angeles Lakers v Brooklyn NetsThe Brooklyn Nets are a good 3-point shooting team, and this was proved again on Wednesday night as they shot a very good 41% from the arc. They have a lot of shooters in their team and almost all of them can shoot well.
They were led by D’Angelo Russell, who is having a very efficient year so far from the 3-point line with a 37% average. He is also top 10 in the league on spot-up shooting, ahead of the likes of sniper shooters like Klay Thompson.
The Brooklyn Nets are at 10th in the whole league in 3-point effectiveness.
On the other hand, the Lakers couldn’t find anybody to score or rather do anything for them other than the trio of LeBron, Lonzo and Kuzma. They clearly lacked depth, and looked tired too; it almost seemed like they just wanted to be over with this Eastern Conference road trip.
#2. Inability to get defensive stops in clutch moments
Los Angeles Lakers v Brooklyn NetsThe Lakers played well in the fourth quarter on the offensive end, but they were the exact opposite on the defense.
They are a young and upcoming team who are still trying to figure out how to gel together, and they have certainly been making good strides forward in that regard. But whenever the game is on the line and they need important defensive plays, they show lack of effort and become lackadaisical.
This needs to improve for the Lakers moving ahead, or they could find themselves in huge trouble.
In closing minutes, we can often see LeBron trying to force things on the offense and not giving much effort on the defense, when in fact he should be the one leading the charge for the Lakers as he’s their leader.
In today’s game the Lakers were also missing their defensive stopper and best defensive player, JaVale McGee, who is averaging 2.7 blocks per game - which is fourth in the league.
#1. The D’Angelo Russell vs Lonzo Ball face-off
D'Angelo Russell v/s Lonzo BallThese two names are going to be connected with each other for a long, long time. It's a rivalry between the Lakers' former point guard and their new point guard, so it is bound to be intriguing.
The Lakers gave up on Russell and shipped him to Brooklyn so that they could fully develop Lonzo into their preferred prototypical PG. But it's too soon to say if the Lakers made the right choice or the wrong one.
While Russell is having an average season with occasional spikes and red hot games, Lonzo is still going through a bit of a rough time. He’s a defensive genius already but lacks shooting, which is probably the most important thing in today’s NBA.
But today, both of these players came in red-hot and had impressive performances of their own. While Ball had an all-around game, Russell led his team on offense and also hit the final dagger 3 pointer, followed by the ice in his veins celebration.
So far, Russell is averaging 18 points on 42% fg and 37% 3pt%, while Lonzo is averaging 8.6 points on an abysmal 39% fg and 30% 3p%.