Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
New Orleans Pelicans	27	30	35	29	121
Los Angeles Lakers	46	31	31	25	133

Team	PTS	FG	FG%	3P	3P%	FT	FT%	OREB	TREB	AST	PF	STL	TO	BLK
New Orleans Pelicans	121	46-91	50.5%	13-26	50.0%	16-20	80.0%	8	47	23	27	6	8	1
Los Angeles Lakers	133	42-87	48.3%	15-41	36.6%	34-39	87.2%	11	54	26	14	4	8	10


New Orleans Pelicans	MIN	PTS	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	ORB	DRB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	±
Saddiq Bey^SF	32:55	22	9-13	3-4	1-2	2	9	11	3	1	0	1	0	-6
Derik Queen^PF	28:15	15	4-12	0-0	7-8	2	5	7	3	1	0	1	5	-22
Yves Missi^C	23:54	2	1-5	0-0	0-0	2	4	6	1	0	0	2	4	-1
Bryce McGowens^SG	33:29	23	9-18	3-5	2-4	0	7	7	5	0	0	0	3	-15
Jeremiah Fears^PG	27:06	21	7-14	1-3	6-6	0	2	2	3	1	0	1	2	-4
Micah Peavy	29:37	13	5-10	3-5	0-0	0	2	2	1	2	0	2	3	-1
Jose Alvarado	28:22	12	5-12	2-8	0-0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	-5
Kevon Looney	15:13	6	3-3	0-0	0-0	2	1	3	2	1	0	0	4	-4
Trey Alexander	21:09	7	3-4	1-1	0-0	0	2	2	3	0	1	1	2	-2
Hunter Dickinson	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jordan Hawkins	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DeAndre Jordan	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Herbert Jones	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Karlo Matković	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Trey Murphy III	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dejounte Murray	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jordan Poole	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zion Williamson	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Los Angeles Lakers	MIN	PTS	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	ORB	DRB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	±
Gabe Vincent^SF	24:43	6	2-5	2-4	0-0	1	1	2	4	1	0	0	3	15
Rui Hachimura^PF	33:35	14	6-14	2-8	0-0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	2	-3
Deandre Ayton^C	26:59	22	7-9	0-0	8-8	3	9	12	1	0	4	0	0	14
Austin Reaves^SG	39:38	33	9-15	4-7	11-12	0	5	5	8	1	1	5	1	-2
Luka Dončić^PG	35:04	34	9-22	4-12	12-14	2	10	12	7	1	1	2	0	8
Jake LaRavia	25:31	10	4-14	2-7	0-0	2	3	5	2	0	1	1	1	4
Jaxson Hayes	21:01	8	4-4	0-0	0-1	2	4	6	2	0	2	0	3	-2
Dalton Knecht	17:25	4	1-4	1-3	1-2	0	1	1	2	0	1	0	2	13
Maxi Kleber	13:12	2	0-0	0-0	2-2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	14
Adou Thiero	02:52	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	-1
Marcus Smart	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nick Smith Jr.	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jarred Vanderbilt	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bronny James	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
LeBron James	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chris Mañon	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Drew Timme	00:00	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

srhdt

1050 | 18 hours ago

Luka and Reaves are averaging 66 points per game, which is a country mile ahead of the next best duo in the league.

bokchoykn | Raptors

739 | 15 hours ago

Lakers backcourt averaging a combined 64 Pts, 14 Rebs, 16 Asts.

Their next best player is Lebron James.

_OMGTheyKilledKenny_ | Lakers

216 | 12 hours ago

There’s a case for Ayton to be the third best player and definitely the third most important player as LeBron is a luxury at this point, whereas Ayton is a necessity considering who’s behind him in the depth chart.

idontknow_whatever | CHI

192 | 12 hours ago

Bron finally gets to chill in year 23

BC3lt1cs | Celtics

101 | 10 hours ago

Your comment made me realize I was 24 when he came into the league. I’m now fucking 47.

Phelinaar

27 | 9 hours ago

RDCWorld voice: “I’M 47!!!”

thesagenibba

26 | 8 hours ago

set to retire before bron

DeKal760 | Lakers

6 | 7 hours ago

I was one year out of high school when he got drafted (i am almost exactly one year older than him), and i have been married twice, duvorced once, 4 kids, one of them being a freaking adult now, and could be a grandpa theoretically.

DoritoSteroid | Lakers

2 | 5 hours ago

Listen, I don’t need these reality checks on r/NBA buddy.

Yawu

41 | 14 hours ago

Old man version of Bron

NTwrites

20 | 11 hours ago

I want to sit under my own vine and fig tree, a moment alone in the shade. At home on the roster we made.

One last time.

TCTCTCTCTCTC7

118 | 16 hours ago

Luka and Reaves are averaging 66 points per game, which is a country mile ahead of the next best duo in the league.

64 points for a duo is second-best all-time, trailing only Chamberlain and Arizin’s 72 in 1962.

edit: Doncic and Reaves are currently at 64, not 66.

Also, Baylor and West averaged a combined 68 in that very same 1962 season, but Baylor only played 48 games. What a year 1962 was.

cletoreyes01 | Heat

24 | 7 hours ago

48 games

Breh you’re not doing that season justice, Elgin was a reservist called upon active duty and can only play during weekends with no practice with the team and still puts up 38/18/4 every time he had a chance to play.

Take notes Kawhi that’s how you become a part time player.

Morezingis | Timberwolves

50 | 16 hours ago

Move over Splash bros. The charity-stripe bros are Californias newest duo.

echtav | Lakers

2 | 3 hours ago

Floppy brothers?

Hyderabadi__Biryani | Minneapolis Lakers

27 | 16 hours ago

Which is the next duo?

srhdt

89 | 16 hours ago

It was mentioned by the LA commentators before the game. They didn’t say who the 2nd best was, only that they were averaging 53 points, 13 points below Luka/Austin. A cursory search leads me to believe it may be Joker/Murray.

Hyderabadi__Biryani | Minneapolis Lakers

38 | 16 hours ago

Yeah that would make sense. Thanks. AR for All Star?

Paranoides | Lakers

48 | 15 hours ago

The dude is averaging almost 30, he is an easy pick imo

DoobieGibson

3 | 10 hours ago

also averaging 76 minutes a game which is the highest of any two teammates in the league

OKCDraftPick2028 | Lakers

1037 | 18 hours ago

22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks for Ayton in 27 minutes.

He is getting that big contract next year

rburp | LAL

383 | 17 hours ago

Dude I love Deandre Ayton.

And I’m pleased with Jaxson Hayes in his proper role as a backup. Especially if he can keep the # of fouls in check.

What a turnaround at the 5 🙂.

flaming_burrito_ | Lakers

172 | 17 hours ago

He’s playing a lot smarter than he did last season for sure. I was skeptical about him as a backup, but he’s playing his role pretty well so far

Hyderabadi__Biryani | Minneapolis Lakers

71 | 16 hours ago

And makes assists too now.

madvisuals | Lakers

8 | 11 hours ago

McGee as an underrated passing big. Jax is trending in the right direction, though Javale was a way better rim protector.

unskilledtf2 | SAS

15 | 10 hours ago

what does javale mcgee have to do with anything

rburp | LAL

6 | 7 hours ago

He’s the ideal we believe that Jaxson should aspire to.

__sonder__ | Supersonics

3 | 5 hours ago

Probably the fact that he was on the team the last time they won the title

Longjumping_Club_115

43 | 15 hours ago

that mfer is one of the best in game dunkers this season. his leaps are so springy

Particular-Iron2798

10 | 11 hours ago

Yeah he’s very bouncy and fluid for a 7 footer. He can still improve a ton with the right mentality

Pikminious_Thrious | Lakers

21 | 15 hours ago

Yeah he’s earned the backup role for sure going forward given his synergy with Luka Reaves.

If he just keeps his head on straight this playoffs, I think he gets something around MLE level next year probably by the Lakers.

Ruffcuntclub

68 | 17 hours ago

Can lakers sign him and reaves?

TheIronGnat | Lakers

67 | 16 hours ago

Unless LeBron takes less/leaves/retires, it will be hard to sign them both and make the money work without killing our future prospects.

cHinzoo | Cavaliers

56 | 13 hours ago

LeBron should take less. Look at his contribution this game…

Duskuser | Lakers

45 | 13 hours ago

I know you’re just joking but like honestly I’m 95% sure that if he’s staying around after this season he’s going to be completely fine taking less now that we’re getting into genuinely uncharted territory with his age.

TCTCTCTCTCTC7

45 | 15 hours ago

The Lakers do not actually have much salary spent next season.

James Sr, Hachimura, Vincent, Kleber, and Hayes are all UFA, which is about $100 million combined ( because astonishingly Vincent and Kleber have 8 figure deals ).

Their books have only;

Doncic  $50M
Reaves   15M ( player option )
Vanderbilt 12M
Ayton    8M ( player option  )
LaRavia  6M
Smart    5M ( player option )
Knecht   4M
James, Jr  2M
Thiero    2M

Maert | Lakers

23 | 11 hours ago

Jeez Vando at 12m is quite a waste, he’s not been playing at all basically.

xmrjaredx | Lakers

13 | 17 hours ago

Probably not, no.

ThaRealSunGod | Lakers

57 | 16 hours ago

Not necessarily.

Ayton works really well in this system.

He’s spoken about how playing with lebron, Luka, and reaves make the game much easier for him.

Maybe he chases money, but he also might realize sticking with Luka and reaves on their timeline is what best suits his aspirations.

He could chase a bag, or being a key part of a perennial championship contender.

Reaves and Rui are in very similar positions.

GoodKidMadCity2 | Suns

26 | 15 hours ago

We shall see. His goal coming into the nba was to get to his second contract. I’m interested to see what he decides to do this offseason

Genestah | Lakers

25 | 15 hours ago

DA will absolutely take the highest bidder.

I can see AR taking a slightly lower contract than he deserves, but not DA.

Known-Ball-3536

2 | 11 hours ago

I can see Ayton taking a slight pay cut to stay in LA, unless he really doesn’t like living here. Importantly it’s not his first big extension and there’s literally no other team that can offer a better bball fit + potential for winning. Also his chemistry with these guys on the court surely matters, it’s just way easier to actually play bball on this team and he’s putting up great numbers and winning as a result. That isn’t meaningless. If this team doesn’t massively fail in the playoffs then I think he will want to stick around.

If some team offers like 2x what we do then yeah he’ll leave lol. It’s a good problem to have at this point.

SwizzGod | Lakers

39 | 16 hours ago

Yes they can

pokerawz | Lakers

4 | 17 hours ago

Why not? Bird rights

lalo1398 | Lakers Bandwagon

35 | 17 hours ago

No bird rights on Ayton

xmrjaredx | Lakers

7 | 17 hours ago

just don’t think the money will work. can’t imagine we keep both and stay under the 2nd apron

liftmedi

13 | 16 hours ago

This makes no sense lakers are expected to have $50-$60 million in space next season

Maxi, Gabe, Hayes, bron are all off the books. These players are around $75ish million lol

zeek215 | Lakers

5 | 16 hours ago

Even with LeBron off the books?

Pikminious_Thrious | Lakers

8 | 15 hours ago

Only if Lebron is gone.

Take out his 55m. Give 20 mil of that to Reaves to get him to 35 mil. Then you got 25 to 30 mil to give to Ayton. Not a giant bag but starter money in this new CBA environment.

username10400

8 | 13 hours ago

I don’t think the league would let Lebron retire without a retirement tour, the ratings and ticket prices they would miss if he retired quietly this offseason would be insane, he absolutely will be back for next year

XG32

7 | 16 hours ago

probably have to let ayton go, reaves is prio

Due-Stock2774 | Lakers

19 | 15 hours ago

Moving vandos $12M doesn’t sound so bad if it goes towards an Ayton raise/staying

Pikminious_Thrious | Lakers

2 | 15 hours ago

The problem is somehow taking him when he’s worthless right now other than as salady filler on a bad length contract

Past-Management-9669 | Lakers

30 | 17 hours ago

Well he keeps saying he’s a max player so to him nothing more than that. Hope he changes that attitude and be a key piece for a Lakers championship run.

Cough* Cough* the thunder implodes somehow and Jokic forgets to shoot like a demi god he is. But yah Lakers in 5 and the season barely started.

texasyeehaw | Slovenia

28 | 17 hours ago

Luka makes every center he plays with 1 tier higher than they should be.

ssracer | Suns

17 | 18 hours ago

That’s how it works

mr_boogieman | 24

20 | 17 hours ago

Seems like a no brainer then, lakers were smart to get such great value from him this year

PhasedVenturer

8 | 16 hours ago

lol bless you, Ayton played crazy his contract year with the Suns too and then…

eZreazy | Lakers

14 | 15 hours ago

Well I’m pretty sure there’s no way for us to get Ayton back unless he takes a massive paycut so I don’t think we have to worry about this just being a contract year. This is the only year we’ll have him so pop off and get that money DA.

This is like that Malik Monk season years ago when we had him at a minimum and knew we had no way of keeping him despite him being suc a great player for us.

HungerSTGF | Raptors

11 | 15 hours ago

what are the odds he loses his joy after landing a contract this time

fastheadcrab | Raptors

3 | 15 hours ago

Ayton seems like he really turned around his mentality this year. Whereas someone like Kuminga has not

Flat_Equal3438

3 | 14 hours ago

We won’t be able to give him that contract isn’t it

closing-the-thread | Lakers

541 | 18 hours ago

Snowtime!

^(our defense sucks)

Positive_Lychee_7736

186 | 18 hours ago

Smart should make it better when he comes back, LeBron as well since he was out tonight, but yea, decent is the ceiling for that defense

Remarkable_Act_2564

113 | 18 hours ago

Yes. Yes, it does.

Idk if anyone expected anything different tho

NavalEnthusiast | Thunder

21 | 9 hours ago

JJ’s work is cut out for him because I think even getting the defense to a top 15 unit can make LA the third best team in the west. Not saying he’s been doing a bad job, just that I wonder if he has the ability to elevate the defense beyond what talent he has.

He had that interesting look for a little bit where the lakers went on a defensive tear last season throwing a bunch of forwards at people but that wasn’t sustainable. Still was impressive that he came up with that at all

iPcFc

80 | 17 hours ago

The formula for the Lakers right now is, if we suck on defense, we just torch them on offense.

Kinda like in association football, it doesn’t matter how many goals you concede, it matters how many goals you net in.

DodoIsTheWord

91 | 16 hours ago

You could even go as far as to say the team with more points will win the game

Babu_the_Ocelot | NBA

19 | 14 hours ago

I can see why you’d say this, but I wouldn’t go that far.

Dry_Jelly5135

6 | 9 hours ago

If you guys would like to donate $50 million to me, I’ll get started on a 30 year study to get down to the bottom of this and find out if more points then an opponent truly does result in more wins

unskilledtf2 | SAS

4 | 10 hours ago

it’s certainly one of the biggest known indicators of who will end up winning

Maert | Lakers

3 | 11 hours ago

Big if true!

chunkyI0ver53 | Knicks

22 | 12 hours ago

Well since OKC are the obvious favourites, perhaps the Lakers have it all figured out by being mid on defense and unstoppable on offense. OKC hang their hat on defense but in the playoffs they had some bad stretches on offense. If the Lakers simply become undefendable and don’t try so hard on defense that OKC don’t end up at the line all game, perhaps they’ll just throw Marcus Smart on Shai and have the moneyball ass formula to creating a massive upset, outgunning OKC 150-145

Pacers & Denver more or less did this but with arguably less offensive firepower and took OKC to 7

This entire comment is insane cope OKC are gonna go 16-0 this playoffs lol

jakekerr | Lakers

6 | 9 hours ago

Someone posted about the OKC defense being about aggressive fouling (and I noticed it led to minimizing three pointers). Their strategy leans heavily on the assumption they’re facing a modern 3 point focused offense using screens and pick and rolls and kick outs. The only real way to get through that kind of defense is with a creator and passing magician, a Trae, a Luka, a Haliburton, or… a Reaves. So it will be interesting to see these two match up at full strength. I don’t think it’s an OKC gimme.

The_real_triple_P

6 | 16 hours ago

LA cream

40866892 | Lakers

367 | 18 hours ago

AR missing that free throw and not tying Luka’s point score was poetic justice. He was making fun of Luka for not making his free throws a couple games back, now the tables have turned. 😂

LA’s got their Batman & Robin & LeAlfred!!

3s2ng | Lakers

77 | 18 hours ago

We need Luka to make fun of him for that miss.

LovetheNBA23 | Lakers

59 | 18 hours ago

AR has become Nightwing.

Less-Tax5637 | Supersonics

20 | 17 hours ago

Knecht is Jason Todd lmao

OldOrder | Hawks

5 | 11 hours ago

Who is Damien?

Dry-Literature-5370

37 | 17 hours ago

He said it was on purpose to keep Luka’s confidence high so he didn’t outscore him 2 nights in a row 🤣

Nurtle94 | Lakers

5 | 18 hours ago

You realize. That was probably intentional. This sure as fuck ain’t thr first time a player (mj) missed on purpose

babyshaker1984 | POR

2 | 17 hours ago

This makes JJ Batgirl

IndoFountainPenner | Lakers

220 | 18 hours ago

It is time to have some All NBA conversations for Reaves

the_propaganda_panda | Celtics

244 | 18 hours ago

The conversation goes like this: He’s averaging 29/6/7 (67 TS%) on a 15-4 team. Top 10 in basically all advanced metrics. Yep, he’s All-NBA.

Insane that some people are even debating whether he’s an All-Star.

hausitron | Lakers

116 | 18 hours ago

The common argument is “the West is too crowded”. In reality, Austin is playing way better than several of the big names.

Conflict_NZ | Lakers

45 | 18 hours ago

The west doesn’t matter. The All Star game is international vs USA and All NBA doesn’t have conference requirements.

Jon_ofAllTrades

21 | 17 hours ago

I think the conferences still matter for the initial selection of all-stars. It’s only if one of the teams is then unbalanced that the NBA can appoint additional all-stars.

hausitron | Lakers

12 | 17 hours ago

Conference still matters actually. First, 12 players are selected from the West and East as usual. Then that pool of 24 players is separated into US and international players, with some extra all stars added if the result is not 16 US and 8 international players.

bootywizard42O | NBA

18 | 18 hours ago

I’ve said this in another comment but he’s got more of a chance of making All NBA over All Star lol. He’s not gonna get in over the legends like Bron, Steph, KD, Harden just because of popularity but he will have a good chance at All NBA because of the minimum game requirements.

Hyderabadi__Biryani | Minneapolis Lakers

11 | 16 hours ago

Given it’s US vs The World, you are telling me he’s not one of the top 15 US players in the NBA (or playing in any other leagues for that matter) atm? Atleast if we count the active players?

LeBron, Steph, KD, Brunson, ANT, my guy JB, KD (double counted here, as notified by the reply below), maybe Bridges, sure slot in Booker, Harden, Kwahi, heck even Paul George (although he’s been ass ofcourse), Embiid (been unavailable), Trae. These are 14 that come to mind. AR? Who is above him? MPJ?

Heck, several of the players above don’t even compare to AR this season, and even if they do, they are still worse/haven’t played a lot. I can filter the list to the following:

Steph, Harden, maybe Brunson, JB. And then AR.

Don’t believe me? Look across all major stats and AR is leading almost all of them over KD, Booker, ANT. Embiid and George don’t need to be talked about. Haven’t heard anything about Trae. Kwahi is not him this season. Bron has only played three games. Bridges? Haven’t heard much about him either.

People are still gonna vote for Steph, Harden, Brunson, JB, Bron, KD, ANT. Eighth is still AR.

GravityOfSituation | Kings

5 | 12 hours ago

You double counted KD

Hyderabadi__Biryani | Minneapolis Lakers

4 | 12 hours ago

Thanks!

bootywizard42O | NBA

2 | 8 hours ago

I forgot the All Star format is different this year, yeah he should make it in the current system.

3s2ng | Lakers

34 | 18 hours ago

He needs to be All-star first. If he keeps playing like this until after All star break then he needs to be an All-NBA.

CryptoNite90 | Lakers

4 | 15 hours ago

One thing is certain, AR’s playstyle is legit all star entertainment material more than a lot of All stars. He dribbles like he’s the professor and has acrobatic finishes that makes you ooh and aah.

He can cook even more against the fake all star game defense lol.

BigFatModeraterFupa | Minneapolis Lakers

18 | 18 hours ago

Austin Reaves has a confirmed All-Star spot confirmed this year right? He’s playing insane

Waste_Committee4406 | Pacers

214 | 18 hours ago

Reaves is either having an all time “hot streak” or the lakers have 3 all nba level ball handlers now lol

IMadeThisOn6-28-2015 | Lakers

185 | 18 hours ago

I was upset at the effort and lack of defense, but I think it’s understandable that they’re purposefully trying to conserve for tomorrow against a more competitive Suns team

SockVonPuppet

123 | 18 hours ago

I think it’s understandable that they’re purposefully trying to conserve for tomorrow against a more competitive Suns team

I dare you to say this to JJ Redick.

Nurtle94 | Lakers

19 | 18 hours ago

Actions=/=words. He was playing with rotations when. They up 20 at half yo.

No-Test6484 | Lakers

29 | 18 hours ago

Reaves and Luka are just ass on defense

BoneFistOP | NYK

19 | 16 hours ago

Luka is averaging more steals than jokic and has been constantly drawing charges. Insane box score watcher take.

sbenfsonwFFiF

6 | 9 hours ago

This is the most ironic comment I’ve seen in a long time

A box score watcher would point out Luka is averaging more steals and Reaves is drawing charges but anyone actually watching the games knows that the lakers overall defense is pretty porous in large part because of them

Jarxzz | United States

12 | 18 hours ago

I know laker fans love rui but he’s not a starter on a championship team unless he’s the only negative defender

The lakers will eventually swap him for an athletic defensive wing

hanacker | Japan

46 | 18 hours ago

No, Los Angeles needs all the Japanese pro athletes

im_a_lost_child

12 | 18 hours ago

ohtani to lakers for 2 hotdogs and maybe toss in 3-4 ketchup packets

-WingsForLife- | Lakers

4 | 16 hours ago

Ohtani will be all of the Lakers’ defense with his bat.

fernandopoejr | Lakers

2 | 15 hours ago

They need an MC for the shounen manga

ThaRealSunGod | Lakers

22 | 16 hours ago

Not a starter but we have desperately needed guys like him for years and he shouldn’t be swapped unless the return is a direct upgrade.

He’s one of the best 3pt shooter in the league this season. He can create his own shot and is low-key lethal from midrange.

Can’t just give him up because defense.

Many other players we should consider trading beforehand.

rjcarr | Supersonics

4 | 17 hours ago

I sometimes confuse Rui and LeBron because they have similar movement and a similar build. Why does Rui suck on defense if he’s LeBron-light? Is he just not nearly as athletic?

EzshenUltimate |

14 | 16 hours ago

Comparing athleticism to LeBron is quite something (even if he is 100 y/o). You cant really compare them like that just by looking at build.

In Rui’s case, it’s more of an agility and IQ problem. He just looks sorta slow and lost. The main upside is that he does what you would mainly expect for his build, which is his strength. This is shown when he defends taller players, like the “Jokic stopper” memes and the likes. He can’t exactly stuff them well but he has great spacial pressure.

millenniumpianist | Lakers

2 | 14 hours ago

Rui’s lateral movement is just bad

Myomyw | DET

2 | 14 hours ago

The real answer is LeBron is a savant and part of his defensive skill is knowing how the play is going to happen and having an instinct on where to be. I’ve watched him break up plays before players on the other team knew what was happening in their own offense. Hes seen so many reps that his instinct and reaction time are way more dialed in than most players. It offsets his aging (or has in the past, haven’t watched him this year yet).

TiredMillennialDad | Magic

25 | 18 hours ago

Still won the game. Beating bad teams is still a sign of a good team

frostieavalanche | Lakers

9 | 18 hours ago

Conserved energy just to play more minutes anyway ‘cuz they couldn’t put the game away

IMadeThisOn6-28-2015 | Lakers

12 | 17 hours ago

Minutes mean nothing if you’re just standing around or at a slow pace

xap31 | Warriors

160 | 18 hours ago

Ayton potential is unlocked.

rjcarr | Supersonics

81 | 17 hours ago

He’s more engaged than I’ve ever seen him play, even in his best PHO years. Not sure what caused it, other than it being a contract year and maybe being a little humbled. Or maybe it’s the blond streaks.

smaIl_talk | Lakers

63 | 16 hours ago

he was unlocked with CP so with 2 of the greatest passers of all time plus an additional elite passer available he has room to play his game. prob also doesn’t hate JJ like he did with monty

Due-Stock2774 | Lakers

39 | 15 hours ago

The team makes a conscious effort to gas him up. JJ said he figured early on DA responded better to positive reinforcement so he’s stuck with that approach.

Idk who took it to the level of making the ¹⁄₂ lion ¹⁄₂ Ayton face but that was a weird thing that came of it

madvisuals | Lakers

17 | 11 hours ago

So glad we landed JJ. That Uconn college coach woulda give DA depression

Cassandrae_Gemini | Slovenia

5 | 8 hours ago

Absolutely shocking that playing for a good organization with a coach that goes out of his way to support you/unlock your best skill level and with teammates who like you and help you would make a player play better!

Lmfao

crannogman_pride | Lakers

10 | 16 hours ago

Reaves, Ayton and Hayes all had at least twice as many points as shots. Luka would have too with a better second half. It all seems to be working.

youcantseemyname | Lakers

134 | 18 hours ago

Any team that wants their G-league squad to pop off, just play the Lakers. You will score at will.

joe4553

36 | 18 hours ago

Even G leaguers can score if nobody defends them.

Optimal-Talk3663

9 | 16 hours ago

The start of the 3rd, I thought Pelicans were going to make a run and win it. They were shooting a crazy high percentage

onelastnoodle

110 | 18 hours ago

Why wasn’t Adou given more mins?

mw19078 | Lakers

81 | 18 hours ago

just not a lot of room for him in the rotation right now unfortunately

pmurt007 | Lakers

153 | 18 hours ago

More like the team kept fucking around till the very end so our end of the bench guys couldn’t even get in.

mw19078 | Lakers

31 | 18 hours ago

even in blowouts he isnt getting minutes, theres just a ton of guys who play that spot who need minutes right now. i hope they let him develop cause come playoffs we need more than just smart playing defense

Nurtle94 | Lakers

23 | 18 hours ago

Trying to raise dk stock.

mw19078 | Lakers

33 | 17 hours ago

i think jj is really trying to get him his confidence back and a normal spot in the rotation, cause a consistent corner 3 guy would be huge for us. means adou is the odd man out most nights unfortunately.

Kokuhann23 | Lakers

13 | 18 hours ago

Put Adou instead of Dalton and we might see something happen for sure

TCTCTCTCTCTC7

5 | 15 hours ago

just not a lot of room for him in the rotation right now unfortunately

Why, because Maxi Kleber’s corpse required 13 minutes?

mw19078 | Lakers

8 | 15 hours ago

they have such dissimilar playstyles i dont really think kleber is the one taking his minutes

Due-Stock2774 | Lakers

14 | 17 hours ago

Well we got 13 minutes of cardio Kleber where he managed to airball a layup

MitchEatsYT | Lakers

8 | 15 hours ago

That was crazy lol the rim didn’t even block him he just finger rolled it backwards

Crafty-Border-7452

2 | 12 hours ago

Still a really undisciplined defender. Very jumpy on the court. Overreacts and foul prone. He came in and immediately fouled

yuhkih | Lakers

78 | 18 hours ago

Tbh I was surprised by saddiq bey. I didn’t think he would have much to offer anymore but he looked solid in this game

UnimpressedAsshole | Pelicans

44 | 18 hours ago

He’s been the Pels most consistent player, and probably been their player of the game more than anyone else this year. For better or worse.

thesqrrootof4is2

15 | 18 hours ago

Bey feels like a buy-low guy teams could check in on, hasn’t been on too many winning situations and could bolster some wing depth if NO is willing to deal him

KriticalKarl

8 | 17 hours ago

I agree, he’s also a decent 3 point shooting wing on a 6 million dollar contract. He’d be a nice bench wing target if the Pels would actually trade with us again.

madvisuals | Lakers

3 | 11 hours ago

I’ve been keen on Bey since his Pistons days

smaIl_talk | Lakers

70 | 18 hours ago

where’s the sleepy no effort bad teammate locker room cancer ayton I was told to expect?

Disgruntled_Fridge | Rockets

12 | 17 hours ago

I mean the defense does still sort of suck - but that’s not his fault lol

Agreeable-Bug-1761

3 | 7 hours ago

“Just wait”

suns fans

EatsCatShit | Lakers

53 | 18 hours ago

The Lakers play 0 defense.

mw19078 | Lakers

48 | 18 hours ago

without smart our defense is pretty horrendous. but it really does seem like they haven’t turned on the try hard meter quite enough yet either

FershureB | Minneapolis Lakers

29 | 18 hours ago

Don’t think they took this game seriously

eZreazy | Lakers

7 | 15 hours ago

we played pretty great defense first half and then it looked like we’re just here to hit some bullshit shots and call it a day lol.

GoodbyeToAWorld- | Lakers

48 | 18 hours ago

Lakers played no defense tonight but it looks like it was by design since they have a b2b tomorrow night. They were in cruise control basically the whole game, and they have the offense firepower to move through anything the Pelicans have to offer. Happy to get the W and keep them somewhat fresh for tomorrow

[deleted]

17 | 18 hours ago

You say that but those extra minutes caused Ayton to hurt his knee again

That’s why blowouts matter to keep starters off the floor

joco1991 | Lakers

39 | 18 hours ago

I like Jeremiah Fears

carelesssportsfan89 | Spurs

40 | 18 hours ago

Austin Reeves is balling out right now. his Improvement is remarkable. both Jeremiah fears and Derik queen were impressive tonight . good win by the lakers

[deleted]

23 | 18 hours ago

Queen was not impressive tonight lol he was literally one of the worst. He’s been good outside of tonight tho

Fears had a good game

40866892 | Lakers

5 | 18 hours ago

he can legitimately score 30 minimum against non playoff teams right now, every night as a baseline. I know he’s got another level and that’s what the team has to tap into to be annual playoff contenders.

Crafty-Border-7452

5 | 12 hours ago

I’m rooting for Queen but he was ass this game. Got blocked like 3 times and kept trying to force post ups. A lot of dumb fouls and he was getting bodied by Ayton on rebounds and defense. I get he’s not athletic but sometimes he doesn’t even get his hands up to contest in the post

TheRicFlairDrip | Mavericks

6 | 16 hours ago

Who does Jeremiah fear and who is Derik’s queen? Dont be so cryptic yo.

carelesssportsfan89 | Spurs

2 | 16 hours ago

There the rookies on the pelicans and have both being impressive this season so far in the debut seasons

Janlloyd

6 | 16 hours ago

come on man

chandlerossjoey | Lakers

36 | 18 hours ago

I hope Jeremiah Fears has a long NBA career ahead. Very fun to watch and got that dog in him.

Also Lakers need to get a spark plug off the bench. Just too top heavy. Also everyone outside of Luka, AR, and Rui are too afraid to shoot a lot of times. Not ideal.

TCTCTCTCTCTC7

10 | 15 hours ago

Also Lakers need to get a spark plug off the bench. Just too top heavy. Also everyone outside of Luka, AR, and Rui are too afraid to shoot a lot of times. Not ideal.

LaRavia got up 14 shots tonight, so that doesn’t seem to be a problem. Between him, Knecht, and Hayes, they attempted about ¹⁄₄ of the Lakers shots, which is just about what you want your bench doing.

naive-dragon | LAL

32 | 18 hours ago

Fears is a stud

NeptuneOW | Mavericks

21 | 18 hours ago

As a massive Luka fan I can’t help but be tough on his game sometimes. He takes too many 3s and doesn’t drive enough. He would be a more dangerous player if he drove more. He’s ultra efficient from the midrange, AND it opens up so much space for passes. It’s a win win. Chucking 3s over and over just takes away momentum and gives the opposing team free possessions.

GoodbyeToAWorld- | Lakers

25 | 18 hours ago

He’s been driving a ton this season. He’s shooting 3s like he has the last few games because now it’s actually falling. It also helps him not have to deal with anymore physicality than he needs to during the regular season.. He already gets roughed up enough during the games just bringing it up to half court. I’d rather he not get injured unnecessarily

NeptuneOW | Mavericks

3 | 17 hours ago

I could have sworn I’ve seen charts that his number of drives per game is at the lowest of his career

Western-Election-997 | Lakers

23 | 18 hours ago

Not many chances to drive he was getting doubled the entire second half

When he did get a chance to drive they just fouled him

WFDD9621

8 | 18 hours ago

Im pretty sure he wasnt really trying to do all that when they have another game tomorrow.

lawschoolthrowaway36 | Lakers

6 | 18 hours ago

He did in the 1Q but as he often does, was super inefficient rest of the game settling for jumpers

I’d hoped improved conditioning would mitigate that. Mostly hasn’t yet

3s2ng | Lakers

7 | 18 hours ago

He is not trying. He don’t need to work as hard knowing he can defer to AR. If you notice, if the game is on the line. He will try to slice the defense.

Shot-Manager-739

2 | 9 hours ago

This was against G-League Pelicans. AFter first quarter, he started doing trick shots. He literally didn’t even try.

incredibleamadeuscho | Lakers

25 | 18 hours ago

Austin Reaves should be a lock as an All Star.

Trick_Cup2195 | Warriors

19 | 18 hours ago

THEM WHITE BOYS ARE TOO MUCH

Babblerabla | Hawks

9 | 18 hours ago

They really are just a squad of quirked up white boys who will shoot you out the building

Renegadeforever2024 | Raptors

15 | 18 hours ago

ayton is a all star

Jspeed35 | Lakers

9 | 18 hours ago

You’re an all star

(Get your game on, go play)

DarthKookies

11 | 18 hours ago

The Grim Reaver takes yet another life

No-Alternative2897

8 | 18 hours ago

That’s some in game load management right there. They just stopped playing D the 2nd half.

Cul_what | Lakers

10 | 17 hours ago

Lakers defense sucks but them cold white bois can shoot the fucking ball so fuck it we ball lmao ^(I Would Still Like A Defensive Wing Please)

FinalFrash

7 | 18 hours ago

It would be interesting if either AR or Murray makes the All-Star team this year

ProgrammerNo8488

10 | 18 hours ago

Which Murray? AR is guaranteed to make it

FinalFrash

3 | 18 hours ago

Jamal. I think popular vote will be Luka and Curry.

orhantemerrut

4 | 18 hours ago

Conceding 120 points to the Pels third stringers is something to think about. The Lakers cannot seem to blow teams out.

hausitron | Lakers

9 | 18 hours ago

The Lakers stopped trying on defense after the first quarter. They could’ve flipped the switch defensively if they wanted to, but there was no need. They also have to save some energy for the b2b game tomorrow.

NoLagPlz | Lakers

4 | 18 hours ago

Despite their record, I’m not feeling too positive about the lakers, come playoff time. When teams are allowed to get more physical, and the soft fouls disappear, it’s going to be a struggle.

Irrichc | Lakers

4 | 17 hours ago

As it stands now their defense isn’t great. The teams up top all play pretty good defense and are at minimum top 10. We’re basically winning games behind great offense which normally does not fair out too well in the playoffs.

Hammii44 | Lakers

4 | 18 hours ago

Watching us build a cushion is so comforting (pun intended). Knowing we don’t have to worry about playing playoff basketball at the end of the regular season is nice too.

arinawe

9 | 18 hours ago

You are turning me on with all this couch talk

DoobieGibson

4 | 10 hours ago

playing Austin Reaves 39 minutes against the pelicans in november is disgusting

Major_Feature8873

3 | 18 hours ago

AR15 hooping!!

Ilikesporks_ | Lakers

3 | 18 hours ago

this game looked like it was about to become another case of us blowing a lead cause of how shit our defense is

thesqrrootof4is2

5 | 18 hours ago

It’s a mix of both Lakers having a bad defense but also just having bad habits of just coasting halfway to a big lead. Like for some reason they just take bad shots that aren’t in the flow in the offense sometimes and if your a bad defense already, you definitely had to execute well on the other end to mitigate what your giving up on the other end

Ilikesporks_ | Lakers

2 | 17 hours ago

yep, when the other team builds momentum we just take horrible shots and defer to luke or AR. i bet we probably give up the most 7+ point runs in the league besides the bottom of the barrel teams like the wizards

Dymatizeee | Knicks

2 | 17 hours ago

Austin Reeves and Norman Powell should make allstar team this year at this rate

Zealousideal-Tea-837

2 | 16 hours ago

Think the lakers are a solid wing from being real contenders .

ashishvp | Lakers

2 | 16 hours ago

Lmao we cannot afford this team next year unless Mark goes apeshit on the luxury tax.

Austin at 13m and Ayton at 8m that’s gonna change real quick.

lonelyocean7 | Lakers

2 | 15 hours ago

Man, trust me, it’s not as close to 10 point win

The Los Angeles Lakers (15-4) defeat the New Orleans Pelicans (3-18), 133-121.