Much of the meetings between the Lakers and Clippers in the LeBron James-Ty Lue era play out the same way.
I talked about this in the takeaways of my recap of this competition, but I wanted to expound on it a little. Very often, the Clippers play the game with more focus, more energy, more intensity and they execute at a higher level.
In many cases, the latter point is best seen in their 3-point shooting. Sunday, they connected on 11 3-pointers even though they missed a number of open looks.
But the biggest difference between the two camps lies in their identity. The Clippers have one, the Lakers don’t. This is a result of the Lakers having three head coaches since Lue took over for the Clippers.
Maybe Redick could be that guy for the Lakers, but the divide between the two teams was evident on Sunday.
So, let’s dive into loss. As always, ratings are based on each player’s expectations. A “B” rating represents that player’s average performance.
33 minutes, 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 9-14 FG, 1-3 3PT, 0-1 FT, -13
A strong second half from Rui helped turn a fairly unremarkable first half into a solid outing. This is not to take anything away from him because he was important during the false return in the second half.
The hope now is that this will be the spark for a series of good releases for the future.
Grade: A-
35 minutes, 25 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 9-20 FG, 2-6 3PT, 5-6 FT, -3
The lasting image of this one for LeBron will be the missed layups in the second half. As the Lakers came back, LeBron started shooting at the rim.
On the one hand, it’s brutal. On the other hand, maybe the Lakers shouldn’t put themselves in a situation where they have to be perfect to get back into a game.
This was a bit of a nasty game overall for LeBron and the shooting numbers show it. Still, it felt like one of the few bright spots of the evening.
Grade: B+
37 minutes, 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 5-14 FG, 0-1 3PT, 6-6 FT, -18
Well, that was about as bad as AD was this season.
Offensively, he was content with jumpers and not even open players. Eight of his 14 shots came at the free throw line or outside the paint. Uh.
And then defensively, he was just manhandled by Ivica Zubac. If you want to make the argument that the Lakers should trade for a center, just listen to this game tape.
Grade: D
23 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, -23
Quite a tough night from Christie, who has played his fewest minutes in a game since before Christmas. Defensively, he was in trouble, as evidenced by James Harden’s foul on a 3-point shot. His offensive numbers were also boosted by a late basket, as he was virtually a non-factor on that end.
Grade: C-
34 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 4-6 FG, 2-4 3PT, 4-4 FT, -16
The night started strong for Reaves, who was 4-6 from the field for 12 points with two rebounds and two assists in the first half.
You don’t have to be a genius to do the math on what that meant he had in the second half. The Clippers completely removed him from the game and made him a non-factor.
Grade: C-
22 minutes, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0-3 FG, 0-3 3PT, -6
DFS got some minutes that Max didn’t get because of his defense, but he still wasn’t that good on that end either. Sunday was also the fourth time in seven games that he made a shot from 3 points or less, which is difficult.
Grade: C
13 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2-2 FG, +4
Redick tried the Hayes-Davis frontcourt a bit in this one. But the problem is, Hayes doesn’t do any of the things you’d want a center to do alongside AD. Two rebounds is absurd.
Grade: D-
23 minutes, 4 points, 1 assist, 2-5 FT, 0-3 3PT, +0
He wasn’t good defensively. He wasn’t good offensively. The Lakers need to improve at the position, even with the way Vincent has been playing lately, relatively speaking.
Grade: D
16 minutes, 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3-4 FG, 2-3 3PT, 2-2 FT, +3
Knecht joined all the other Lakers to prepare defensively. But at least he knocked down a few jumpers? He made a fairly timely 3-pointer as part of an 11-0 run in the third quarter.
But he probably gave up as many points as he scored.
Grade: C+
Only minutes of trash time for these two, so no rating.
I don’t know what to think of Redick’s. The Lakers lacked open shots and let everyone pass him by. He tried putting different bodies on the defensive end and nothing worked.
It wasn’t great, but my anger was with the team on the field. It’s an imperfect list.
Grade: B-
Sunday’s DNPs: Trey Jemison, Shake Milton, Cam Reddish
Sunday inactives: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Armel Traore, Christian Wood, Jarred Vanderbilt
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
Support our sports cover in high school by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe nowOrange county…
The US State Department will use artificial intelligence to revoke the visas of foreign students…
The Mega Rocket Starship of SpaceX is making a test flight from Starbase to Boca…
The story is always the same: I get a new pair of sneakers and I…
"You have challenged Europe to intensify. You have challenged us to intensify Ukraine, for defense…