Fast-Break Points

Joey Ramirez

The one word never associated with the Lakers: boring.

On and off the floor, the Lakers keep it interesting, from unique skill sets and backgrounds to off-court chemistry and the latest kicks.

Here’s a quick run-through of another week with the Lake Show.

1) JaVale’s flu game (in Michael’s house)
JaVale McGee went into warrior mode for the Lakers’ win over Charlotte, putting together an impressive performance despite being drained by the flu.

McGee — who had to take an IV drip before the game — did much more than just participate, dropping 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting with three blocks.

McGee’s value has been obvious, as the Lakers have lost back-to-back games since the flu has gotten the better of him.

But he powered through that Charlotte game to deliver victory with Hornets owner Michael Jordan — hero of the NBA’s most iconic flu game — in attendance. And JaVale had some fun with that fact after, posting an image of him and LeBron James edited onto the famous photo of MJ and Scottie Pippen.

2) Lance’s pregame show
“Practice how you play” is an old basketball adage. If there’s one player brash enough to break out the following crazy shots in a game, it’s Lance Stephenson.

Lance shared some footage from the Lakers’ warmups in Washington, where he broke out a couple of on-brand trick shots.

There was a casual, over-the-shoulder bank shot that earned a double-take from Kyle Kuzma, but the follow-up might have been even better.

Standing at the free throw line, Stephenson bounced the ball behind his back, off the glass and into the cup.

3) Hart showing heart
Josh Hart lost control of the ball on a fast-break in Charlotte, and he made up for it in the most Josh Hart way possible.

First he saved the ball from going out of bounds, falling head-first over a row of seats in the process. But Hart wasn’t done with the hustle plays on this possession.

He rejoined the action just in time to hit the glass, getting up and punching an offensive rebound out to a teammate to give the Lakers yet another chance.

4) Meanwhile, in El Segundo…
With their teammates on the road, Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram were back home rehabbing from their respective injuries by practicing with the South Bay Lakers.

Rondo embraced his sessions with the G League affiliate by participating in one of South Bay’s traditions.

Rondo might have topped Bonga with this one, getting the whole squad fired up.

5) The King’s dominance against the Queen City
LeBron James won his first game with the Lakers against Charlotte, but that was hardly a new development.

James has, incredibly, won 31 of his last 32 games against the Hornets — a run of dominance impressive even by his all-time-great standards. (Kemba Walker, Charlotte’s all-time scoring leader, is 0-27 head-to-head against LeBron.)

How long has this stretch lasted? The first game was between the Heat and the Bobcats. LeBron changed teams twice since then, while Charlotte changed its entire team identity.

The run started on Nov. 19, 2010, which was also the release date for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One.” Since then, we’ve gotten three more Potter films, and LeBron still hasn’t let up on Charlotte.

And James has more than just win against Charlotte. In 2014, he dropped a career-high 61 points on the then-Bobcats. A month later, he swept them out of the playoffs.

Maybe Charlotteans will be able to appreciate him better when he isn’t playing their team in February, when he is expected to return for the NBA All-Star Game.

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Did You Miss This? Quick Hits from the Lakers' Week (12/19/18)

1) Kyle Kuzma: Master of the Mystic Shots
Since he first stepped on an NBA court, Kyle Kuzma has busied himself by filling his highlight tape with high-difficulty shots.

But his best of the week is probably his “Kuzmamba Mode” shot from behind the backboard in Memphis. Kuz went ahead and texted the clip to the godfather of tough shots: Kobe Bryant.

“Made sure he saw that,” Kuzma said with a grin. “He just laughed.”

2) The day the country met LeBron
Wednesday was the 16th anniversary of the day that a high schooler named LeBron James played his first game on national TV.

LeBron may not be a teenager anymore (no matter what the Spurs say), but he’s still just a kid from Akron.

3) Bron Targeting the Big
Iso ball gets a bad rap, but not the way the Lakers play it.

The four-time MVP has averaged the fourth-most isolation points (4.6) and is also fourth in efficiency (1.06 ppp) among the 28 players with at least 60 iso possessions.

LeBron torched Houston’s switch-heavy defense with his isolation prowess by constantly getting center Clint Capela to match up against him.

James flambéed that matchup, providing six buckets with an assist when guarded by Capela.

4) Space Jam Lance
Lance Stephenson wasn’t afraid to show his sense of humor following an ill-fated dunk attempt in Memphis.

While he failed to posterize Marc Gasol, he did win on Instagram, jokingly comparing his flight to Michael Jordan’s half-court dunk at the end of “Space Jam.”

(And hey maybe he does have a point about #thisisafoul considering Gasol’s feet inside the restricted area.)

Besides, years from now his family will never know the difference if he takes some advice from LeBron, who commented to “Tell your kids and grandkids when they are older that u made this one.”

5) The Andre Ingram legend continues
Is there a better story in basketball than that of Andre Ingram — the 10-year G League veteran who finally got his shot in the NBA last year and shined for the Lakers?

Well, Andre isn’t done. This year, he returned to the South Bay Lakers and has already provided another memorable moment.

Down by one against Santa Cruz, Ingram capped his 24-point night by sinking a floater with 1.5 seconds left to deliver victory.

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Fast-Break Points: Quick Hits from the Lakers' Week (12/14/18)

1) Playing with Hart
Josh Hart’s impact often isn’t reflected in the box score, and that has been true over the Lakers’ recent three-game win streak.

2) The Denzel Era
The Lakers had lost back-to-back games before receiving a visit from Denzel Washington, who spoke  to the team as part of the “Lakers Genius Talks” series.

Since then, the Lakers have won three straight, with the “Remember the Titans” star sitting courtside for Sunday’s comeback against the Suns.

3) King of layups
LeBron James can get to the bucket whenever he wants.

James has made 94 layups this season, second among all players behind only Enes Kanter (100). And the scary part is that James has room to get better in this department.

He has shot 62.0 percent on layups, down from 68.3 last season and 70.8 the year before.

However, he is trending upward, hitting two-thirds of his layup attempts over the Lakers’ last five games.

There is also a positive reason for James’ dip in layup efficiency: He has been busy cramming the ball into the hoop, with 33 dunks on the year.

4) Flint vs. Flint
There weren’t many silver linings for the Lakers after suffering their biggest loss of the season in Denver.

But Kyle Kuzma was able to win a couple of mano-a-mano battles with his lifelong best friend, Monte Morris, as the Flint, Michigan, natives switched onto each other a couple times.

Kuzma backed Morris all the way down to the bucket on offense and rejected him on defense — something that certainly didn’t go unnoticed by his second-grade classmate.

5) It just means Moe
Moe Wagner has been waiting for his opportunity, spending time with both the Los Angeles and South Bay Lakers this season.

Wagner finally scored his first points in the NBA on Sunday, finishing with 10 in the win over Phoenix.

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Fast-Break Points: Quick Hits from the Lakers' Week (12/2/18)

1) Point guard picks are all the rage
Most point guards aren’t used to setting screens, but the Lakers love to flip pick-and-roll responsibilities when it comes to putting the ball in LeBron James’ hands.

Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rondo have combined for 14 screen assists (despite the latter’s three-game suspension), which are the league’s fourth-most between a pair of guard teammates.

“Size-wise we feel like we can gain an advantage,” Luke Walton said. “Most point guards aren’t willing to switch onto LeBron, so there’s confusion caused by two people trying to figure out how to keep him in front of them.”

Now Ball is starting to get in on the fun, as he freed James for a trio of triples versus Atlanta.

2) Mount Rushmore all at once
No team in sports has a celebrity row that rivals the Lakers’, and the purple and gold’s most famous supporters were all on hand when they beat the Wolves.

Fans at STAPLES Center went wild as the camera cut from Will Ferrell to Denzel Washington to Jack Nicholson, all sitting courtside.

3) Josh Barkley is a big man in disguise
Josh Hart was dubbed “Josh Barkley” midway through his rookie season, as the 6’5” shooting guard started gobbling rebounds a la Charles Barkley.

This year, Hart has added impressive post defense to his big-man repertoire. The Lakers have frequently used him as an ultra-small-ball power forward, and the results have been frustrating for opposing bigs thinking it’s a mismatch.

4) Hart style catching on
Hart’s been attracting some attention on the court and off.

“The Office” superfan arrived to the Lakers’ Halloween game dressed as Dunder Mifflin assistant to the regional manager Dwight Schrute, and showed up to another contest rocking a Scott’s Tots t-shirt (college tuition not included).

5) Tyson’s immediate impact
For a guy who has scored nine points in three games as a Laker, Tyson Chandler has made a massive impact on his new team.

And, according to Rondo, he has been “by far the best pick-setter we have.”

But, of course, his biggest contribution thus far came on a game-saving block, as Chandler swatted a red-hot Trae Young at the final second of the Lakers’ victory over Atlanta.

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Fast-Break Points: Quick Hits of the Lakers' Week (11/12/18)

1) Randle dealing dimes
Julius Randle’s assertion as the focal point of the Lakers’ offense has been well-documented. Since the All-Star Break, he is one of just six players in the NBA averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

While his scoring and rebounding have received deserved praise, Randle’s passing can oftentimes go under the radar.

Randle has been a beast in the post lately, which draws from his understanding that few players can handle his strength when he decides to be physical. He has also shown intelligence since opponents have started throwing double teams his way.

He has a knack for backing down his man, while monitoring the rest of the floor for an opposing defender to grow overly concerned with Randle in the post.

When the help defender finally commits to doubling or falls asleep on the weak side, Randle consistently finds an open shooter or cutter. Over his last 19 games, Randle’s 19 assists off post-ups are second in the league, trailing only veteran post Maester Zach Randolph.

2) Kuz playing with the sliders up
Kyle Kuzma has snapped out of a two-month shooting slump that saw him hit just 38.6 percent from the field and 31.8 percent on 3’s from post-Christmas through early March.

Over his last two games, those clips have ballooned to 48.9 and 38.9 percent, respectively, as he has once again found his knack for tough shot-making — something that became one of his hallmarks early in the season.

Just a rookie, Kuzma already has a veteran feel for how to make something out of nothing.

In his last two appearances alone, he has provided:
- A Eurostep layup
- A  crunch-time hook shot on the move
- An and-1 hook shot after a crossover
- A drifting jumper while falling to the ground

3) Future analyst Josh Hart
A fractured hand has Josh Hart left in Los Angeles during the current road trip, but the rookie is keeping busy.

On Monday, he guest starred on ESPN’s “SportsNation” in Downtown L.A. before hustling back to El Segundo in order to join the studio coverage for the Lakers’ game on Spectrum SportsNet.

Hart provided insight on several fronts, but his biggest contribution may have been his impression of Brook Lopez petitioning for a foul call.

4) Brook getting in on the switching
Lopez might have gotten roasted by his own teammate, but the same can’t be said for opponents.

Other teams have tried to find mismatches in the Lakers’ switch-heavy defense, and Lopez — a 7-footer not known for his wheels — would seem like a likely target.

But Lopez has been surprisingly good staying in front of guards and wings, and is about league-average when it comes to isolation defense, according to NBA.com data.

Lopez survived a couple of possessions when switched onto the most dominant player in the world, LeBron James, and recently won a dance-off with dribble-happy Lance Stephenson, who was forced to pass the ball after failing to shake off the Lakers’ center.

5) Welcome back, Riles
It has been 28 years since Pat Riley was the coach of the Lakers, but you wouldn’t know that given the roar from the STAPLES Center crowd when he was shown on the video board during his recent visit with Miami.

A member of the Heat organization since 1995, Riley nonetheless received a hero’s welcome in Los Angeles.

Winning four championships for the Lakers isn’t something fans tend to forget.

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Fast-Break Points: Quick Hits of the Lakers' Week (3/20/18)

1) That Zo-Zu connection
In Lonzo Ball’s two games since returning from injury, he has found a nice chemistry with Ivica Zubac, who has soaked up the frontcourt minutes made available by trading Larry Nance Jr.

In only 19 minutes on the floor together, Ball has hit Zubac for four assists, plus three more passes that led directly to free throws for the big guy.

Zubac is making the most of his opportunity, shooting a robust 20-of-25 from the field in his last four appearances. It helps having a point guard like Ball, who can put him in good positions down low.

The above Twitter thread received a lot of attention for the Atlanta Hawks trying to paint Lakers fans as living in the past.

First, who doesn’t love a good throwback jersey? Guarantee there are people who rock Dominique Wilkins and Dikembe Mutombo jerseys to every Hawks game.

Second, the thread really is more of a testament to how the Lakers’ massive fan base can make a game on the other side of the country feel like it’s at STAPLES Center.

The fact that there were people wearing the jerseys of Kobe Bryant, Nick Van Exel, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper and Shaquille O’Neal goes to show how decades of success has led to one of the largest collection of sports fans in the world.

And those fans made themselves heard at the end of a 19-point rout, filling the visiting arena with chants of “Let’s go Lakers!” as the clock ran out.

3) Lopez in the driver’s seat
The Lakers’ most efficient driver is probably one of the last players you would suspect.

But here he is, all seven feet of him. Brook Lopez is shooting a team-best 57.9 percent on drives (33-of-57).

The Lakers have plenty of good slashers on their team — including Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart — but Lopez sports the highest percentage, and ranks third among the league’s centers behind only Karl-Anthony Towns (59.8) and Kelly Olynyk (59.5).

Opponents know that Lopez has a perpetual green light from 3-point range, so he smartly takes advantage when they sell out to contest the triple by attacking their closeouts with his rumbling, herky-jerky driving style.

It’s an interesting wrinkle to the league’s fastest-paced team: a 7-footer who routinely schools defenders by shifting down into first gear and sauntering in for a bucket.

Lakers color commentator Stu Lantz called it a “flat tire.”

With less than eight minutes remaining in Sacramento, Isaiah Thomas had to come out of the game when his shoe literally fell apart on him.

But IT checked back into a tied game a minute later and had little trouble adjusting to his backup pair of Kobes. He handed out three assists in the final seven minutes and hit four clutch free throws, helping the Lakers to victory up in NorCal.

5) Surprise screens
Speaking of Thomas, the shortest player in the NBA has unexpectedly been one of the most effective screeners on the team.

At 5-foot-9, Thomas has done a nice job of surprising guys a foot or more taller by popping in sneaky picks that give teammates open paths to the basket or opportunities to step out for 3.

Coach Luke Walton has done a nice job of drawing up plays for Thomas to catch players off guard with back screens, and Thomas himself has shown an understanding for when to improvise and set a pick on a defender falling asleep.

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Fast-Break Points: Quick Hits of the Lakers' Week (2/28/18)

The one word never associated with the Lakers: boring.
On and off the floor, the Lakers keep it interesting, from unique skill sets and backgrounds to off-court chemistry and the latest kicks.
Here’s a quick run-through of another week with the Lake Show.

1) Ingram from downtown
Brandon Ingram is in the hottest 3-point-shooting stretch of his young career. The sophomore has drilled nine of his 11 attempts from deep over the last three games, and is now up to 39.3 percent across the entire season.

Part of the reason for Ingram’s success has been the quality of the looks he has been taking — all catch-and-shoot attempts that he might have passed on earlier this year.

Coach Luke Walton also thinks that Ingram’s hot hand has to do with his role as the team’s point forward. According to Walton, it helps shooters when they are engaged in other aspects of the game, and Ingram has been constantly busy between directing the offense, defending opposing point guards and his many other responsibilities.

“He’s shooting the ball with extreme confidence right now,” Walton said. “He’s not taking bad 3s. They’re normally inside-out type of shots or swing-swing shots.”

2) Sneaky buckets
Speaking of Ingram, the Lakers have devised a crafty way of getting him to the basket using an old play they used to run for Marcelo Huertas and Lou Williams last year.

It’s a simple action, as Julius Randle or Kyle Kuzma posts up far from the basket while Ingram saunters into the lane.

With the ball out on the perimeter and Ingram jogging nonchalantly, the defense tends to fall asleep, and all that’s left is a pinpoint pass and easy finish at the cup.

3) IT destiny?
Becoming a Laker has special significance for Isaiah Thomas.

“I’m a lifelong Laker fan,” he said. “My family’s from Inglewood, California, so I was brainwashed into being a Lakers fan as a young boy.”

In fact, Thomas’ name even has origins from his family’s fandom. In 1988, his father, James, bet his close friend that the Lakers would beat the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals. When the purple and gold lost, James had to name his son “Isaiah,” in reference to Pistons star Isiah Thomas.

Ironically, a month before being traded to the Lakers, Isaiah posted an Instagram tribute to his pops.

And what’s that James is wearing? A Lakers cap and a Magic Johnson jersey.

4) Luke getting his guys open
One of the most impressive aspects of Luke Walton’s coaching is his ability to draw up 3-point looks for his shooters. In particular, he has done an impressive job of putting stretch center Brook Lopez into ideal situations.

Below is a fine example of the, as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope acts like he’s going to use a baseline screen from Ingram before faking like he’s going around another pick from Lopez.

But it turns out KCP was the screener the entire time, as he leans on Dallas’ center while Lopez pops out for the triple with nobody even close to him.

5) D-Wade’s got jokes
Recently traded alongside Thomas, Channing Frye made sure to get a lift in when NBA TV visited the UCLA Health Training Center during his first practice with the Lakers.

But Frye’s former teammate from Cleveland, Dwyane Wade, put his guy on blast by saying it’s all for the cameras.

Frye took it in stride, acknowledging the need for a beach bod in the South Bay.

Fast‑Break Points