In a little back-to-back action, the Lakers couldn't hang on to their game against the Trail Blazers, falling 115-107. In the last 12 times Los Angeles and Portland have encountered each other, the Lakers walked away with the win 8 of those times. Tonight was a different story.
This was the first time these two teams have faced each other since the Lakers went 4-1 over Rip City in the first round of the NBA Finals. And while there were some similarities tonight compared to a few months ago, including a dominant LeBron James (29 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast), for the most part this was an entirely new matchup. Much of the newness is a result of the Purple and Gold's new personnel.
Among the Lake Show's new members, it was Dennis Schröder (24 pts, 4 ast) who added a sharp edge to the team's performance tonight. The new point guard galvanized the game and kept the fighting spirit among his teammates for his entire 36 minutes. No. 17 has proved to be a pass aficionado as well. Much like LeBron, Dennis has a deeper vision than the defenders and always finds a way to get the split pass past his opponents and into his teammates' hands in the paint. His energy tonight was not that of a man coming off a game a mere 24 hours ago.
And in similar fashion, King James kept the tempo. LeBron played more minutes tonight than he has in any other game so far this season, for 36 minutes he did not let up. LBJ was 3/7 from three, he was efficient under the rim, and always had his head on a swivel for the opportunity to toss a lob up at the rim.
Anthony Davis (13 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast) returned to the floor tonight after sitting out yesterday due to a calf contusion. The Brow made his presence known in the paint as he got back into the swing of play this evening. He was a regular recipient of both Bron and Schröder's dimes.
Coach Frank Vogel stated after the game that his squad looked as though they were "stuck in the mud" at times tonight. Playing two games in a row is no easy task. Even with a little fatigue, the Lake Show did some great things on the floor this evening. But ultimately Los Angeles struggled to shut down Damian Lillard (31 pts), Gary Trent Jr. (28 pts), and CJ McCollum (20 pts) in the second half of tonight's contest. Not only did Portland knock down shots around the perimeter, but they attacked the rim.
The team is on the road for the next week and a half and will face the Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday. Catch the Lake Show then.