Aloha,
This was a very needed win to stop the bleeding from that disappointing road trip. It didn’t really feel like we were ever in danger of losing this one. I really don’t know, what’s going on with the Suns. They have a lot of talent and they should be in panic mood, while battling just to make the play in. But it was the Lakers that brought the energy, especially on the defensive end.
I believe if we had everyone healthy except LeBron, we would still be a solid playoff team. With Luka demonstrating why he is a generational talent, we are always in the game. And add in Austin who is proving to be a quality 2nd option when needed. Add LeBron into the mix and we become a legit contender.
It really is our defense that has made us so dangerous. DFS, Vanderbilt and Gabe are all great defenders . And now we have added Goody to the group. JJ went out of his way to praise Goody’s defense on Booker who had a poor game. I am interested in what the rotation looks like. With Dalton’s offense also deserving of playing time. I am sure they will probably will cut Cam and added Goody but I think they will wait until right before the playoffs to see if there any injuries that need to be filled. I don’t know what happened to Cam. He has fallen out of the rotation and when he got playing time against the Nuggets, he was the only guy that played poorly.
Jackson continues to impress. I think he’s grown more than anyone else during the season. He has turned into quite a lob threat. But it’s not just that, he’s very good at sealing guys that allows the guards to get to the rim for layups. He just brings the energy that the others feed off of. We should be able to keep him. We have early bird rights and we could pay up to 12 mil, I don’t we will have to pay that much but he should be back next year. While we will need to add another decent center I don’t think they need a star. I’m not sure about Koloko. He has issues finishing lobs. He really needs to get better at that if he wants to make it.
Just a side note, watched the South Bay lakers and they have a couple of familiar faces on the team with Stanley Johnson and Cole Swider back. That was kind of cool to see.
We have a tough stretch coming up. The good news is we are tied in the loss column with The Nuggets, Griz and Rockets. So we need to get healthy quickly. I’m hoping we can have at least Rui back for the Nuggets game. It would have been nice to coast a little before the Playoffs but it doesn’t look like it will happen But we play the Thunder toward the end of the year. Hopefully they will be coasting. Hopefully we will continue to play this hard down the stretch. Go Lakers.