It’s been a while since the Lakers have had a team as fun as this one, even if it is only November.
No Luka Dončić? No problem. No Austin Reaves? No problem. No Luka OR Austin? No problem. No matter the circumstances, this team just keeps chugging away.
Everyone talks about a “next man up” mentality, but this team is showing it. When one guy goes down, everyone picks up the rope together and keeps on fighting. To see this in November while knowing there’s so much more room for this team to grow this season
is such an exciting feeling.
So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Ziaire Williams
28 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, 5-10 FG, 2-5 3PT, +5
It’s hard to believe the Lakers are paying Ziaire and Matisse less than $5 million combined this season. If it were a serious award, Ziaire would have a great case for Most Improved Player. He went from empty stats in Brooklyn to key role player on a contender.
Grade: B+
Jake LaRavia
32 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 5 fouls, 3 turnovers, 2-6 FG, 0-1 3PT, +0
I will forgive him for that missed dunk late because he’s always flying around the court doing things. Some of it is bad, evidenced by his five fouls, but most of it is good.
Grade: B
Walker Kessler
30 minutes, 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 4 turnovers, 8-12 FG, 5-6 FT, -3
Kessler got to show off some of his playmaking chops in the last two games and has had some great passes out of the short roll lately. You can see the chemistry being built in those situations.
Grade: A
Matisse Thybulle
23 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2-5 FG, 2-5 3PT, -3
Early in the season, we were joking about Matisse only taking no-dip threes. Well, he’s started dipping on them and they aren’t going in. At least he made the most important one in the fourth tonight.
Grade: B
Luka Dončić
39 minutes, 32 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 2 fouls, 6 turnovers, 11-22 FG, 3-11 3PT, 7-7 FT, +4
It never felt like Luka got in a rhythm in this game and then you look at the stat sheet and he nearly has a triple-double. Still, it didn’t feel like he had the same impact on the game that he’s had recently, but if he can still give you this stat line on a night like that, then it’s another feather in the cap of him being the best player in the league.
Grade: A-
Sandro Mamukelashvili
32 minutes, 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 7-13 FG, 5-8 3PT, 4-4 FT, +20
Without question, this is his best game as a Laker. He was knocking down open threes and, perhaps more importantly, getting baskets when Luka sat. After a string of poor outings, he picked a good time to have his best one.
Grade: A+
Collin Sexton
26 minutes, 18 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1 turnover, 6-11 FG, 3-4 3PT, 3-6 FT, +7
The sample size of bad Sexton games is still bigger than the one of good games. However, the Lakers don’t win either of these last two games without Sexton. He stepped up with arguably his two best showings of the season when the Lakers needed another ballhandler to come in and be a positive contributor.
This also was the first game you could really see the chemistry between Sexton and Kessler, too.
Grade: A
Jarred Vanderbilt
13 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 2-2 FG, +7
The last two games, Vando has had a couple of nice finishes around the rim. It’d be really cool if that was a sign of something moving forward, but I’ll just enjoy what we’ve seen instead of getting my hopes up.
Grade: B
Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero
It’s exciting to see the team’s possible future getting playing time this season. Thiero continues to impress in his few minutes while Carr didn’t look out of place in his two cameos, either. Both should continue getting minutes, though Carr is a bit lower on the depth chart right now.
JJ Redick
The Lakers just had arguably their two best wins of the season on a back-to-back while shorthanded in both, so Redick is getting a ton of credit. He’s picking the right lineups, keeping guys ready and helping the team continue to improve along the way.
Grade: A
Monday’s DNPs: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, Kevon Looney, Lawson Lovering
Monday’s inactives: Austin Reaves, Quentin Grimes
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
