The Lakers took an important step toward capturing the Pacific Division title, one of the NBA’s most prestigious awards.
Jokes aside, it is interesting how little divisions matter in the NBA. Because so many teams make the playoffs, the divisions are kind of useless. In the past, division winners were guaranteed home court advantage, but that would make the current seventh-seed Magic and the Lakers the third seeds in the conferences.
The problem doesn’t have a clear solution, but outside of local rivalries,
there isn’t much juice to these divisional games and never has been. Should the league make any changes? Should division standings have more of an impact on playoff seeding?
It feels like those games should matter more, but it’s unclear what that solution should be.
Anyway, the Lakers completely dominated in this one, as a team should when facing a Warriors side without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler or Kristaps Porzingis.
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.
Marcus Smart
29 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 foul, 3-6 FG, 2-4 3PT, +25
A very professional approach to this one from the team and Smart, who took this game seriously from the start with a strong defensive effort that helped them to an early lead.
Grade: B+
LeBron James
28 minutes, 22 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 7-13 FG, 4-6 3PT, 4-5 FT, +26
LeBron was sorely overdue for a good shooting night from three. In fact, he’s due for a whole lot of them in the stretch run of the season.
Grade: A
Deandre Ayton
20 minutes, 4 points, 10 rebounds, 2-5 FG, 0-2 FT, +14
The dominant win really overshadowed another poor showing from Ayton. I won’t harp on it too long to bring down the vibes, but there’s a growing argument for Hayes to take his starting spot.
Grade: C-
Austin Reaves
28 minutes, 18 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 7-11 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, +22
Reaves also needed a good game and had that in the first half. He was aggressive in attacking the rim and looked much closer to the version of Austin that opened the season.
Grade: A-
Luka Dončić
29 minutes, 26 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 9-17 FG, 4-9 3PT, 4-4 FT, +26
The Lakers led big in the first half despite Luka being largely a non-factor. He rectified that by hitting everything in the first four minutes of the third quarter. It was a very happy birthday for Luka.
Grade: A
Luke Kennard
27 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 6-10 FG, 4-7 3PT, +14
This was pretty safely Kennard’s best game as a Laker, and not just because he hit four threes. His ability to attack closeouts and finish at the rim remains a valuable asset.
Grade: A
Jaxson Hayes
15 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 foul, 3-4 FG, +18
Even if Hayes only played a short amount, it’s amazing how much different — and better — the offense looks with a center willing to roll hard to the rim and is a legitimate lob threat.
Grade: B
Jake LaRavia
27 minutes, 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 6-10 FG, 3-6 3PT, 0-3 FT, +14
A lot of role players had good games for the Lakers with LaRavia among them. Some of his stats came in garbage time, but he was also hitting shots when it mattered, including the three that emptied the benches for both teams.
Grade: A-
Jarred Vanderbilt
12 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1-4 FG, 0-1 3PT, -7
I appreciate Vando’s desire to posterize someone in garbage time. After he failed once, he kept at it and got one.
Grade: C+
Maxi Kleber
13 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3PT, -4
Another player who did most of his damage in garbage time. He had a nice finish over Draymond before then, though.
Grade: B+
Dalton Knecht, Kobe Bufkin
Two guys who saw some garbage time run. Bufkin got up five shots in six minutes. Admirable.
JJ Redick
A strong showing from JJ, but it was against the Warriors. Everyone should look good against the Warriors.
Grade: A
Saturday’s inactives: Rui Hachimura, Drew Timme, Nick Smith Jr., Bronny James, Adou Thiero, Chris Mañon
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
