LeBron James and the Lakers haven’t always been a match made in heaven.
A generation of Kobe Bryant fans who viewed LeBron as the rival were now watching him suit up in purple and gold and forced to reckon
with it. Things haven’t been seamless for his time in Los Angeles, but it hasn’t stopped him from amazing feats as he fends off Father Time.
Thursday was another one of those games. The days sure seem to be counting down on his time in LA and it’s unclear how many more of these moments we have left. Even if it was against the lowly Mavs who are tanking. Even if it came in February in the final game before the All-Star break.
There’s a finite number of these performances remaining from LeBron. Don’t take them for granted.
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.
LeBron James
35 minutes, 28 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 10-20 FG, 2-7 3PT, 6-7 FT, +6
LeBron passes Karl Malone as the oldest player with a triple-double with this performance, both in Lakers and NBA history. We should do more to wipe Malone from history books.
Grade: A+
Rui Hachimura
35 minutes, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 9-13 FG, 3-4 3PT, +18
After getting back on track against the Bulls during the recent road trip, Rui has found his groove again. Over the last 10 games, he’s averaging 12.1 points per game, but doing it on 55.2% shooting from the field and 52.8% shooting from three.
Grade: A
Jaxson Hayes
34 minutes, 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 8-10 FG, +26
After starting the game with a Shaqtin’ moment, he bounced back well with a strong showing. Now to see what he has in store for the dunk contest.
Grade: A-
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Jake LaRavia
26 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-6 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-3 FT, +21
Jake’s 3-point shooting has fallen off a cliff. Already in a career-worst season shooting the ball from range, LaRavia went just 6-29 from three over the last nine games heading into the break. Here’s to hoping for some positive regression to wrap up the year.
Grade: B-
Marcus Smart
26 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 4-14 FG, 1-9 3PT, +6
I’ve probably said this before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but bad Marcus Smart games are very loud. That he finished this game with a positive plus-minus feels like a minor miracle. His six assists to zero turnovers is his only saving grace in this one.
Grade: C-
Austin Reaves
28 minutes, 18 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-10 FG, 1-3 3PT, 7-9 FT, +6
Austin really burst onto the scene in his return from injury before looking far more human the rest of this home stand. There’s nothing wrong with that. He just set the bar really high with that Sixers game.
Here’s to him getting a week to rest, reset and hit some golf balls before the home stretch.
Grade: B+
Luka Kennard
18 minutes, 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 3-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, 2-2 FT, +13
There were a number of things I expected Kennard to bring to the Lakers. Seven rebounds in one game was not one of them.
Grade: A-
Maxi Kleber
13 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3PT, -6
He’s performed admirably this week, but Kleber looked a lot like a third string center over the last three games.
Grade: C
Jarred Vanderbilt
17 minutes, 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3PT, +10
On the wave of Vando’s 3-point shooting this season, we went into the All-Star break on an upswing as he hit four of his nine attempts over the last four games. I do not expect that to carry over at all.
Grade: A-
Adou Thiero, Dalton Knecht, Bronny James, Drew Timme, Kobe Bufkin
Nothing of note from the garbage time group aside from a nice, athletic finish from Thiero.
JJ Redick
Whether it was a bit of rolling the dice or letting him try to get his triple-double, Redick kept LeBron in the game for the first 10:15 of the fourth. Reaves also played an eight-minute stretch during that segment, too.
It was a pretty low-intensity quarter, so it’s not quite like the playoffs. That unit also was putting the game to rest so it was a small thing. But when things are working, Redick will clearly stick with a lineup.
Grade: B+
Thursday’s inactives: Deandre Ayton, Luka Dončić, Nick Smith Jr., Chris Mañon
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
