Monday night’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic wasn’t exactly a work of art. The Lakers seemed to play at half intensity and half speed throughout, while the Magic were primed to pull off an upset.
The Lakers took an 11-point advantage early in the second quarter, but because of turnovers and untimely fouls, they gave up their lead and trailed by four at halftime. As has been the case in their first three games, they couldn’t defend the 3-point line: Orlando shot 44.4% from that distance while L.A. was 3-of-13 in the first half.
In the third quarter, Los Angeles was unable to shake Orlando, though much of the reason seemed self-inflicted. It lost in some key effort categories, such as rebounding, turnovers, second-chance points and fast-break points, but late in the game, it did just enough to escape with a 106-103 victory.
The Lakers’ big concerns — defensive rebounding, 3-point shooting and playing well when LeBron James is resting — remain. It is also clear they’re still out of sync, especially on the offensive end, as they had a number of unforced turnovers that resulted from players being a bit out of position to catch passes.
But at least now they can feel OK about themselves with a 2-2 record on the season heading into Wednesday’s contest versus the Los Angeles Clippers.
Anthony Davis: A
For the third straight game, Davis was dominant. He led the way in the first half with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and the Lakers made an effort to get Davis the ball in the low post more than they did in their first three games.
He continued controlling the game in the second half, and he finished with 26 points on 12-of-18 from the field, 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. With his help, Magic big man Paolo Banchero, last season’s Rookie of the Year, struggled, making four of 14 shots and scoring only nine points.
Taurean Prince: F
In the first four games of this season, it has been feast or famine for Prince. He played very well in L.A.’s first and third games, but tonight, he went just 1-of-4 from the field and managed just four points.
Austin Reaves: C/C-plus
After a horrible performance on Sunday versus the Sacramento Kings, Reaves played somewhat better against Orlando, but he didn’t play like his usual self. He shot 5-of-12 overall and 1-of-4 from 3-point range, and he finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.
There is some speculation that after playing well for Team USA during the FIBA World Cup over the summer, Reaves might be struggling because he’s fatigued. If that’s the case, head coach Darvin Ham will need to manage his minutes, which would give some bench players an opportunity to play a little more.
D'Angelo Russell: A-plus
After not shooting well in the Lakers’ first three games, Russell heated up on Monday. Other than Davis, he was their most consistent offensive producer on Monday, making 10 of 14 shot attempts and going 3-of-6 from downtown to score 28 points while dishing a team-high eight assists.
His 3-pointer with under two minutes to go put the Lakers up for good, 104-103, and his two free throws with 8.0 seconds remaining iced the victory.
LeBron James: C
James didn’t assert himself much in this game. He was 3-of-11 through three quarters, but he turned it up a notch to start the fourth quarter by making two quick buckets to start the period. Although he scored eight points in the period, he didn’t really impose his will as he did down the stretch of the last two games.
Still, he was credited with a blocked shot on Franz Wagner’s 3-point attempt with 6.1 seconds remaining that would’ve tied the game and possibly forced overtime.
James finished with 19 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes, although he also had five turnovers. His availability for this game was in question until less than an hour before tip-off, and perhaps he was just a little tired after playing 39 minutes last night in Sacramento.
Christian Wood: A-minus
Once again, Wood gave Los Angeles a lift off the bench in more than one area. He scored nine points on 3-of-6 shooting, but he also grabbed nine rebounds, blocked three shots and even added three assists in 27 minutes.
He only made one of his four 3-point attempts and two of his four free throw attempts, however, so there is some room for improvement for him. Nonetheless, he has definitely been a positive element for the Purple and Gold to start this season.
Gabe Vincent: B
Vincent finally made an offensive contribution by scoring nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and making his first 3-pointer of the regular season. He also added two assists and one steal, but unlike the first three games, he wasn’t on the floor for a good part of the fourth quarter, although he still managed to log 25 minutes.
Cam Reddish: C
Reddish had two rebounds, two assists and one steal, but he didn’t score a point in 14 minutes. If he wants to retain his playing time and spot in the rotation once Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura are cleared to play, he will have to make a significant contribution offensively, especially 3-point shooting.
Jaxson Hayes: C-minus
Hayes had two rebounds and committed two fouls in 10 minutes of playing time. It’s starting to look like perhaps he’s a marginal player in terms of impact, but he has the ability to be more than that, especially on the defensive end and by getting easy baskets at the rim if he hustles.
