Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers
Sports:Basketball
Anthony Davis, D'Angelo Russell Lead the Lakers to a 106-103 Win Over Magic.
2023-10-31
It wasn't pretty, but the Lakers got it done on the second night of a back-to-back, facing a much improved Orlando Magic team at the Crypt. Final score, 106-103, and on a night where LeBron James was present and game—but fairly inefficient and looked very much like a near-40 year old playing on consecutive nights—the Lakers needed Anthony Davis to be a scary, scary monster on the floor.
And man alive, he was terrifying, if you're a Magic fan.
26 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, a steal and three blocks. And perhaps even more importantly, Davis was everywhere on defense, looking every bit like the best player on that side of the ball in this or any other basketball league. But it wasn't just Davis. D'Angelo Russell, who has done just about everything else well in the early going except shoot from the perimeter, got the shot going on Monday. He was 10-14 from the floor (including 3-6 from downtown) en route to 28 points and eight assists. The flow of his game was strong, he set up teammates for success, and finally found a little of his own.
That he played well despite the tough results with the jumper was encouraging. If he can get back to his norms and keep the rest? Look out.
Christian Wood was also excellent, playing a huge role down the stretch on the glass and giving the Lakers length to combat the Magic. Wood hasn't scored in any prolific way as a Laker, but through four games has put out real effort defensively and is fitting in exactly as the Lakers had hoped. If the Lakers keep winning, likely Wood continues in this direction, because as Darvin Ham noted after the game, nobody wants to be the guy who starts chirping when things go well, or seems to be undermining success.
The Lakers are still waiting for Austin Reaves to get it going. Reaves was, technically at least, better on Monday night than Sunday, but overall is still performing well below expectations, and the Lakers/Reaves need to figure out why ASAP, because this thing is built with the idea Reaves will be a highly productive player. And the team's top end demands he be that guy, too.
Finally, Rui Hachimura has an eye contusion, suffered in Sunday's OT loss. That might have been the reason he didn't play late in Sunday's game.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: The Lakers win behind a monster, and much needed, game from A.D., who since the second half of the opener has been dominant.
SEGMENT 2: D'Angelo Russell has been very good. Reaves... not.
SEGMENT 3: Derek Fisher's non-high flyer act, and Christian Wood buying in.
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