The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t been this close to a .500 record since going 24-24 last season. The Lakers are looking good, with them now being only one game behind .500 at 33-34. All this while, LeBron James has been out for several games since injuring his ankle against the Dallas Mavericks.
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Tonight, against the Toronto Raptors, D’Angelo Russell made a statement comeback. He scored 28 points and was the spark in the fourth quarter. The third quarter was one of the worst performances the Lakers had all season, scoring only 7 points in the first 9 minutes of the third. Despite that, they managed to make a strong comeback.
All because of the bench performance. The Lakers won the game with their bench players outshining Toronto by scoring five times more than the Raptors’ bench. Austin Reaves and Dennis Schroeder combined for 41 points, with Rui Hachimura adding a further 16.
Analyst Skip Bayless was mighty impressed with the Purple and Gold’s showing.
Lakers win again, sparked by D’Lo’s return, Schroder’s crazy shotmaking. AD, ONLY 8 POINTS, didn’t matter. No LeBron, didn’t matter. I keep saying: DON’T COUNT OUT THE LAKERS IN THE WEST. ONLY 2 GAMES OUT OF THE 6 SEED. LOOK OUT ABOVE.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 11, 2023
Skip Bayless praises the Los Angeles Lakers while taking his customary potshot at LeBron James
There is no Skip Bayless without LeBron James. Whenever the Lakers play, there has to be one Bron-specific tweet in the barrage he puts up as live commentary. This time, he waited until the end of the game, reserving praise only after the game was finished.
After the trade deadline, Skip went into meltdown, visibly excited by the moves the Lakers pulled off. Getting rid of Russell Westbrook was his favorite part, and until now, his happiness was justified. The Clippers have been 2-5 since signing him, and the Lakers, get this, have been 8-3.
The Lakers, currently the second most in-form team in the West, have risen to the top of the defensive ratings. All of this is happening while Bron hasn’t been playing. This plays exactly into the narrative Skip wanted to build, and sometimes the stories write themselves.
“AD 8 points, Didn’t matter. No LeBron, Didn’t matter”. Words coming from a man who’s been a lifelong Laker hater. Uncharacteristic of Skip, but it looks like he is rooting for the purple and gold. Maybe Shannon Sharpe put him up to it!
Also Read: NBA Analyst Conjectures About Rift Between Anthony Davis and LeBron James
How good were the Lakers against Toronto?
The Lakers went down early in the first quarter, falling 15 points behind Toronto in the first few minutes of the game. From 25–10, they managed a terrific swing, bringing the score to 35–31. Much of the credit had to be given to Dennis Schroeder, who ran the offense tonight.
Toronto had a perfect strategy to shut down Anthony Davis, who only managed 8 points. After accumulating 33 in his previous 6, tonight was an aberration. Despite that, the Lakers dug deep into their bag of tricks and summoned a 10-point victory against the 2019 champions.
Austin Reaves is the perfect scoring guard for this current Lakers setup. He’s been fearless and is finally letting go of some of his inhibitions. The Lakers are a threat in the west, with or without LeBron James. He is just the icing on the cake at this point.
Skip’s been hyping LeBron up for the past month, saying he has no more excuses, and rightly so. If the Lakers continue to play this way, they will get to the playoffs, with or without LeBron James.
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