When the NBA made the schedule, they probably had a much different game in mind than the one that played out on Saturday.
On one side, Luka Dončić was out after a recent hamstring injury while, on the other side, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler both were out. That left Austin Reaves, who was still on a minutes restriction, and LeBron James against Draymond Green and…Pat Spencer?
It wasn’t exactly the star-studded showdown everyone had hoped for.
The Lakers weren’t great for much of the game but did enough to hold off the Warriors and come away with the win. Perhaps this should serve as another reminder to cherish every LeBron and Steph meeting we have left.
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, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 7 turnovers, 1 foul, 6-17 FG, 2-7 3PT, 6-7 FT, +7
While we should cherish the games, we should also probably forget this one. A really bizarre LeBron game where he was bad in the first half, fantastic for the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, then faded away again.
Grade: D+
Rui Hachimura
28 minutes, 18 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 turnover, 7-10 FG, 4-5 3PT, -6
This has been a gradual process, but we’re now at the point where, when Rui gets the ball swung to him for an open three, everyone just expects it to go in.
Grade: A-
Jaxson Hayes
20 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-4 FG, 0-1 FT, -6
It wasn’t an awful return for Hayes, but I still haven’t forgiven him for a dumb decision to tackle the Wizards mascot. And his explanation was pretty awful, too.
Grade: B
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Jake LaRavia
27 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-5 FG, 0-3 3PT, +2
It’s pretty clear at this point that LaRavia is going to mix in some stinkers like this with his scoring outbursts. Reaves will likely move into the starting lineup soon and it seems pretty clear LaRavia will be the one going to the bench.
Grade: D
Marcus Smart
33 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 8-9 FT, +7
The Lakers had a hole for a lead ballhandler who went to the foul line a bunch. Smart stepped into the void and got to the line often.
Grade: B+
Austin Reaves
24 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 6-7 FT, -1
It wasn’t quite as big of a scoring night as Thursday, but it also felt like he made more than five field goals, too. I guess every one of his field goals was a highlight play on Saturday. The Lakers looked significantly better with him on the floor.
Grade: A-
Jarred Vanderbilt
19 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-6 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-4 FT, +11
If Vando makes multiple threes, you almost certainly got a great game from him, which was the case on Saturday. He went toe-to-toe with Draymond Green at times and held his own. It was a really good rebounding night from him, too.
Grade: A
Luke Kennard
26 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, +4
A very encouraging debut for Kennard, who immediately showed his value to the team with his first touch as a Laker. As his comfort level and knowledge of the Lakers system grows, I expect his production will, too.
Maxi Kleber
28 minutes, 5 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, +12
After a standout game against the Sixers, Kleber parlayed it into another strong showing against the Warriors. The stats show a bit more of what he did in this contest, the biggest being him again leading the team in plus-minus.
Grade: A+
JJ Redick
Redick is really trying all he can defensively to get something out of this group. But even then, the Warriors were “breaking down” the zone defense with one pass leading to an open look from three. I also have to imagine that there was plenty of discussion about the Warriors and their offensive system, but just about every player on the court allowed a backdoor cut leading to a basket.
This team is just really, really bad defensively and I’m not sure how much blame I can place on Redick for that.
Also, he gets credit for not playing Gabe Vincent.
Grade: B+
Saturday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Drew Timme, Nick Smith Jr.
Saturday’s inactives: Luka Dončić, Adou Thiero, Chris Mañon, Deandre Ayton
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
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