A culture-setting, reference-point win
Lakers Game Observations: Game 8 @ Trail Blazers
Championship shape. Championship habits. Championship communication. Those were the words JJ Redick and his coaching staff put on the board during Lakers training camp.
The team caught some flack for it, even a bit of ridicule, with many questioning if this was just another preseason T-shirt slogan. But last night the Lakers showed how culture translates to wins. Because if there is such a thing as a culture win, this one surely was that.
An undermanned squad, without LeBron James and with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves sitting out on the second night of a back-to-back, went into Portland and pulled off an upset, beating a hungry and rested Blazers team 123–115.
Redick often refers to different moments during the season as “reference points.” This win was another huge one, a reminder he can point to anytime the Lakers start to slack off, showing how hard they can play and how hard they will have to if they want to challenge the Thunder, Rockets, and Nuggets in the West.
Today’s notes:
Outhustling the hardest-pressing team in the NBA (🎞️VIDEO)
Nick Smith Jr., the self-creating, off-the-bounce archetype you need on a night like this
Deandre Ayton 29/10/3 revenge game
The space behind the enemy front line
Bronny James playmaking... on both ends (🎞️VIDEO)
1-Outhustling the hardest-pressing team in the NBA (🎞️VIDEO)
The decision to rest Dončić and Reaves on a back-to-back with a short travel turnaround probably disappointed some, but it made sense in the context of an 82-game marathon season. Talent wins most games and especially the most important ones, but when you are up against a young, hungry team on a random Monday night, sometimes you have to match that energy with your rested, hungry end-of-bench players waiting for their chance.
Last night the gamble paid off for the Lakers, as they out-hustled a team that usually wins with pressure and force, and forced more turnovers than the team that forces the most in the NBA.
Several end-of-rotation players like Nick Smith Jr., Bronny James, and Dalton Knecht got extended minutes to prove they belong, and all did. But before I get to the heroes of this game, let me shine the light once again on the player who, in my view, has established himself as the heartbeat and trendsetter of the Lakers culture. I have said it before, Smart has always been one of my favorite players to watch. I have pointed out his game-changing plays several times this season, and last night he did it again.
Like he has done all season, Smart set the tone by sacrificing his body and diving for a loose ball in the third quarter, a play that in my opinion, set the tone for the entire second half. It is becoming contagious, because a couple of minutes later Jake LaRavia followed it up with the same kind of hustle play.
Smart did not have great individual stats and shot poorly, but his presence, showing by example what playing hard looks like, is invaluable for his younger Lakers teammates.
2-Nick Smith Jr., the self-creating, off-the-bounce archetype you need on a night like this
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