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In the final match of the four match season series between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs came out on top with a 133-120 victory which came down to the final minutes of the 4th quarter and clinched the season series 3-1.
The Spurs hosted the Lakers in their home and needed this victory to be relevant in the playoff contention race. They snapped their 2-game losing streak in what has been an abysmal performance for them this season.
As for the Lakers, they came into the game confident and filled with high morale as they were on a 4-game winning streak and the King was showing no signs on letting that win streak end.
Now let's have a look at 3 talking points after this grueling contest.
#1 The burden on LeBron’s shoulder
When LeBron fails to carry the Lakers on his shoulders especially in the 4th quarter they lose. Period. They lack any other guy who they could trust in the final minutes to do something of their own. It was very evident that even when the young unproven Lakers were given open looks in the final minutes they failed to convert them into easy threes.
Even in a loss, LeBron put in impressive numbers of 35pts, 8rebs, 11asts on 13-28 shooting. He completely dominated from the start and even racked in 23 points in the first half itself. But as he took a breather, all hell broke apart for the Lakers and they were never able to handle the flow of the game after that.
The Lakers were also missing their so-called 2nd guy in Brandon Ingram who may have been able to solve this problem of theirs but that wasn’t so.
#2 The lack of shooters on the Lakers' roster
It was a known fact from the beginning that the Lakers lack shooters and this will make them suffer a lot. But their President of basketball operations Magic Johnson said that they’re building their team the Boston Celtics way, and are building the team according to the needs of the playoffs.
So, instead of filling in shooters the team filled in non-shooters but important pieces [ according to Magic] like Lance Stephenson, Javale McGee, Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell Pope.
It was also assumed that Caldwell Pope will be the best support for LeBron as he’s the best shooter in the team. But until now Caldwell Pope is shooting 37% from the field and 33% from behind the arc. And most of the time during the final minutes the Lakers prefer to play Josh Hart and help LeBron in getting those gap or crucial open threes.
#3 The defense of both the teams
The match lacked defense from both the teams. If this is the sign of things to come then it is going to be a huge problem for both of them. This has been a very huge concern for the Spurs after losing arguably their best defensive player Dejounte Murray to a torn ACL for the whole season. Last year Murray was awarded an All-Defensive Second Team spot as well.
As for the Lakers, they lack consistency. And that’s fairly normal for a young team but not for a team who wants to contend for a playoff spot and potentially reach the Western Conference Finals as well. They give a lot of easy points and look lost on the defense a lot of times. A lot of that is due to team chemistry and cohesiveness as well. But, they will have to figure things out quickly if they want to make a serious run for the playoffs.
