We hardly knew ye. Not the performance spectacle that is Kanye, the Olde English ye, by the way. I know, it gets confusing sometimes. But yes, the Lakers, they’re dead, Jim. You know it’s true because I’ve used a Star Trek quote. But look, I could be wrong, after all, the injury LeBron James suffered in the win against the Mavs didn’t prevent him from finishing the game. However, Shams Charania tweeted late last night that there’s a fear in the front office that he’s likely to miss an extended period of time, putting a damper on this new iteration of the Lakers that seemed to be putting it together the last few weeks. And I could still be wrong!
This post-trade deadline roster could still have enough wins in them to scrape a low-seed or play-in as the west looks like an absolute bloodbath, sans the few top spots. But, you know, this equation still needs Anthony “Day-to-day” Davis to stay healthy and carry the team. Not impossible, but not something you’d want to bet on. So as the season starts winding down, it’ll be interesting to see how the Lakers adapt, but maybe there’s a lesson to be learned. Maybe help out your superstar earlier so he doesn’t have to average 40+ minutes at the age of 40? Let Pelinka cook you say? Does that include cooking LeBron? Just saying…
Here’s what else I saw during last night’s minor slate of games:
Terry Rozier – 38 MIN, 9-19 FG, 3-8 3PT, 1-1 FT, 3 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 TO, +11, 22 PTS. Jazz better look out, Hornets have now won five straight to take the lead in how not to tank for Wemby.
Hamidou Diallo – 33 MIN, 10-15 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-6 FT, 3 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 1 TO, -11, 23 PTS. Diallo seems to have great energy, hustles and provides a spark off the bench. Can he be more? He’ll have to work on his shooting outside the paint, but there could be something here.
Tobias Harris – 35 MIN, 1-4 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2 TO, +6, 2 PTS. Four shots in 35 minutes? This dude and Ben Simmons are getting $40 million a year each, just FYI.
Jimmy Butler – 32 MIN, 9-14 FG, 1-1 3PT, 4-6 FT, 11 REB, 9 AST, 4 STL, 3 TO, -1, 23 PTS. Doesn’t matter if the Heat are in a slump or a losing streak. They’ll still somehow always beat the Sixers.
Josh Hart – 27 MIN, 5-8 FG, 2-3 3PT, 5 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, +15, 12 PTS. I’m pretty sure Knicks fans hated losing a late 1st round pick for Hart, but really, that pick would just end up being something like Josh Hart anyways.
Jayson Tatum – 37 MIN, 6-18 FG, 1-9 3PT, 1-1 FT, 7 REB, 9 AST, 1 STL, 4 TO, -18, 14 PTS. Turns out 1-9 3PT shooting and going 6-28 as a team is not a winning strategy.
Paolo Banchero – 34 MIN, 10-18 FG, 0-3 3PT, 9-11 FT, 8 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 2 TO, +12, 29 PTS. Paolo went 0-3 from three and then decided to not miss from the midrange. Really love this Banchero/Wagner/Fultz combo, excited to see where it goes and what they can do.
Brandon Ingram – 38 MIN, 8-19 FG, 2-7 3PT, 7-8 FT, 6 REB, 5 AST, 3 TO, -13, 25 PTS. Sad that after watching Winston Taysom and Andy Dalton as the Saints QB, New Orleans has to witness a fun and electric Pelicans team go from first to 11th in short order. Maybe we’ll call it “ninja-tanking” for Wemby? Bright side and all…
Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell.
