The Indiana Pacers devalue every Lakers trade asset in one sided victory
By William Furr
No Victor Oladipo? 2nd night of a back to back? LeBron James back from injury? None of these posed any problems for the Indiana Pacers tonight, as they ran the Los Angeles LeBrons off the floor. The Pacers rattled off a 23-4 2nd quarter run and never looked back.
Pacers fans were understandably worried with LeBron James coming into town as the Pacers played the 2nd night of a back to back. Indiana has undeniably sputtered since losing Victor Oladipo, and there were definite questions as to how the Pacers would come out of the gate. Then Bojan Bogdanovic gave the Pacers a 10-2 run in the first 2 minutes of the game. Later in the first, Myles Turner banged out 11 straight for the Pacers.
The rest of the game turned into a showcase of all the Lakers trade “assets”, and Turner’s block had a blast alternating between chanting “LeBron’s gonna trade you” and “Not worth trading” when various Lakers went to the free throw line. In the end, the Pacers’ 42 point win was the worst loss of LeBron James career, comfortably outdoing his prior 36 point margin.
94. 20. 136. 100. Final
Myles Turner hasn’t peaked yet
The Lakers tried 5 different players on Myles Turner: Tyson Chandler, JaVale McGhee, Ivica Zubac, Kyle Kuzma, and LeBron James. Myles Turner finished with 22 points in 22 minutes. I think it’s comfortable to say Myles: 1, Lakers: 0.
The Pelicans might’ve made a smart move not accepting the Lakers godfather trade off for Anthony Davis
The Lakers allegedly offered Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac, and Josh Hart for Anthony Davis and change. Neither Hart nor Ball played, and none of the Ingram/Kuzma/Zubac trio looked… enticing.
The Pacers assisted coach LeBron James with player LeBron James’ “load management”
The Lakers never really made this a game at any point in the second half, and the Pacers were sure to help LeBron manage his sore groin by never letting up and not letting the big lead slip away.
Player grades:
A-. 5 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals. The blue and gold didn’t need much from DC tonight, but he provided a spark at all the right moments. PG. Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON
7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists. Didn’t have a great night shooting, but both of his 3’s came at moments where the momentum… I wouldn’t say the Lakers ever had momentum, but both of Tyreke’s 3’s quelled any momentum shifting the Lakers thought they maybe might be feeling. 6 rebounds and 6 assists are a nice bonus.. SG. Indiana Pacers. TYREKE EVANS. B
Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. A. 24 points and 5 assists on 10-17 shooting. Bojan had a masterful first 2 minutes of the game, running off a personal 10-2 run to start, and really set the tone for the Pacers annihilation of the Lakers. Had 5 turnovers, but at least 2 of those were terrible missed calls when the game was out of hand.. SF
THADDEUS YOUNG. A. 12 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. A great Thad Young game. If he leaves in the offseason, the Pacers will miss him greatly.. PF. Indiana Pacers
MYLES TURNER. A+. 22 points and 4 blocks on 9-12 shooting, including 3-3 from deep. Turner was an absolute handful when the game first started breaking open. The Lakers cycled several defenders on him (including LeBron James), but Turner had already done him damage by the time the desperate Lakers put LeBron on him. Not only an offensive demon, Turner’s 4 blocks included 2 of Kyle Kuzma, one of which drew a wild “SMOTHERED CHICKEN” from Quinn Buckner.. C. Indiana Pacers
B+. 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. Sabonis went out and left handed the Lakers to death in the paint, and threw a few nifty passes as well. He did lose JaVale McGhee a few times, giving up some easy buckets.. C. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS
A. CoJo put up a ho-hum 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. When Joseph hits his 3’s (he went 3-4 tonight), he’s a much more dangerous offensive player.. PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH
KYLE O'QUINN. G. 2 rebounds, an assist, and a badly missed corner 3 in garbage time.. C. Indiana Pacers
C+. 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist, but couldn’t find the net on his way to 0-5 shooting. There’s a rotation big man somewhere in there, and Leaf’s improving defense could go a long way towards that player becoming a reality.. PF. Indiana Pacers. TJ LEAF
PG. Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY. A. 17 points and 3 assists on 7-10 shooting. Holiday did some of his damage in garbage time, but don’t get it twisted; he looked very good during the “competitive” portions of the game as well.
17 points on 7-9 shooting with 2 offensive rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Sumner absolutely went off in the 4th, attacking the Lakers relentlessly, and hit the first 3 3’s of his NBA career. Outside of the 5 straight minutes of Sumner scoring on the Lakers reserves, the outline of the rotation player the Pacers need was there: a high energy, frenetic defender who is capable of finishing offensive possessions.. SG. Indiana Pacers. EDMOND SUMNER. A+
SG. Indiana Pacers. DAVON REED. G. 2 points and an offensive rebound in garbage time. Reed is at least getting a few minutes during his cup of coffee with the Pacers.
Next. Bojan Bogdanovic reminds the Pacers he can get buckets in bunches. dark
The Pacers play next on Thursday, 2/7 against the better Los Angeles team as the Clippers come to town.