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.
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:
The Pacers play next on Thursday, 2/7 against the better Los Angeles team as the Clippers come to town.