Tuesday was a perfect look into the interesting dynamic the Lakers are balancing this season.
After missing the first 14 games of the season, LeBron James finally made his season debut. Naturally, that dominated the storylines coming into the game.
Yet, once the ball was in the air, it was Luka Dončić dominating followed by Austin Reaves with LeBron willingly taking a back seat. Even still, LeBron fully took over for a chunk of the second half with his passing, helping put the game away in the fourth quarter.
After a rocky first half, it was a dominant second half that should give plenty of reason of optimism and excitement for the long break before playing Utah again on Sunday.
So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
LeBron James
30 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 4-7 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-4 FT, +1
It was a rocky first half for LeBron, which wasn’t a surprise since he hadn’t played in a game since April. But once he found a groove in the second half, he quickly started to look like himself again.
He wasn’t forcing things, he was taking a back seat to Luka’s dominance and he still found a way to make an impact. A great return for LeBron and not bad for a G League call-up.
Rui Hachimura
26 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul, 3-8 FG, 0-2 3PT, +14
These are going to be some important games and minutes for Rui. Not only is he fighting for a spot in the starting lineup, but he’s in a contract year, so he has a lot of future money at risk, too.
The first look at this lineup wasn’t encouraging. They struggled defensively in the first half. Is that because of rust and the newness of playing together? Rui will need to step up to make sure that’s the case.
Deandre Ayton
30 minutes, 20 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 10-13 FG, 0-2 FT, +10
What’s left to say about Ayton right now? He’s doing everything you could ask of him and then some. He’s shooting 69.9% from the field and is putting up 20-10 games on a semi-regular basis.
His chemistry with LeBron in the second half was also very encouraging. That’s even more easy points for him.
What a signing he’s been.
Austin Reaves
33 minutes, 26 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 7-11 FG, 1-4 3PT, 11-12 FT, +10
Austin was involved in three of the dumbest plays of the season so far:
An insane decision to throw a lob to Luka Dončić of all people that nearly ended in disaster
Being on the receiving end of a wild windmill closeout from Ace Bailey that led to a four-point play
Promptly fouling Lauri Markkanen about three times on the next possession for his own three-point play
And yet, after all that, he finishes with a tidy 26 points on efficient shooting. The only knock would be his one assist to four turnovers — he had some dumb turnovers in the first half, too — but it ended up being a nice night.
Luka Dončić
34 minutes, 37 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals, 8 turnovers, 4 fouls, 11-22 FG, 2-10 3PT, 13-16 FT, +10
What an eventful night from Luka. He was all over the place in this one, sometimes bad but often good.
He had way too many turnovers, fouled too much and missed eight of his 10 long-range attempts. Between that? A ho-hum 37 points without scoring in the fourth, a double-double with 10 assists and another MVP-level performance.
This shouldn’t be normal, but here we are. Thank you, Nico Harrison.
Marcus Smart
17 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 2-5 FG, 1-4 3PT, +11
Smart looked great playing off LeBron in this one. His off-ball movement and IQ complemented LeBron well. On a night when Rui didn’t look quite as great in the starting lineup, Smart made quite the impression.
Jaxson Hayes
15 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 foul, 3-3 FG, 2-3 FT, +13
It’s amazing how much more palatable Hayes is when he’s playing 15 minutes as a reserve rather than 25+ minutes as a starter. This is his natural role and he’s excelling in it.
Jake LaRavia
26 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, 6-10 FG, 2-5 3PT, 2-3 FT, +12
A return home for LaRavia did him wonders as he looked great again in this one. He was the beneficiary from some LeBron assists, too, as he looks like he’ll fit nicely with him as well.
Gabe Vincent
16 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 2-3 FG, 2-3 3PT, +15
While LeBron’s return drew all the attention, Gabe also made his return. He wasn’t quite as seamless in his return, but he did hit a pair of threes. It’s interesting that he got the minutes presumably over Jarred Vanderbilt, but that means he’ll have to continue producing with players behind him chomping at the bit.
Adou Thiero, Dalton Knecht, Bronny James, Maxi Kleber
The garbage time group in this one. They didn’t look great but they also only played a handful of minutes.
JJ had some tough decisions to make in this one and moving forward. Injuries allowed him to avoid the starting lineup conversation as well as who is the odd man out in the rotation.
Everything he’s said indicates he’s not committed to any starting lineup, so we’ll see his approach on that one. The other call was sitting Vando and Knecht with LeBron and Vincent returning. Those seemed like two obvious and fair calls.
Tuesday’s DNPs: Jarred Vanderbilt
***Tuesday’s inactives:***Chris Manon, Christian Koloko, Nick Smith Jr.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at@JacobRudeor on BlueSky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.