In the last 10 games, the Lakers had the sixth worst attack in the NBA and hit 33.8% of rock bottom, the fifth worst percentage in the league. So to say that they should have some upward regression is an understatement, but even with that in mind, their distance blast against the Sacramento Kings was almost unbelievable.
The Lakers hit 17 trios on Friday, shooting 51.5% from behind the hoop to strike the Kings in a 115-94 victory. This is the second best percentage they have gotten from rock bottom this season, and the third most triple they have done in a game.
Almost everyone shot well at this one, but leading the way was Kyle Kuzma. The Lakers’ provisional match burned the Kings from everywhere on the ground, diving, hitting hook shots and gliding in confident jumpers all night. Apparently, Luke Walton’s presence in the building is something like PEDs for Kuzma, who set his former coach’s new team on fire by 30 points.
Your previous record of the season? 25 … Against those same Kings. There may be something in this theory.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also deserves special mention. The team’s initial guard received a lot of criticism for his shooting problems and hesitation to fly this season, but tonight was the return of Bubble KCP. Caldwell-Pope was flying up and down the transitional court and running confidently to the corners, hunting three instead of reluctantly taking them, a predator feeding on the fleshy gaps of the Kings’ pitiful defense. He ended the night with 13 points when shooting 4-7 in the background, and was much more impactful than his line of statistics would indicate with his activity.
With this victory, the Lakers are now 31-18 in the season, still clutching fourth place in the Western Conference, despite their recent crash without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. With hot kicks or not, this team keeps on fighting, and that’s all you can ask for during this stretch. It has been a great show of mental toughness, and the team deserves to be appreciated for their efforts, even if it is not always beautiful without the two stars that orbit.
They will now return to Los Angeles for the second game of this seven-game trip, in which they will play against the Clippers at the Staples Center on Sunday. The team will have Saturday off to rest, an extremely necessary break while Andre Drummond (toe), Wesley Matthews (who left Friday’s game with a neck injury) and the rest of the team continue to recover.
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