Raptors Stun The Lakers

First Quarter

The Los Angeles Lakers so far in the first quarter have allowed easy baskets to the Toronto Raptors. What has seen early in this game is the Lakers game plan of attacking the Raptors interior defense with Andre Drummond. Drummond halfway through the quarter has 7 points already on 3/5 shooting. The efficiency thus far is a good sight to see since last game he was missing a lot of shots near the rim. The Lakers eventually find themselves in the quarter and go on a 9-0 run to give themselves a 12 point lead.

Pascal Siakam of the Raptors has been spectacular so far with 12 points and 5 rebounds already. Which is keeping this game within reach for the Raptors. Kyle Lowry has also made an impact in the quarter scoring 6 points which cut the Lakers lead to 7 with 2:48 left in the quarter. However Kyle Kuzma has come alive and given the Lakers some good minutes off the bench. Kuzma has 11 points with 3 of 4 shooting from the 3 point land. The first quarter is over and final score is 38-32 Lakers.

Second Quarter

Second quarter has begun and the Lakers lineup is Markieff Morris, Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Talen Horton Tucker, and LeBron James. The Lakers come out this quarter with their defense being more focused, and aggressive on the defense end. However their offense is still having lapses with lazy turnovers. The turnovers have once again gave Raptors new life which is now a tie ball game 40 a piece. What could be a momentum changer is a Harrell block which then leads to a fast break by LeBron James for an and one opportunity.

LeBron caps off the play with the made free throw and gives the Lakers a 5 point lead 46-41. The Raptors are still hanging in the game despite shooting 3/13 in the quarter are only down 3 points 43-46. The Lakers have to clean up their defensive rebounding to limit the Raptors second opportunities. Lazy fouls that the Lakers are committing is leading the Raptors to easy point as well. Raptors thus far have shot 19 free throws and converted 15 of them.

With 4:14 left in the quarter same troubling signs from the last still continue this game. Lack of defense, lazy fouls, and turning over the ball is what have made this a tie ball game 53 a piece. The Lakers are once again flirting with losing a second game in a row. If they cannot fix these issues this will be another bad loss for them. LeBron has returned to the game we will see if this is energizer boost they need to turn it around before the half. Despite LeBron back on the floor the Lakers have allowed the Raptors to go on 16-4 run within the last 4 minutes. Lakers go down heading into halftime down 72-59.

Halftime Notes

Despite the Lakers biggest lead in this game being 12 they head into halftime down 13 points. Lakers lackadaisical defense has allowed the Raptors to get to the line 24 times which they have converted 18 of them. The Raptors are also rebounding the Lakers 20-18 which is inexcusable since the Lakers are the bigger team. Key players for the Lakers in the first half was Kyle Kuzma, and LeBron James. Kuzma has 14 points, and LeBron has 13 points. For the Raptors It’s been the Siakam, and Lowry show. Siakam has 22 points, and Lowry has 19 points.

It’s not rocket science for the Lakers ladies and gentlemen. If the Lakers can just clean up their defensive rebounding, and rotate on defense the Lakers can not only comeback in this game but win it as well. However to put any stock that the Lakers can do that would be foolish on my part. I have to see it to believe it. So let’s see what happens to start the second half.

Third Quarter

The third quarter has started, and the Lakers at this point are embarrassing themselves. There seems to be no fight at all in this team. The last thing Lakers fans expected when Anthony Davis, and LeBron James to comeback was their defense to be atrocious. The Raptors now lead 82-61 6 minutes into the third quarter. Lakers main goal is to cut this lead down to 10-12 points heading into the 4th quarter to give them a chance to steal this game.

Defense continues to be an issues for the Lakers. It’s gotten so bad Frank Vogel has elected to change the whole lineup. The players in this lineup are what you can consider energizer players in Morris, Harrell, Caruso, and LeBron. However it’s probably too late as this is looking like to be another loss for the Lakers. The Lakers go on a small run to end the third quarter and are down 15 heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

The quarter has began, and the Lakers have cut the lead down to 12 within 2 minutes. If this Laker lineup keeps playing with this type of energy it be foolish to bring in the starting five lineup to try and complete this comeback. The Raptors quickly call a timeout. Kyle Lowry, and Siakam quickly comeback into the game to stop the Lakers momentum. Lowry restore orders for the Raptors and has given the Raptors their original 16 point lead.

The Lakers have cut the lead down to 12 with 5:05 left. Plenty of time left however with the Lakers playing defense like they have all game I don’t expect a comeback to happen. It has ben reported LeBron has went back to the locker room and is not even sitting on the bench so we will see after the game if everything is ok with LeBron. The Lakers with less this a minute left have cut the lead to 6 points after a Kuzma 3 pointer.

It has not been reported within the last 37 seconds of the game LeBron has a sore right ankle and will not return to the game. The game is over and the final score is 121-114.

Post Game

This Lakers team on the defensive end has disappeared. This at first was the least expected thing to worry about as a Laker fan with LeBron, and Anthony Davis coming back into the fold. Now it’s a main concern. Especially after today game it wasn’t even close with Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam being the two best players on the floor today. The Andre Drummond experiment might be over real soon in my opinion for the Lakers.

Andre Drummond from the eye test defensively is not making the right rotation, nor is rebounding at the high clip we expected him to be at. If this continues I will start to expect Marc Gasol to assume the starting role soon, and Andre Drummond to come off the bench. At the very minimum the minutes are going to be split between Marc, and Andre very soon in my opinion.

Lastly Lakers don’t have much time to address as they Lakers are now 1-6 in their last 7 games. Time is not a luxury they have since they play the Denver Nuggets tomorrow. And just by going off watching these last two games I won’t be surprised it if gets ugly tomorrow as well. With the future MVP Nikola Jokic at the helm to create chaos with his scoring prowess, and play making abilities. We’ll see you tomorrow Laker Nation. Once again please follow me on Twitter @Real_Ajay_Virk and @thePeachBasket_ for your latest Laker news, and NBA News.