It’s been a while since the Lakers had a team as fun as this one, even if it was only in November. No Luka Dončić? No problem. No Austin Reaves? No problem. No Luka or Austin? No problem. No matter the circumstances, this team keeps moving forward. Everyone talks about a “next man up” mentality, but this team is showing it. When a boy falls, everyone together picks up the rope and continues fighting. Seeing this in November knowing there is a lot more room for this team to grow this season is a very exciting feeling. So, let’s delve into victory. As always, ratings are based on each player’s expectations. A “B” grade represents the average performance of that player. 28 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 foul, 5-10 field goals, 2-5 3PT, +5 It’s hard to believe the Lakers are paying Ziaire and Matisse less than $5 million combined this season. If it were a serious award, Ziaire would have a strong case for Most Improved Player. He went from empty stats in Brooklyn to key player on a contender. 32 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 5 fouls, 3 turnovers, 2-6 field goals, 0-1 3PT, +0. I’ll forgive him for that missed dunk late because he’s always flying around the court doing things. Some of it is bad, as evidenced by his five fouls, but most of it is good. 30 minutes, 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 4 turnovers, 8-12 field goals, 5-6 feet, -3 Kessler was able to show some of his playmaking skills in the last two games and has had some big passes in short spurts lately. You can see the chemistry that is built in those situations. 23 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2-5 field goals, 2-5 3PT, -3At the beginning of the season, we joked about Matisse only taking threes without dipping. Well, he’s started attacking them and they’re not going in. At least he made the big one in the room tonight. 39 minutes, 32 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 2 fouls, 6 turnovers, 11-22 FGs, 3-11 3PT, 7-7 FT, +4I never felt like Luka had any rhythm in this game and then you look at the stat sheet and he almost had a triple-double. Still, it didn’t seem like he had the same impact on the game that he has had recently, but if he can still give you this stat line on a night like that, then that’s another feather in the title of being the best player in the league. 32 minutes, 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 7-13 field goals, 5-8 3PT, 4-4 FT, +20Without a doubt, this is his best game as a Laker. He was hitting open 3-pointers and, perhaps more importantly, scoring baskets when Luka sat down. After a series of bad starts, he chose a good time to have his best moment. 26 minutes, 18 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, 1 turnover, 6-11 FG, 3-4 3PT, 3-6 FT, +7 The sample size of Sexton’s bad games is even larger than the sample size of his good games. However, the Lakers do not win either of these last two games without Sexton. He stepped up with arguably his two best performances of the season when the Lakers needed another ball handler to come in and be a positive contributor. This was also the first game where you could really see the chemistry between Sexton and Kessler. 13 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 2-2 field goals, +7. In the last two games, Vando has had a couple of good finishes around the rim. It would be really cool if that was a sign that something is moving forward, but I’ll just enjoy what we’ve seen rather than get my hopes up. Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero It’s exciting to see the team’s possible future getting playing time this season. Thiero continues to impress in his few minutes, while Carr also didn’t look out of place in his two cameos. Both should continue to get minutes, although Carr is a little further down the depth chart at the moment. The Lakers arguably just pulled off their two best wins of the season in a row while being shorthanded in both, so Redick is getting a lot of credit. He’s picking the right lineups, keeping guys ready and helping the team continue to improve along the way. Monday’s DNP: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, Kevon Looney, Lawson Lovering Monday’s Inactives: Austin Reaves, Quentin Grimes You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
