Luca Dansik may be the future of the NBA, but Christmas is proof that the current era of the league is in Los Angeles. If anything, the heir to the throne of LeBron James as the best player in the NBA could be his own teammate. On the way to the 138-115 Lakers victory, Adoni Davis dominated with 28 points in 10 -16 shots, pushing the reigning champions 1-1 to the .500. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are now 0-2, and they are waiting for the arrival of star big man Christophe Porchis.
The Lakers 138 points are one of the best offensive performances of the LeBron James era. This would have been the second highest total last season, and it came in a game in which James and Davis totaled only 61 minutes. Dallas, meanwhile, has yet to resolve the defensive issues created by the absence of Porchisis. Without a real fringe-defender, they wouldn’t fit into the Lakers team that made sense in last season’s championship list.
From here things only get easier for lockers. Seven of their next eight opponents missed the 2020 playoffs. Mavericks, meanwhile, face Los Angeles’ Clippers next Sunday. Here are four great trips from their Christmas clash.
1. D is “depth”
“Who is the Lakers third scorer?” Is the key question for the 2019-20 season. This is not a bar in the end. The Lakers were very good at defense, it only took a short time shooting to get the James-Davis pair to the top. With an officer to address the lack of sub-marks, Rob Belinga went to work. He came up with the first two sixth men of last season: Dennis Schroeder and Montreal Harrell, whose impact has been pronounced so far.
Kuzma and Kentavius Caldwell-Pope were third and fourth on last season’s list, respectively, accounting for about 17.7 percent of the team’s total points. The Schrடர்der-Harrell combination has hit about 28.7 percent of the Lockers’ points so far this season, and by last season’s standards at the Lakers helped the Lakers make a rare record: James won the minutes spent on the bench. Kuzma was relegated to fifth on the list. This is a terrifying idea for teams who believe they can knock the Lakers off their pedestal as the best team in the NBA.
2. Dallas is nowhere near full strength
Phoenix knew of Dallas ’opening-night loss. After finishing 2-11 in one possession game last season, he was unable to close another game in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. The Christmas demolition they experienced against the Lakers is another matter, and a sign of the concerns this team will face without Christophe Porchis.
The Lakers won by 26 runs. Porchisis may have closed that gap. He may have made it harder for the Lakers to double down on the Danzig team or take the entire court, which the Lakers did throughout their win. Having Luca is going to make the Mavericks float. They will be in the playoffs until Porcis returns and then raise the stakes. But the idea that Dallas could thrive without his second-best player was a huge success tonight, along with Doncik’s MVP confidence.
3. LeBron embraces his age
Let’s take a quick look at the LeBron shooting over the past several seasons
|
Season |
3-point attempts per game |
|
2015-16 |
3.7 |
|
2016-17 |
4.6 |
|
2017-18 |
5 |
|
2018-19 |
5.9 |
|
2019-20 |
6.3 |
Here is a general trend. As James gets older, he relies more and more on 3-pointers. Beyond that, he relies more and more Long 3-pointers. James took 21 30-foot shots last season. He had never picked 14 places in a season before that. There is common sense to this. Shooting 3s is easier on the body than attacking the basket, especially when those 3s are wide open (this will be more shots). As James clears the gap on the ground he can conserve more energy for the moments he needs to become an attacker.
So far this season he has pushed this approach further. The Lakers have taken eight 3-pointers in each of the first two games they have played this season. It’s interesting, but more than that, you remember he only played 59 minutes in total this season. James spent more than 32 percent of his field-goal efforts in the 3s last season, which is industry high, but this season? He is at 45.7 percent. The two LeBron seasons are not the same. He constantly adapts his game to accommodate teammates and his own age. But this is still his most aggressive lead, and the best chance to see him post an elite overall 3-point shooting season.
4. Christmas Kusma
Look, four game models are meaningless, but if you’re looking for a fun holiday figure, Kyle Kuzma is basically turning Stephen black at Christmas. As a player, he shot 6 -11 from behind the curve in his holiday debut, and continued it by hitting eight of his 19 3-point attempts in the three Christmas games he played. This is 30 out of 14, or 46.6 percent of the total, compared to 33.1 percent in his career. Calling him curry may underline him. Twice in the Golden State MVP has made only 43.4 percent of his career long-distance efforts.
Is it consistent or meaningful? Not in the slightest. But, hey, if you’re a lacquer, you’re going to play a lot of Christmas games, so a little holiday magic doesn’t hurt.
