After a humbling Game 1 loss to the No. 8 seeded Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers roared back and beat the packing out of the Blazers in Game 2, 111-88. While it has actually come with downsides in terms of perimeter defense and shooting, the Lakers should never lose a game in the trenches as they did in Game 1. The Blazers averaged 126 points per video game in their 8 seeding games. They are balancing 94 per video game against the Lakers, and thats after 30 garbage-time points in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Carmelo Anthony averaged 16.5 points per game on 45.6 percent shooting during the seeding video games.
It looks like the Lakers are going to be simply great. After a humbling Game 1 loss to the No. 8 seeded Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers roared back and beat the stuffing out of the Blazers in Game 2, 111-88.
Now the pressure is on Portland to respond, and they wont be at 100 percent as they try to do so. Damian Lillard dislocated his left forefinger in the 3rd quarter, and even if he plays, he will likely be less than his normal superstar self. That just contributes to Portlands disappointment after such a huge blowout. The Lakers took Portlands best punch in Game 1. Now theyre in control with the very first 2 games in the books..
Here are 3 takeaways from the game:.
1. Anthony Davis asserted himself.
It wasnt the 31 points from Anthony Davis that swung this video game for the Lakers. While he rained jumpers in the 2nd half, 16 of his 21 first-half points came from the paint.
Size has been their identity all season long. While it has actually featured disadvantages in regards to boundary defense and shooting, the Lakers ought to never lose a video game in the trenches as they performed in Game 1. Tonights win was a pointer that the Lakers still own the paint, and Davis led the method..
2. Where are Portlands points going to originate from?.
The Blazers averaged 126 points per game in their eight seeding video games. They are averaging 94 per video game versus the Lakers, and thats after 30 garbage-time points in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Now Lillard is dealing with an injury, and while he is most likely to play in Game 3, they cant afford a lessened variation of him.
Carmelo Anthony balanced 16.5 points per game on 45.6 percent shooting throughout the seeding video games. He is 4-of-17 from the field. Gary Trent Jr. shot over 50 percent from behind the arc in his eight seeding video games. He has just 13 total points in this series. Somebody other than Lillard and McCollum is going to have to score for the Blazers to have any sort of possibility in this series. Its not as though the Lakers shot the lights out in this video game. Their 36.8 percent mark on 3s is basically what they must balance for the series. If Portland cant stay up to date with that, their playoff run is going to be over in a matter of days..
3. LeBron in the post is still killer.
Its a small note, especially provided how passive LeBron was in basic in Game 2, but for a stretch in the 2nd quarter, he definitely eliminated Gary Trent in the post. The Blazers had no option but to double, and LeBron, being the NBAs best post-passer without a doubt, killed them by hitting the open man..
It will not have much bearing on an unequal series like this, but its a storyline to watch with the Rockets looming in Round 2. LeBron is most likely going to play some center because series, and his ability to draw doubles in the post (which Houston loves to toss out) is going to develop a lot of excellent search for the Lakers.
