Lakers player grades: L.A. continues win streak against Hawks after dominant two-way display
The Los Angeles Lakers made it four wins in a row after defeating the Atlanta Hawks, 134-118.
This marked the first matchup between the two sides this season, and Trae Young, John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic all played after missing recent games.
That didn’t matter, however, for the Lakers. Los Angeles scored at least 30 points every quarter and manipulated Atlanta’s shaky defense with ease. L.A. shot 50% overall, 41.5% from deep and 89.5% from the charity stripe, generated a season-high 37 assists (50 made buckets) and forced 15 turnovers while coughing it up just eight times.
The Lakers executed the gameplan on Young brilliantly, holding the young scorcher to 8-of-21 shooting (1-of-7 from deep). He scored 25 points because he went 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Four Lakers scored over 20 points, so here is how the squad graded individually from a dominant win:
Russell Westbrook: B-minus
Looking at Russell Westbrook’s shooting numbers (4-of-14 FG, 1-of-3 FT, nine points) doesn’t exactly scream a passing grade, but it was his ability to produce in other areas that stood out. He didn’t need to score the ball too much because of how his teammates played, though he shouldn’t have missed as many layups as he did.
Still, he put up 13 assists and 12 rebounds and didn’t turn the ball over in the first half. His plus-22 rating was also the highest of any Laker, so he was exceptional in making plays when his shot wasn’t falling.
Malik Monk: A-plus
There aren’t many words left to describe how Malik Monk is playing right now. He exploded for 29 points after hitting his first six triples. He finished the night shooting 11-of-20 overall, including a 7-of-12 clip from deep after cooling off in the latter stage of the second half. He added four rebounds, three assists and two steals to his stat sheet.
He’s only on a veteran minimum contract, too, which makes this story even more enthralling. Another excellent game for Monk, who was key when LeBron James wasn’t aggressive early on.
Avery Bradley: A-plus
Avery Bradley had 13 points in the first quarter, which marked a career-high stat for him. He finished with 21 points on an efficient 8-of-11 night, including a 4-of-7 clip from downtown. He grabbed six rebounds as well. Bradley also did a phenomenal job of hounding Young on defense and making him work twice as hard to get a shot or pass up.
Bradley’s contract was guaranteed earlier in the day, and he capped the day off with an excellent performance.
Stanley Johnson returned after not being under contract Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings. He played 20 minutes and put up three points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block, which was a chasedown from behind. His energy and hustle returned to give the Lakers extra possessions, and his only points came off a transition and-1 make.
LeBron James: A
LeBron now has nine 30-point games in his last 10 appearances. After a slow start where he didn’t exert energy with his downhill presence, he flipped the switch in the fourth quarter and at one point scored nine points in a row. He ended with 32 on 13-of-24 shooting but shot just 1-of-6 from deep. He added nine assists, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks in a brilliant all-around effort. Collins was the player James stripped multiple times.
Talen Horton-Tucker: A-minus
Talen Horton-Tucker played 31 minutes off the bench and delivered another strong offensive showing. After scoring 19 in a pivotal game against the Sacramento Kings, Horton-Tucker dropped 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting while hitting all six free throws. He posted five dimes and two steals along with some highlight-material dunks.
The 21-year-old combo guard is playing with a ton of confidence right now, and the Lakers have seen their investment in the youngster pay off as of late. L.A. needs his play to continue.
Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. He shot 5-of-10 overall and 4-of-7 from deep in 28 minutes, so he did what L.A. needed him to do.
Austin Reaves: B
Austin Reaves played 18 minutes, and though he missed both of his 3s, he had a nice display defensively, especially when Young hunted him on mismatches. Reaves held his own and finished with a plus-10 rating on the night.
Trevor Ariza: C-minus
Trevor Ariza played 12 minutes off the bench and was the last Laker to get rotational minutes throughout the game. However, he forced two contested 3s and missed both, so there weren’t many positives from his game. The only one was his pass in transition when he opted not to take the three, put the ball on the floor and gave it to his guard for a layup.
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