With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard and Kyle Kuzma all having the day off for precautionary reasons, and veterans Danny Green and JaVale McGee just playing the first half, there’s not much that can be taken out of the Lakers final. Scrimmage in the bubble. Aside from a couple of games by JR Smith and Alex Caruso, that is.
Both Caruso and Smith did not have the best starts in the NBA bubble. Caruso missed the first game with a slight back injury and fouled in his second appearance, while Smith looked very much like a player who hadn’t played meaningful basketball in two years. Turns out, all they needed was a game against the Wizards to get back on track and help the Lakers win 123-116.
Smith’s shot finally kicked in as he scored 14 points in the team’s first half before ending the game with 20 points on 6-9 shots in 25 minutes off the bench. Caruso jumped into the starting lineup in place of James (with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Green sliding down one position), and as he faced the team with the worst defense in the NBA, he showed off some solid ball handling and game skills to help The Lakers go on the offensive, teaming up with Caldwell-Pope and Green to be a complete threat to the Wizards’ lanes. He finished with 17 points on 6 shots to go with 6 assists.
In the absence of many of the Lakers’ normal role players, the young trio of teams from Talen Horton-Tucker, Kostas Antetokounmpo, and Devontae Cacok also had their most consistent bubble career to date, and they were all impressed to some degree. .
Horton-Tucker didn’t play a great game, but he did show some of the balance Frank Vogel praised the rookie for before the game by making a few plays for the teammates with his pass. Still, he also offered a reminder that he’s the youngest player in the league, finishing with 3 points and 3 assists in 21 minutes.
His rookie partner, Cacok, was extremely efficient in his time on the floor, again looking like an Energizing Bunny of infinite energy while scoring 11 points on 5-7 shots and grabbing 10 boards in just 13 minutes. The Lakers seem to have a real player on their hands with him, and his continued development is worth seeing. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo apparently jumped on every shot in an endearingly active attempt to protect the basket that occasionally knocked him out of position, but still showed a bit of the potential coaches who have been trying to exploit him in the G-League for years with 9 points and 8 rebounds in 22 minutes.
This was a fun way to end these displays, but the Lakers have already finished with the last of their three practice games and will have the next few days off before opening the selection round against the LA Clippers on Thursday. See you there.
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