Lakers' Miniature Lineup Gets It Done!

     The Lakers win streak extends to 3!! The 112-109 win over the Miami Heat puts the Lakers at 17-21 and the Heat at 20-19. Tonights game was a nail biter, but not one that I personally would have felt atrocious about for losing. LeBron being out for illness made this feel like another scheduled loss. The Lakers still got the job done tonight with contributions across the board as well as some notable big games from multiple role players. Thomas Bryant is once again a name that has to be brought up in the reasons-the-Lakers-won list. A 21 point 9 rebound game from the starting center was felt largely throughout the game with some big buckets in the final 12 minutes. Russell Westbrook was also making a difference (negative difference or positive difference, we may never know.) Despite the many mindless turnovers, Russ got to the paint when he wanted and got a few beautiful dump off passes in the paint. We definitely can't get this far without mentioning Dennis Schröder. A hot start to the game carried out for all 4 quarters as the PG finished with 32 points on 15 field goal attempts. He made a valiant effort to stay on the court after rolling his ankle in the 4th and maintained his clutch play after the injury. Is it just me or does it look like he's about to airball every time he shoots a 3? You never know if it'll go in. Sometimes it does. But it looks like something you'd jump out of your seat in disbelief for. Every. Time. 

    Some takeaways from this game: Reaves is still gaining his confidence in this league. He had a poor shooting night but it is obvious he is stepping into his larger role and adjusting his game to match the need that the Lakers have for his offensive punch. Another takeaway is that the size is definitely felt. JTA, Troy Brown Jr, Wenyen Gabriel, and Max Christie are all pretty average “wing size”, but the size helps tremendously on both ends.