With superstar Anthony Davis sitting out due to a calf contusion, the Los Angeles Lakers put forth their best performance of the early season in their 127-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Six players scored in double-figures, with four more adding at least seven points, including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who was a perfect 3-for-3 on the night.
The Lakers looked nothing like a team full of players still getting used to each other as the ball movement on offense was a thing of beauty. That energy also flowed to the other end of the court as the Lakers held Minnesota to just 36.9% shooting while also blocking 14 shots.
It was a performance that in which the Lakers looked every bit the championship favorite that most made them out to be and Caldwell-Pope believes they have no peers when they are on their game.
“Like last year, I feel like we’re going to be unstoppable,” Caldwell-Pope said following the win. “The only team that can really beat us is us. When we come out and play focused, ready, we’re really unbeatable.”
There were some concerns following the Lakers’ loss to the L.A. Clippers on Opening Night, but the team has quickly bounced back in two games since and their depth has been on full display.
Caldwell-Pope has continued his consistent play from the bubble, while Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder have made it clear why the Lakers wanted to bring them in. The contest against the Timberwolves saw Marc Gasol show off his passing ability as well as his defense and rebounding.
It also saw an outstanding outing from Kyle Kuzma who caught fire early on. Of course, when you have LeBron James and Davis on the roster it takes a team to a complete different level.
But when that is combined with the talent level behind them, Caldwell-Pope could very well be right in that a focused, on-point Lakers team really is unbeatable.
Frank Vogel relying on ‘a lot of different combinations’ with Lakers rotations
As should be expected with a team that has the depth the Lakers possess, head coach Frank Vogel plans to use that to his advantage, especially at the beginning of this season.
“We’re going to look at a lot of different combinations,” he said. “This whole month, first six weeks of our season is going to be about exploring different lineup combinations. We’ll be creative with it, we’ll learn a little bit more about our team and focus on our habits.”
Vogel added that this will also give him more time to evaluate his team as well considering the lack of training camp and preseason that came with this season.
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