The first game after the All-Star break was a major success as the Los Angeles Lakers were able to blow out the Golden State Warriors on Thuesday night.
After allowing the Warriors to hang around in the first half, the Lakers turned it on both ends in the second half to earn a much-needed victory. Surprisingly enough, LeBron James and Anthony Davis both had quiet nights while the role players stepped up.
The hero of the night was Malik Beasley, who led Los Angeles in scoring with 25 points including going 7-of-11 from distance. Davis might’ve had a hand in Beasley’s performance as he urged the guard to shoot when they were practicing prior to the game.
“At shootaround today, we were running some script offense and I went to go pindown for him and he caught it and threw it in the post. And I threw the ball back out of bounds and said run it again and told him ‘you shoot the ball.’ I’ll get touches, we want you to shoot. And as a result of that, he hit seven 3s tonight,” Davis said.
“I think he’s a key piece to our team with his ability to space the floor, put the ball on the ground. It kind of reminds me of me and KCP had that action where it’s single action and he’d come off shooting and you can’t go under. Beaz can shoot it and can drive, he’ll just make a read whether he finishes or throw a lob. So, we have that ability and he has that ability to playmake. So, having a piece like that, able to space the floor definitely helps us a lot.”
Beasley recalled the moment and acknowledged that Davis and Darvin Ham telling him to shoot has boosted his confidence.
“I was just going through the script and I just thought it was the right play to throw it to him and he threw it back, and he was like, ‘Shoot the ball!’ So we had to do it all over again and I shot it. Same with Coach, he told me to shoot the ball, keep shooting. And that feels good when you’re a shooter. It gets my confidence high, AD and LeBron keep saying, ‘We gonna get ours, so do what you do and keep spacing the floor and knock down shots.’”
Outside shooting was an area of need for the Lakers before the deadline, so Beasley has fit in perfectly since coming aboard. Hopefully he’s able to keep his hot shooting up as Los Angeles needs the spacing next to James and Davis.
Darvin Ham doesn’t expect LeBron James or Anthony Davis to sit back-to-backs unless injured
With only 22 games remaining, the Lakers need their two stars now more than ever on the floor. The good news is Ham doesn’t expect to rest James or Davis in back-to-back sets unless either of them are injured.
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