'13-'14 P&G Game 6: vs. Houston Rockets

After getting creamed by the Dallas Mavericks on the road, the Lakers found themselves facing a familiar face in a familiar foe: Dwight Howard wearing the red and white of Houston. Luckily, the purple and gold jumped to an early lead, which was vanquished after several Houston runs in the second quarter. Fortunately, a last-minute play that ended with a swished triple by Steve Blake gave them their third win of the season, 99-98.

Yay of the Game:

11 of the 14 triples in the first half went in for the Lakers, giving them a 14-point lead entering the second half. Unfortunately, the Lakers ended the game with only 16 of 35 triples made total, which means that they only made 5 out of 21 in the second half (the biggest of them all was Blake's triple). Jodie Meeks and Blake shot the lights out as they ended with a combined 9 of 13 triples; Wesley Johnson, however, only went 3 of 8.

Nay of the Game: 

36-17 was the number of fouls between the Lakers and the Rockets respectively. The referees had their whistles locked on the Lakers, as they called even on touch fouls. While the Lakers had a decent 11 of 15 clip from the charity stripe, the Rockets had 52 free throw attempts, and James Harden who ended up with 35 big points, got 14 of his 16. However, the Hack-A-Dwight strategy worked as Howard only got 5 of his 16 charities.

Play of the Game:

Blake Mamba came just in time to make that triple, giving the Lakers the win. It's actually a good play considering that Gasol is ready for the rebound in case the shot misses.




The Lakers are now at...

3-3 (3rd Pacific, 8th West). After this, they have a chance to go above .500 for the second time this season as they face the New Orleans Pelicans, who are hungry for a home win against the Lakers.

Highlights:

'13-'14 P&G Game 3: vs. San Antonio Spurs

Despite building a huge lead in the first half, the Lakers realized that it's all about sustaining the lead as they failed to do so against the San Antonio Spurs, as the purple and gold suffered a measly 85-91 loss against the 2013 Finals runners-up.

Yay of the Game:

26 combined points for bench hitters Wesley Johnson and Jodie Meeks, who kept the ball rolling in terms of scoring despite this second straight loss. The difficulty that the Lakers have to face is not a matter of sustaining scoring streaks among individuals, but making sure that everyone gets at their right spots and enjoys scoring sprees. They have done that during the first half, but it seems that most of them have lost steam and gave up on defending the ball once the Spurs had the advantage.

Nay of the Game: 

8-27 from triples. This is not really the bad point against the Lakers this day (the Spurs had a late 9-1 run that put them up big in the waning minutes of the game); however, it's worth looking at the way they execute offensively, especially in terms of choosing their shots from beyond the arc. Considering that the first two games, they reached 40%, this isn't a good day for the Lakers offense. Again, consistency on the O is a must for everything to fit, especially now that without Kobe, the team is more oriented and set to work well on offense before defense.

Play of the Game:
Check out the huge Jodie Meeks slam that kept the Lakers up by 13 in the first half.



The Lakers are now at:

1-2 (5th Pacific, 12th West), and up next is an Atlanta Hawks team trying to build itself up after the departure of Josh Smith, trusting solely on Al Horford and Paul Millsap.

Highlights:



Credits to Yahoo! Sports and YouTube for the pics and videos respectively.

'13-'14 P&G Game 1: vs. Los Angeles Clippers

Considering the major overhaul the Lakers undertook in the post-Dwight era and the absence of Kobe Bryant, this game stands perhaps as the most shocking opener, as the Lakers beat the Clippers, 116-103, in their shared turf.

Yay of the Game:

76 bench points served as the key to beating the Clippers in the fourth quarter, thanks to the efforts of Xavier Henry (22 points, 3 of 4 triples), Jordan Farmar (16 pts, 4rebs, and 6asst), Jodie Meeks (13 points), Jordan Hill (12 points, 8 rebs), and Chris Kaman (10 points, 8 rebs). Lakers fans might not get the same thing from them in the coming games, but as long as they can hold the fort in Bryant's absence, then the team should be fine entering the first half of the season.


Nay of the Game:

3 points of the Lakers' 116 belonged to Shawne Williams. So much for starting the game, huh.


Play of the Game:

They say Xavier Henry wouldn't do much... that is, until he delivered a fastbreak jam.



The Lakers are now at:

1-0, which is an achievement considering that in the past two years, the Lakers lost in their respective season-openers. Up next is the Golden State Warriors, who seem to possess the same offensive firepower as the Purple and Gold. Different team, same challenge: to keep the team up in the absence of the Black Mamba.

Highlights:

P&G Game 16: vs. Denver Nuggets

After that awful loss against the Indiana Pacers highlighted by a lot of missed free throws, a sick Kobe Bryant scoring 40, and a George Hill layup, the Lakers broke even and once again reached .500 as they trounced upon the Denver Nuggets, 122-103.

Yay of the Game:

17-33: the total number of threepointers the Lakers made and attempted. Reserve G Jodie Meeks led the assault from beyond the ark, making 7 of 9 markers, and together with Antawn Jamison, scored 54 points overall (Jamison scored 33 of those, making him the only bench reserve to get at least 30 points since Shaquille O'Neal did it in the late '90s). The Lakers have played well all over, making 33 of their 47 shots off assists, with the Mamba himself having 8 of those precious dimes.

Nay of the Game:

3-1-3: Darius Morris' points, rebounds, and assists. Morris has been the starting one since the Steves were out, but he was largely inconsistent during that stretch. Could he finally be dethroned by veteran guard Chris Duhon, who got 5 points and 8 assists this game?

Play of the Game:

Last year, Andrew Bynum failed to hit a three-pointer. But early this season, Dwight Howard hit his own.


The Lakers Are Now At:
8-8 (3rd Pacific, 7th West). The Purple & Gold will have to face the Orlando Magic next. Will Dwight Howard show his team that he has since moved on?


Highlights: