Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 105-104 win over the Jazz.
If you were drawing up a way for the Lakers to really kick off one of their most important stretches of the season, finding out pregame that you were without three rotation guards to start your four-game road trip and on the front end of a back-to-back would be somewhere near worst-case scenario.
The team was already entering the game with a bit of an injury crisis to their frontcourt and then promptly saw Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish ruled out. Suddenly, there were only nine healthy bodies available and two of those were two-way signings.
Say what you will about how things played out in this one, but getting a win on the road in those circumstances is a great win, full stop. You can point out how bad Utah is or how ugly the game got down the stretch, but winning in the NBA is hard and the Lakers just did it down a starter and two rotation guards.
Just enjoy the wins sometimes, guys. Especially a gritty one like that. I feel like we’ve lost the plot a bit at times.
If this was a healthy Lakers team that just struggled to win in Utah, raise the alarm bells. But their bench mostly comprised of players with more minutes in the G League than the NBA this year.
On that note, let’s dive into the victory. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
36 minutes, 27 points, 5 rebounds, 14 assists, 2 blocks, 12-28 FG, 0-9 3PT, 3-3 FT, +0
You know, if you take away the 3-point shooting on the night, this was as good as LeBron’s looked in recent games. Perhaps most important is that his turnovers were down on the night as he had three — and the team as a whole only had five — despite the ball being in his hand a whole lot down the stretch.
We’ll see how he looks on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday, but the Lakers needed some hero ball late in this one and he delivered.
Bron with the left! pic.twitter.com/stELuArZBY
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 2, 2024
Grade: A-
40 minutes, 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 5-11 FG, 2-8 3PT, 1-2 FT, -2
It was some way from his performance in his last trip to Utah when he scored 36 points last season. He did hit a couple of timely 3-pointers and also had a nice fastbreak with LeBron in the fourth that ended with a dunk.
While Rui’s offense has been more miss than hit this season, it is worth noting that he’s just a good rebounder now. Last season, he had 12 games with at least seven rebounds. Monday was already the fifth time he’s done it this season in 15 games.
Grade: B
39 minutes, 33 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 13-25 FG, 2-4 3PT, 5-6 FT, +6
A nice bounceback for the Lakers and AD on Monday. After a game on Friday that felt a lot like last season, AD got the ball early and often on Sunday.
Nearly half of his points came in the third quarter, a welcome sight for a Lakers team that has struggled to open second halves. He came up with some big shots in the fourth and also feels he would have gotten a big block late, too, if Will Hardy hadn’t called an insane timeout late.
Anthony Davis said he "probably" would've blocked Sexton's layup if not for the timeout whistle.
— Dan Woike (@danwoikesports.bsky.social) 2024-12-02T04:13:29.850Z
Grade: A
30 minutes, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2-10 FG, 1-5 3PT, 1-2 FT, -19
This is one of those nights when Knecht looked a bit like a rookie at times. He struggled with his shot, his only make from range coming off an offensive rebound from Rui.
It’s fine for this to happen at times. I’d expect it to happen more than a few more times. Even on an off night shooting the ball, though, it was nice to see him grab seven boards.
Grade: C
32 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, -8
This will be the case for a couple of guys on Sunday, but this was Vincent’s best game as a Laker. It’s not a fun fact or even an encouraging one, just a factual one.
Thrust into the starting lineup, Gabe looked as comfortable as he has all year, to the point that he closed the game. And he more than held his own on switches late in the fourth, even having a hand in forcing some turnovers.
Grade: B+
30 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2-6 FG, 0-2 3PT, 8-10 FT, +10
I probably wouldn’t go as far to say that this was Christie’s best game as a Laker, but it was a really good one for reasons that isn’t normally the case. The free throw attempts jump off the screen on his stat line. He only took 46 free throws the entirety of last season.
This was as encouraging a game from Christie as he’s had since re-entering the rotation.
Grade: B+
13 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 1-1 FG, 2-2 FT, +12
This one is unequivocally the best game for JHS as a Laker. Not only was JHS thrown into rotational minutes, he also is just returning from injury.
It was a modest performance, yes, but a productive one. He was useful on offense and pesky on defense. It would be encouraging for his future if he had one with the Lakers, but it was important to a win, and that’s what matters.
Grade: B+
11 minutes, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, +11
Traore is the type of big man that can provide energy and that made him extra valuable on Sunday. It was just spot minutes for him but he was important in them and helpful.
Grade: B
It was only nine minutes for Koloko on the night, so no grade. His biggest contribution was defending the in-bounder on the final possession and helping block Sexton’s final shot.
After a Suns game where the Lakers looked awful defensively, gave up 127 points and Redick said things need to change, they’ve allowed 101 to the Spurs, 101 to the Thunder and 104 to the Jazz.
That’s a big improvement at an important time. As ugly as the offense looked on Sunday, the defense helped win them that game.
Grade: A-
Sunday’s DNPs: None
Sunday’s inactives: Jaxson Hayes, Bronny James, Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish, D’Angelo Russell, Quincy Olivari, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
