The Los Angeles Lakers came into Sunday night's matchup against the Toronto Raptors in a bit of a funk, dropping two games in a row and five of their last six.
But Deandre Ayton helped them get back on track.
The Lakers center had arguably his best game of the season, finishing with 25 points and 13 boards while shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the field in the 110-93 win.
Luka Dončić (25 points, seven assists) and LeBron James (24 points, seven assists) provided their usual production as well as the Lakers moved to 25-16 on the season.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 22 points and nine rebounds.
But Ayton was the main story on Sunday, with NBA fans and pundits praising him, Dončić and James:
Much of the Lakers' season will come down to how James and Dončić learn to coexist in their first full season together, or how to best utilize Austin Reaves with the pair once he's healthy (the three have only played eight games together this season and have a negative-9.8 net rating when sharing the floor, per NBA.com).
But whether they can also consistently get the most out of Ayton remains a huge storyline to watch. The Portland Trail Blazers struggled to do so across two seasons, though the Lakers have been better with Ayton on the court this season (minus-0.2 net rating when he plays, per NBA.com) than when he sits (minus-2.2).
There's a lot of noise in net rating, of course, but Sunday night was a reminder of what the Lakers can be when Ayton is playing at a high level.
Comments
Post a Comment