Here are four observations from the Lakers' 125-121 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in overtime:
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The basketball health questions surrounding the Russell-Westbrook trade may not be answered in game four of the regular season. Whether this team wins the championship will be judged. But the version of Westbrook that the Lakers got on Tuesday made the rationale for the deal clear.
With LeBron James sidelined with an ankle injury, the Lakers still have a lot of talented players who can change the game, and Westbrook is doing a great job. After relentless attacks and skilled shots at the basket, he played his best game as a Lakers — so far — with 33 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and just three turnovers.
"He had a terrible night," Frank Vogel said. James' absence may give Westbrook some freedom, but the Lakers want him to play that aggressiveness every night. "I told Westbrook and I said, 'Whether I play, LeBron comes on, we don't play, it doesn't matter.' You still have to do it yourself,'" Anthony Davis said. "He did that tonight. His performance tonight was incredible. We need him to do that every night. Whether LeBron is on the court or not, whether I'm on the court or not. Be yourself and we'll find a way to adapt to him. ”
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Despite an ankle injury in Sunday's game against the Grizzlies, james still sat down on Tuesday, certainly not as severe as last season that left him losing a lot of games. When Anthony Davis fell to the ground in the final moments of Tuesday's game, anxiety from last season resurfaced.
But Davis didn't become a non-contact disaster, he just hit the knee with The San Antonio Spurs' Dejongte Murray.
"He flew over to do his job, and I felt like I was buried on the ground. He hit my knee. It's like a little thorn, a little thorn," Davis said. "Then I started moving and it was gone. I've been playing. Although it was still a bit of a feeling, the game was completed. I'll wake up tomorrow and see what happens. ”
He stayed in the game and finished a great show, leaving the game with 35 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.
While feeling good after the game was a positive sign, it wasn't necessarily the case when the Lakers' next game against Oklahoma City on Wednesday came. After Sunday's game against the Grizzlies, James said he felt he could play, but his performance was relegated in the 24 hours before the game against San Antonio.
Davis said he would know more before today's game with the Thunder.
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With James' departure, the Lakers turned to guard Malik Munch in the starting lineup, and the young guard did. He scored 17 points, and in Munch's 39 minutes on the bench, the Lakers scored 31 points higher than the Spurs.
The most important moment was when the Lakers trailed in the final quarter of the fourth quarter, with Munch picking up the ball in the middle of a conversion and shooting straight behind the three-point line. He practiced repeatedly to give the Lakers a lead. "I got infinite space," Munch said with a laugh.
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In a perfect world, there's no need for a monster-like game between Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis to sneak past San Antonio, just as Cameron Anthony doesn't need to go all out to get the Lakers to beat the Grizzlies. But the world, like the Lakers' roster, isn't perfect.
With James, the Lakers' strength on the side is rather weak, and without him, the situation will soon get really bad. But given the Lakers' confusion in defense and the accumulation of injury reports, any away win would be a good away win.