Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 125-120 win over the Wizards.
The Lakers continuously built up a comfortable lead against the Wizards and gave it back, but they ultimately won the final game of this six-game road trip, beating Washington 125-120.
The victory had some standout performances from the starters and some poor ones from the backup players, but they got the job done in Washington and are heading home for a pair of games in Los Angeles this weekend.
For now, let’s grade the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. “A” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Anthony Davis
38 minutes, 35 points, 18 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks 10-17 FG, 0-1 3PT, 15-15 FT, +29
The Wizards had no answers for Davis and he took advantage of that. He attacked the paint, shot efficiently and when he got to the line, he knocked down all 15 shots he took from the charity stripe.
Asking more from Davis would be illogical. He was great and the best player on the floor by far.
Grade: A+
LeBron James
36 minutes, 25 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, 9-18 FG, 0-1 3PT, 7-9 FT, +9
This was a standard LeBron James performance. He was able to score with ease, distributed the ball well and gave you an excellent defensive effort when necessary.
LeBron also added another Lakers achievement to his resume, becoming tenth in all-time assists as a Laker.
In the fourth, when the Lakers let go of the rope, he had key dunks and dimes to make sure the result didn’t go the other way. He had better games during this road trip, but this one was another positive notch on his belt.
Grade: B+
Rui Hachimura
27 minutes, 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 9-12 FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-1 FT, +21
Hachimura made his triumphant return to Washington for the first time since being traded last season. He played well, missing only three shots and stayed aggressive on the boards, grabbing seven rebounds.
It is hard to be mad at Hachimura’s game; minus a few defensive moments, he played well.
Grade: A
Austin Reaves
35 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 7-15 FG, 2-6 3PT, +7
Reaves was a mixed bag on Wednesday. He had some nice 3-pointers, but he also got beat defensively one too many times. He failed to get to the line and in the fourth, he wasn’t enough of the solution to the Lakers’ problem of blowing leads.
Grade: C+
D’Angelo Russell
38 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 7-16 FG, 4-10 3PT, +8
Russell, like his best friend Reaves, was solid offensively but negative defensively. He was more good than bad, but with the sloppy play through the game, he was on the floor for the good and bad moments, making this an average Russell game.
Grade: C+
Taurean Prince
16 minutes, 5 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2-4 FG, 1-3 3PT, -8
I didn’t particularly like the Prince minutes, but they continue to be reduced, so that’s a good thing. The scoring wasn’t present, the defense was just adequate and his plus-minus of -9 indicates his poor play in a win.
Grade: D+
Spencer Dinwiddie
19 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1-4 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-2 FT, +8
When Dinwiddie isn’t scoring, he isn’t much help to this team and on Wednesday, he wasn’t scoring. He only managed four points and while we’ll get some impressive games from the buyout player, it also comes with performances like the one Los Angeles got from him agaisnt the Wizards.
Grade: D-
Gabe Vincent
14 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3-PT, -6
Vincent was rough in this game. He’s coming back from knee surgery and also missed the first game of this back-to-back, so some grace is needed, but this looked like October Vincent and that player was no good.
Grade: D-
Jaxson Hayes
10 minutes, 3 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists, 1-1 FG, 1-2 FT, -24
The good version of Jaxson Hayes is an Energizer bunny on offense and puts a solid effort into protecting the rim on defense. The bad version of Hayes is unable to score and a turnstile. The Lakers got the bad version in Washington.
Thankfully, Davis was dominant because if not, the Lakers could’ve been in trouble if they had to rely on Hayes, given what he was giving.
Grade: D
Max Christie
4 minutes, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, -3
Probably not enough time to give out a grade, but it was so bad I’m failing the sophomore anyway. He looked like a deer staring into the headlights on Wednesday and even during the few minutes he played, I was hoping he’d sit back down.
Grade: F
Colin Castleton, Maxwell Lewis
Both Castleton and Lewis played in garbage time and did so badly in such a short time they turned garbage time into crunch time. The stay-ready group might need to change their name.
Darvin Ham
Fans can’t blame Darvin Ham for the blown lead. The team was unfocused and he had to bring back LeBron and Davis to secure the win. Overall, he did well, played the right guys and even gave Cam Reddish a DNP, which seems harsh but understandable given his current play.
He also called good timeouts in the second half to try and maintain control and composure.
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