The Los Angeles Lakers limped into the All-Star break, both literally with missing Anthony Davis (injured) and with the results, losing two straight entering the break. They have emerged from the brief hiatus winning three straight out of the gates, with the Lakers' defense stepping up big without Davis. They held the uptempo Warriors to just 97 points in the second game out of the break, and the Pacers to 100 the game prior to that. It has been a pleasant revelation for a Lakers squad missing their All-Star big man.
Dennis Schroder has been one of the Lakers tasked with a bigger role in the absence of some of the mainstays like the aforementioned Davis and Marc Gasol. Sure they don't play the same position as Schroder, but it has taken a collective effort for the Lakers to start 3-0 out of the break.
Speaking on the team's recent success, Schroder mentioned that for the defending champions, it starts on the defense for them and carries over to the offense. The Lakers point guard most notably made reference to the elevated play of Montrezl Harrell, one of the Lakers' bigs who's earning more minutes on the floor.
“I think it starts with the defense for us,” Schroder said. “I think we’re doing a great job just competing on the offensive end, playing with pace, sharing the ball. I think the last couple of games everybody was sharing it, everybody was in double digits almost.
“Trezz doing a great job putting pressure on the rim with his rolls. We’re finding him there a lot of times, LeBron is doing a great job of finding him as well. It’s just playing on both ends of the court, defense and offense. Just trying to execute and play with pace.”
Harrell is coming off two games where he has scored 27 and 25 points, respectively. Schroder mentioned his ability to play the pick-and-roll defense and on the other end, how LeBron and the rest of the crew have been feeding him down low.
The Lakers next have games coming up against the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks before they hit the road to play the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans. If the Lakers can just hold things afloat while awaiting the return of Davis, they will have done their job. They've done more than that since the second half of the season got started.
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