Teregold: Lakers Slide in South Beach

The defending champs rocked their new Earned Edition uniforms in tonight’s 2020 NBA Finals rematch, part two. A battle ensued shortly after tip in South Beach. The contest was pretty close for nearly 48 minutes as each team’s collective stats explain. But at the end of the night, the Lakers turnovers and fouls outweighed the Heat’s and they fell 110-104.

Andre Drummond (15 pts, 12 reb, 2 stl) returned to the floor with his new team. With his start and 27 minutes of play, his presence was greatly responsible for the Lake Show’s 40 rebounds. In only his second game with the Lakers, Drummond’s attentiveness and keen eye for spotting turnover opportunities created more chances for the team to utilize their fast break.

Dre with the D, Dre with the dish.

(: @SpectrumSN) & TNT pic.twitter.com/kSJksWBurI
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 9, 2021

Fast break aficionado, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (28 pts) surpassed his season-high.Caldwell- Pope was not only the leading scorer in tonight’s game, but he was also the leading three-point shooter going 6-for-11 from beyond the arc. KCP played with aggressiveness and confidence.

Remember, the backboard is your friend. pic.twitter.com/UBFATsIb1D
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 9, 2021

Many of KCP’s looks started on behalf of the assists from Dennis Schröder (14 ast, 10 pts, 6 reb). Where Dennis didn’t knock down as many shots as normal, call him a human cash register because Schröder was full of dimes tonight. He also was getting the ball to Wesley Matthews (14 pts) who was hot on the night as well. Coach Frank Vogel said of Dennis, “He leads our team with the mindset of playing to create for others.”

Speedy on the break pic.twitter.com/5wMDAQrpoz
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 9, 2021

Without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the precise shooting and aggressive defense kept this game a game from start to finish. But ultimately, a case of the turnovers took the game out of the Lakers hand. Dre said postgame of the squad on the floor tonight, “The guys that played did a hell of a job keeping the fight in this game.”

One of those guys was Ben McLemore. Ben made his Lakers debut with his new team tonight. The squad continues to evolve as the season goes on. The Lake Show returns Saturday to face the Eastern Conference's top seed, the Brooklyn Nets.