Bucks vs. Lakers NBA Game of the week

The Milwaukee Bucks travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers. The Bucks are 38-30, and the Lakers are 43-25. This is their only matchup at Crypto.com Arena this season.

Their previous matchup was on March 13, in Milwaukee, where LeBron James did not play. In this game, the Bucks were getting ahead of the Lakers slowly. After one half, it was still relatively close with the Bucks winning 71-63.

Milwaukee blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Los Angeles 31-19. In this quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 12 points. The Bucks went 10-21 from the field while the Lakers went 6-19. The Bucks stretched their lead from eight to 20 this quarter, which ultimately won them the game.

Antetokounmpo had a double-double with 24 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Damian Lillard also had a double-double with 22 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Two other Bucks had more than 20 points, while the entire team shot an amazing 42.5% from three.

Despite the loss, Lakers star Luka Dončić dismantled the Milwaukee defense, achieving his first 40-point game in a Laker jersey, totaling 45 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 53.8% from the three point line, which is his highest three-point percentage with the Lakers so far(IS IT THOUGH).

Only two other Lakers scored 10 or more points were Austin Reaves with 28 and Dalton Knecht with 10 respectively. Reaves went 10-for-17 from the field and 4-for-7 from three while Knecht went 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-4 from three respectively.

Other than Dončić, Reaves and Knecht, it was a pitiful showing by the Lakers. Out of the 106 points scored by Los Angeles, 83 of them were scored by that trio. If the Lakers want to win tonight, they need the rest of their roster to step up.

Granted, the Lakers are missing one of the greatest players of all time in LeBron James. During the Lakers loss to the Celtics on March 8, James suffered a left groin strain. This left the team without the guy averaging 25 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists. However, the Lakers do have a trick up their sleeve.

Rookie Head Coach JJ Redick lives and breathes the game of basketball. After 15 NBA seasons, he was hired by ESPN as a game analyst. He was then promoted to the network’s lead broadcast team. He was also part of a podcast titled “Mind the Game” with LeBron James.

After the shocking trade involving Anthony Davis and Luka Dončić, many expected the Lakers to falter on the defensive end. Their defensive anchor in Davis was gone, leaving them without a star big man on the floor. This is where Redick comes in.

His basketball IQ and various defensive schemes started to show. Since the trade, the Lakers have a defensive rating of 109.9, which is third in the league.

One stat that is extremely impressive is defended field goal percentage (DFG%). It is the opponents field goal percentage on shots when a player is defending the shot. The formula is defended field goals made divided by defended field goals attempted.

Since the trade, the Lakers have a league leading 43.3 DFG%. These defensive stats should say a lot about the team, but more about Redick as he has his Lakers defending with a ton of effort.

That’s all well and good, but without a proper big man, they must be giving up points in the paint? That’s not the case either. Since the trade, their opponents are averaging 45.3 points in the paint, which is fourth in the league.

On the other hand, Antetokounmpo is averaging a league leading 19.7 points in the paint per game. With the Lakers having to deal with Antetokounmpo’s presence in the paint, they need to be wary of the Bucks’ three point shooting, as they are averaging 38.3% from three this year, second only to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This game should be great as Dončić and the Lakers battle Antetokounmpo and the Bucks late tonight.

Jack Harrison is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jkh6603@psu.edu.