LeBron James has a way of pulling attention to his orbit. But even as he scored 50 points on Friday evening, he was hardly alone as the Lakers pulled away in the fourth-quarter stretch.
There were Malik Monk 3-pointers in quick succession. There was Talen Horton-Tucker, spinning past Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and dunking over Kyle Kuzma. There was Austin Reaves, attacking a closeout and finishing a layup over Corey Kispert.
The Lakers young players were out in such force, that Russell Westbrook was benched for nearly the last nine minutes of the 122-109 win over Washington.
“Those guys are talented guys,” coach Frank Vogel said. “They’ve continued to improve and get better and more comfortable in our system, in our environment. And I got them down as 21 for 38. Malik, Austin and Talen. That trio is another reason amongst others why I believe we have a chance.”
It seems telling that on a roster that originally touted its experience, the young members of the Lakers have recently been the players Vogel leans on. Against the Wizards, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley didn’t play a minute. The Lakers went with a starting lineup of James, Westbrook, Reaves, Monk and Stanley Johnson for the fourth time this season (no Lakers lineup has started more than five times so far).
