Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 120-108 win over the Nuggets.
After a disastrous road trip that featured lots of injuries and losses, the Lakers returned home and got back to winning ways.
The pairing of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves has found their footing together and is leading the way with LeBron James out recovering from his groin strain. On Wednesday, it was a lot of Luka early, a good bit of Austin in the middle and not much of either of them in the fourth with the Lakers up 30.
That it came against the Nuggets was icing on top. And no, it doesn’t take away from the win that it came against a Denver side without Nikola Jokić or Jamal Murray. Ask the Nuggets themselves how difficult it can be to beat a team without its stars.
So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Jordan Goodwin
26 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 2-7 FG, 0-3 3PT, 4-4 FT, +1
Not a great night in terms of scoring for Goodwin, including the bizarre sequence in the first half when he missed a three, got a second chance at it, hesitated and handed the ball off to DFS so that he could also miss a three.
But the number that jumps out here is the four steals.
On the Lakers newest gem Jordan Goodwin and knowing your role
Grade: B
Dorian Finney-Smith
30 minutes, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 5-7 FG, 3-4 3PT, 1-2 FT, +26
A strong night for DFS both in terms of raw stats and impact. For one, he went 3-4 from three in a much-welcomed strong shooting night. For two, he was a PLUS TWENTY-SIX.
DFS has been a Laker for only about half the season and his total plus-minus this year of +224 leads the team and is 50 points higher than anyone else.
Grade: A
Jaxson Hayes
24 minutes, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-4 FG, 0-2 FT, +11
It wasn’t quite the same decimation as a pairing for Hayes and Luka on Wednesday, but it was still a nice, quiet, productive performance.
But please start making your free throws.
Grade: B+
Austin Reaves
36 minutes, 22 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 8-16 FG, 2-7 3PT, 4-4 FT, +13
It’s nice when a 22-point showing is one of the worst in the last week-plus for Reaves. He let Luka cook early, then put his imprint on the game in the middle quarters.
The downside of this stat is that he had to play 36 minutes due to the unseriousness of the fourth quarter. Fortunately, he’s the only player who had big minutes on his legs.
Grade: B+
Luka Dončić
32 minutes, 31 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 10-21 FG, 4-9 3PT, 7-10 FT, +20
Is it right to feel a bit underwhelmed by this final stat line? I only say that because, at the pace he went in the first quarter, it felt like 50 or 60 points was on the table.
I mainly joke about that, but Luka got the Lakers started off right in this one and let them play from ahead all night long. And, he got to rest in the fourth quarter, too.
Grade: A
Gabe Vincent
23 minutes, 12 points, 1 assist, 4-6 FG, 4-6 3PT, +7
I think one of my favorite plays of the season for Vincent involved him catching a pass on the baseline while open from about 12 feet away before he jogged out to the 3-point line and knocked down the open shot instead of taking the two points.
It’s only my favorite because the shot went in, though.
Grade: A-
Dalton Knecht
25 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4-10 FG, 3-7 3PT, 1-2 FT, -6
Prior to the mess of a fourth quarter, Knecht was 3-4 from the field with all of those being 3-pointers. He also had a plus-minus of +8.
I’m not writing off the fourth quarter, but he’s been playing the best basketball of his brief career for multiple weeks running now.
Dalton Knecht is getting his groove back at the perfect time for the Lakers
Jarred Vanderbilt
18 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 4-6 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT, +6
A nice bounceback game from Vando, who didn’t make much of an impact in either of the last two games. When he, DFS, Vincent and Goodwin are all playing with a high energy level, it’s suffocating defensively. The quartet combined for eight steals on the night.
Grade: B+
Christian Koloko
14 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2-2 FG, -3
A much better effort from Koloko as well in this one. After some rough games this week, Koloko looked stronger in this one, though the fact he didn’t have to bang with Joker helped a lot.
Grade: B-
Bronny James, Shake Milton
Neither guy played ten minutes, but Shake was hoisting away, attempting — and missing — four shots in his seven minutes.
JJ Redick
I’m mainly beating a dead horse with much of my comments about JJ this year. But compare how the Lakers handled this game vs. how the Nuggets handled their game against a shorthanded Lakers team last week.
Grade: A
Monday’s DNPs: Alex Len, Markieff Morris, Cam Reddish
Monday’s inactives: Maxi Kleber, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Trey Jemison III
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
