But the most significant performances last week came from the supporting cast.<\/p>\n
All things Lakers, all the time. Don\u2019t forget No. 12<\/p>\n
The way Rob Pelinka commemorated Jake LaRavia\u2019s 27-point outburst against Minnesota in October warmed this print journalist\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n
After LaRavia made 10 of 11 shots to introduce himself to fans and Minnesota star Anthony Edwards, the Lakers\u2019 general manager splashed a photo of LaRavia gazing out of a window on the front page of a faux newspaper and printed it on a black T-shirt.<\/p>\n
The bold headline over the image read: \u201cWho is Number 12<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n Two months after his breakout Lakers moment, LaRavia authored a long-awaited follow-up story. Starting in place of the injured Rui Hachimura, he scored 20 and 26 points in back-to-back games against Memphis. <\/p>\n LaRavia\u2019s scoring punch against his first NBA team was the obvious headline grabber, but it shouldn\u2019t overshadow the 24-year-old\u2019s consistent contribution all season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the way he plays,\u201d James said. \u201cHe plays hard, he defends, he rebounds. The scoring can go up, it can go down. But his consistency of how he plays keeps him on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n LaRavia has been the Lakers\u2019 most consistent defender this season, coach JJ Redick said after Sunday\u2019s game in which LaRavia was a game-high plus-15 in his 34 minutes and 30 seconds on the court. His defensive influence, averaging career-highs in rebounds (4.3), steals (1.3) and blocks (0.5), has exceeded expectations for the Lakers.<\/p>\n Redick knew he wanted to target the rangy 6-foot-7 forward because the Lakers were bottom-third in blocks (22nd, 4.5 per game), steals (22nd, 7.7 per game) and deflections (24th, 15.2) last year. Top wing defender Dorian Finney-Smith signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Houston Rockets.<\/p>\n Now LaRavia and fellow offseason addition Marcus Smart are tied for the team lead in deflections with 3.1 each per game.<\/p>\n LaRavia started his college career at Indiana State before transferring to Wake Forest, where he averaged 14.6 points per game as a junior. He was drafted 19th overall in 2022 and averaged 10.8 points in his second year. Looking back, LaRavia realizes that, at the time, he only wanted to be on the court for his offense. He admitted he wasn\u2019t a very strong defender.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until last year that things \u201cclicked,\u201d LaRavia said. If he wanted to stay in the NBA, he would have to do more than score.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of offensive talent in this league,\u201d said LaRavia, who was shipped to Sacramento in a midseason trade last year. \u201cI would say there\u2019s not as much people that are willing to go out there every night and just play as hard as they can and provide energy and effort on the defensive side.\u201d<\/p>\n The energy has transferred to offensive production, where LaRavia is thriving on what the Lakers call \u201ceffort offense.\u201d He crashes for rebounds. He cuts to the basket. He runs the floor in transition. Those little things easily make up for LaRavia\u2019s 32.7% shooting from three, the lowest percentage of his career.<\/p>\n The three-point shot is starting to click as well; LaRavia made seven of 16 threes in two games against the Grizzlies. He credited his work with assistant coach Beau Levesque for helping him get back to basics with his shot while maintaining confidence and focus.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has the words for me every time we come in here and shoot, but it\u2019s more so just the consistent work that we put in,\u201d LaRavia said. \u201cHe always says control the input \u2026 and the output is going to show for itself. And he also says stuff like, \u2018Don\u2019t be reactionary.\u2019 I had a good game, but we don\u2019t react off that. We continue to put in the same kind of work and just continue to play.\u201d<\/p>\n LaRavia knows his front-page moment can be fleeting. Just when it looked as if he had arrived in early November with 20-point performances in two out of three games, LaRavia didn\u2019t reach the mark again until last Friday. <\/p>\n More than two months after he first announced who No. 12 was, LaRavia is still introducing the league to parts of his game. A soaring one-handed dunk against Memphis last Friday got teammates jumping to their feet on the bench. After the game, James described LaRavia as \u201csneaky athletic.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about the description, LaRavia smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a fan of \u2018sneaky athletic,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Next men up Lakers guard Nick Smith Jr.<\/p>\n (Amanda Loman \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n The Lakers have had all 14 of their standard contract players available for only two games this season. The revolving door of injuries has forced the Lakers to live out the \u201cnext man up\u201d mantra.<\/p>\n Next up are Dalton Knecht and Nick Smith Jr., who are seeing more consistent playing time while Austin Reaves (calf) and Gabe Vincent (back) are sidelined.<\/p>\n Smith, who is playing on a two-way contract, delivered with 21 points in the Lakers\u2019 win over the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 28, their first game without Reaves. The third-year guard\u2019s instant offense was why the Lakers picked him up on the eve of training camp.<\/p>\n Conversely, Knecht is not being judged solely on whether he makes shots, Redick said. The Lakers simply need the sharp-shooting second-year forward to \u201cplay hard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you make a mistake, just get it on the next position,\u201d Knecht said of what coaches are asking of him, \u201cand just don\u2019t repeat that mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n Knecht flashed his potential in a hot start to his rookie season when he shot 46% from three in November 2024. But Knecht found himself on the trading block months later. He was briefly sent to Charlotte, only to U-turn when the trade was rescinded because of a failed physical.<\/p>\n This season, coaches told Knecht his opportunities on the floor would come down to his defense. He was playing regularly when the Lakers were still without James earlier this season, but he was largely relegated to garbage time after the superstar forward returned.<\/p>\n Jarred Vanderbilt\u2019s standing on the team also changed drastically when James returned. The forward was out of the rotation completely for 10 games after James made his season debut on Nov. 18.<\/p>\n But the Lakers, in need of a defensive reset, turned to Vanderbilt again on Dec. 14. He has played in nine consecutive games, averaging 6.6 points and 5.8 rebounds with seven total steals. After his three-point shooting was a major liability on offense, Vanderbilt is shooting 11 for 25 (44%) from three since rejoining the rotation.<\/p>\n Vanderbilt\u2019s resurgence has given Knecht an example to follow as he tries to solidify his standing in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cMe and him had long talks about that,\u201d Knecht said. \u201cMaking sure that both of us are ready for the rotation when the guys go down or just throw one of us in.\u201d<\/p>\n On tap<\/p>\n Jan. 6 at Pelicans (8-29), 5 p.m. PST<\/b><\/p>\n The Pelicans have lost seven in a row. Zion Williamson (18.3 points, 5.9 rebounds) is back after missing both games against the Lakers earlier this season. <\/p>\n Jan. 7 at Spurs (25-10), 6:30 p.m. PST<\/b><\/p>\n After dominating the Lakers to end L.A.\u2019s NBA Cup hopes in December, San Antonio announced itself as a title contender by beating Oklahoma City three consecutive times. Center Victor Wembanyama hyperextended his knee on Dec. 31 and missed two games, but could return in time to play the Lakers on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Jan. 9 vs. Bucks (16-20), 7:30 p.m. PST<\/b><\/p>\n Milwaukee has won five of its last seven. Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s status with the team has been the biggest story line for the underwhelming Bucks, who are 11th in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n Status report<\/p>\n Gabe Vincent: lumbar back strain <\/b><\/p>\n Vincent is questionable for Tuesday\u2019s game after missing eight games. He participated in a stay-ready game after practice last Saturday in his first on-court action since suffering the back injury. <\/p>\n Rui Hachimura: right calf strain <\/b><\/p>\n Hachimura will remain sidelined for at least the upcoming trip. He will stay in L.A. and could work with the G League affiliate South Bay Lakers. Hachimura has been out since Dec. 30.<\/p>\n Austin Reaves: left calf strain <\/b><\/p>\n Reaves won\u2019t be reevaluated until at least Jan. 23.<\/p>\n Adou Thiero: right MCL sprain<\/b><\/p>\n The rookie forward will be sidelined for four weeks and won\u2019t be reevaluated until the end of January.<\/p>\n Favorite thing I ate this week Naan pizza with sausage, peppers and caramelized onions.<\/p>\n (Thuc Nhi Nguyen \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Don\u2019t cancel me for this. But sometimes for a home cooking hack, I use Trader Joe\u2019s frozen naan for the crust on a personal pizza. I spent a year or two trying to perfect my own pizza dough technique, and I made good progress, but during a busy season, I don\u2019t have the patience \u2014 or foresight \u2014 to be fiddling around with any fresh dough for a pizza night.<\/p>\n I topped a piece of garlic naan with homemade tomato sauce, cheese, Italian sausage, red peppers and caramelized onions. Then I finished it with a drizzle of hot honey.<\/p>\n I can only hope I will still be allowed to enter Italy next month for the Winter Olympics despite this culinary transgression. Take this as the only thing I have to declare at customs. <\/p>\n In case you missed it<\/p>\n Why the Lakers locked back in on Deandre Ayton in their comeback win against Grizzlies<\/a><\/p>\n Lakers takeaways: Jake LaRavia sets the tone in starting lineup during win over Grizzlies<\/a><\/p>\n Lakers takeaways: Pistons dominate paint as Lakers close out a sub-.500 December<\/a><\/p>\n Lakers takeaways: Nick Smith Jr. shines in win over Kings with Austin Reaves sidelined<\/a><\/p>\n Until next time…<\/p>\n As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com<\/a>, and please consider subscribing<\/a> if you like our work!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to The Times\u2019 Lakers newsletter, where we\u2019re trying to star in our role. With one of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":496784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[190819,1582,276,59416,23301,83097,2961,8604,224,2444,5337,21063,7825,9323,7629,190820,3007,6620,190821,124365,2452],"class_list":{"0":"post-496783","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-big-trade-move","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-guys","12":"tag-howard","13":"tag-jerami-grant","14":"tag-la","15":"tag-lakers","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-times","18":"tag-losangeles","19":"tag-next-month","20":"tag-pandemic","21":"tag-player","22":"tag-players","23":"tag-talen-horton","24":"tag-team","25":"tag-time","26":"tag-trade-season","27":"tag-tucker","28":"tag-week"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115848908979093801","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Los](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767713951_414_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Naan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767713952_594_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n