Player Grades: Lakers vs. Clippers

Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 108-102 win over the Clippers.

How sweet it is to open a tough month of March with back-to-back wins over the Clippers to clinch the season series (and definitely not sweep them which I definitely did not briefly has as the headline of the recap).

Neither game was perfect, but both featured the Lakers controlling the contest throughout and forcing the Clippers to play from behind. It was a test for a shorthanded Lakers team in both games as Austin Reaves played nine of the 96 minutes in the two games and Rui Hachimura missed both.

In some respects, this two-game series feels like a sort of turning point in terms of continuity, chemistry and togetherness. The bench really stepped up in both games and different players in each contest.

The Lakers have things to still iron out, but there’s plenty of signs of what this team could be. These two games were a particularly encouraging start to March.

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.

Dorian Finney-Smith

37 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4-9 FG, 2-5 3PT, 1-2 FT, +24

A solid outing from DFS, who was a casual +24 in a game the Lakers won by six. He also would have had a much nicer stat line if he hadn’t smoked a layup and a putback in the fourth quarter.

Jokes aside, big games like this show just how much value DFS brings in big games.

Grade: B+

LeBron James

36 minutes, 17 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 6-17 FG, 1-6 3PT, 4-4 FT, -5

A much more subdued game from LeBron in this one as he struggled with his shot. Finishing one point short of reaching that 50,000 points mark — his combined total between regular season and postseason — is a great bit, but it’s also a fairly arbitrary as the NBA doesn’t count stats for play-in games or the In-Season Tournament championship.

Grade: C+

Jaxson Hayes

26 minutes, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2-2 FG, 2-3 FT, +11

The highlight of the night from Hayes was his wild and-one dunk over Ivica Zubac.

Hayes continues to shine as a starter now, including coming up with a couple blocks. It’s hard to expect much more out of him, which is something I continue to say about his games.

Grade: A-

Gabe Vincent

31 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-10 FG, 3-6 3PT, +2

Vincent started the game off knocking down some shots. He hit three of his first four attempts from range before fading in the second half. But he also brought a high level of defense.

It’s a tough ask to start in place of Austin Reaves and while he’ll never bring the offense Austin does, his defense is a welcome addition to that lineup.

Grade: B

Luka Dončić

37 minutes, 29 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 9-17 FG, 5-12 3PT, 6-9 FT, +19

Definitely Luka’s best non-Denver game and, thus, his best home game so far. This was the most he’s looked like himself, too. He was knocking down stepback 3-pointers with regularity and picked up the scoring with LeBron having an off night.

Grade: A

Jarred Vanderbilt

22 minutes, 8 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 4-7 FG, 0-3 3PT, +10

One of Vando’s best performances since coming back from injury. The 22 minutes are the most he’s played this season. And the sequence of him throwing down an alley-oop, racing back for a block on Zubac and then Luka hitting a 3-pointer is exactly the type of sequences I missed from Vando.

He also spent two games putting James Harden in hell, alongside Vincent.

Grade: A+

Trey Jemison III

18 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1-2 FG, 1-2 FT, -2

I maintain that Jemison is a chaotic force. While Friday was a fun chaotic, this one went a little too far in the other direction, including fouling Harden on a 3-pointer.

He’s a ball of energy though and I think you can live with the bad right now as he continues figuring things out in the NBA.

Grade: D

Dalton Knecht

25 minutes, 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 7-10 FG, 5-8 3PT, -13

Welcome back, Knecht. You were sorely missed.

This was just Knecht knocking down some open 3-pointers. This was him creating for himself and looking like the version of himself who was lighting things up back in November.

He helped close the game, knocking down a late clutch 3-pointer, and even was on the floor for a big late defensive stop. A huge night from him.

Grade: A

Shake Milton

He only played nine minutes but they were nine painful minutes. He finished a team-worst -16 in a game the Lakers won by six. Big, big oof.

JJ Redick

A credit to Redick for having the guys on the bench ready to contribute. Vando, Knecht, Jemison and Shake combined for 36 points, 16 rebounds and 14-22 shooting. I’ve also said this a couple of times, but he’s absolutely pushing every right button.

Grade: A-

Sunday’s DNPs: Alex Len, Markieff Morris, Cam Reddish

Sunday’s inactives: Christian Koloko, Jordan Goodwin, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Maxi Kleber, Bronny James

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.