Player Grades: Lakers vs. Pelicans

Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 136-115 win over the Pelicans.

Boy, a blowout win sure is fun. Those weren’t all that common in the last two seasons, but they’ve been happening at an increasing rate this year.

This contest had “trap game” written all over it. Coming off two big wins over the Clippers and with a showdown with the Knicks looming, this one could have easily been overlooked. However, the Lakers had a very serious approach to this game, took care of business and got some time on the bench laughing and celebrating to close.

Basically, this team is really fun. And after having to watch some very unserious basketball at times the last two years, I won’t take this for granted.

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

30 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3-10 FG, 2-7 3PT, +5

Another night where the shot wasn’t quite falling, but he still was an impactful player. He wasn’t the sole reason, but the identity of this team changed so much once he got to Los Angeles.

Grade: B-

LeBron James

33 minutes, 34 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 10-18 FG, 5-10 3PT, 9-9 FT, +7

What is there left to say about LeBron? He’s hard to fathom.

Tuesday was one of the more interesting examples of LeBron and Luka playing together. This felt like LeBron being able to hang out on the perimeter a bit more, leading to him taking 10 3-pointers and making half of them.

There’s so much potential for Luka and LeBron together. It’s insane they’re teammates.

Grade: A

Jaxson Hayes

24 minutes, 19 points, 10 rebounds, 8-8 FG, 3-3 FT, +4

Look, it doesn’t get better than this from Hayes. A damn near 20-10 game from him would have felt impossible about 13 months ago. And yes, now he’s flourishing alongside LeBron and Luka.

Grade: A+

Gabe Vincent

29 minutes, 2 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1-7 FG, 0-6 3PT, -8

The end of Gabe’s shooting slump lasted one quarter last game, because he’s right back in it. The irony is that it’s coming when he’s starting games and while I think he’s still not “lose minutes in the rotation” bad yet, it’d sure be nice if he knocked down some shots again.

Grade: F

Luka Dončić

34 minutes, 30 points, 8 rebounds, 15 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 9-19 FG, 6-13 3PT, 6-11 FT, +37

Man, Luka is a Laker.

Each game feels more and more like the real Luka. Tonight, he seemed to alternate between knocking down 3-pointers and finding teammates for wide-open shots. The team shot 52 3-pointers on the night and Luka was constantly throwing dimes all over the court.

And, again, we’re only scratching the surface.

Grade: A+

Jarred Vanderbilt

20 minutes, 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, +27

I’m so glad we’re getting a nice run of Vando playing well again. It took a really long time and there were some questions about whether he would be able to make an impact like this again.

But he’s back and while he’s rapidly approaching peak Vando. And it shouldn’t go unnoticed that he seems to maybe have a corner 3-pointer now?

Grade: A-

Dalton Knecht

26 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 5-9 FG, 2-6 3PT, 1-2 FT, +2

It’s nice to see Knecht back to not just making shots, but playing impactful basketball again. We were about at the point where it would be hard to keep him in the rotation, especially with the emergence of Jordan Goodwin. Now, he’s re-solidified his spot.

Grade: B+

Shake Milton

19 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, +30

Yes, Shake Milton was a +30 in this game.

And you know what? Shoutout to him. He was a solid contributor in this one, knocked down some timely corner 3-pointers and played good rotation minutes.

Grade: B+

Trey Jemison III

17 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2-2 FG, +7

I don’t really care what the stats say on this one, Jemison is such an impactful player. He’s a physical force down low that forces teams to work hard to secure rebounds. He stands up for his teammates and knows that’s part of the role and expectation for him.

But he’s also a surprisingly good passer in the short roll. He made a couple of really nice reads tonight and continues to impress in that regard.

Grade: B+

Alex Len, Bronny James

Bronny garbage time minutes! And he scored on top of it. I appreciate him just hoisting away from three as well.

JJ Redick

After the game, Redick said he and his staff anticipated having more 3-point looks on Tuesday as the Pelicans, since Zion Williamson’s return, were giving up lots of attempts from range.

It’s a little thing, but stuff like that doesn’t feel like it was there under Darvin Ham.

Grade: A-

Tuesday’s DNPs: Cam Reddish

Tuesday’s inactives: Markieff Morris, Maxi Kleber, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Jordan Goodwin, Christian Koloko

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