15 lessons from 15 NBA games: Here’s what we learned from an eventful night

NBA Lesson 13. Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors:

Sacramento’s best chance at the Playoffs is its use of pace.

I bet you’re wondering why Stephen Curry isn’t the top headline from this game, and rightfully so. His 47-point master class was the single best performance of the night, but at the same time, we already know that Steph is a superstar. What caught my attention besides his scoring outburst was Sacramento’s ability to change pace on the fly.

They can slow things down by running the offense through Sabonis at the elbows, or speed up with De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk dropping buckets at blistering speed. A healthy dose of pick-and-roll will be churned in no matter which route they choose. Rookie phenom Keegan Murray fits within any context and the Kings have the depth to make adjustments based on their matchup.

With head coach Mike Brown dictating the pace of each game, the Kings have a shot to break the Playoff drought and in turn, the curse on their franchise.

NBA Lesson 14. Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz:

Lakers & Jazz exemplify the duality of team offense.

For the second time in less than a week, the Utah Jazz exposed the biggest issues of the Los Angeles Lakers by simply sticking to their core tenets. Utah plays a team-based style in which no one has an ego and everyone plays to their strengths. They fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, zipping the ball around the court to create quality looks in spots where each player thrives.

The Lakers, on the other hand, play hot potato with the basketball. It’s a ‘You do something, now you do something’ style of offense that doesn’t make any sense. Shot clocks are wasted with the ball in one person’s hands while everyone else stands around and watches. Don’t expect any off-ball actions to free teammates up for quality looks, and even if they luck into space for a decent shot, that person probably isn’t going to get the ball. Utah had twice as many assists as Los Angeles in what should be a serious wakeup call for the Lakers’ decision-makers.

NBA Lesson 15. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Los Angeles Clippers:

LA has enough firepower to compete at the highest level without Kawhi.

I wanted to use this as an opportunity to write about Darius Garland’s uncanny playmaking ability but gosh darn it, the LA Clippers simply won’t stop being an awesome team in lieu of its superstar player nursing a sore knee. Six of nine players who logged minutes hit double-digits in scoring and the team hit 17 of its 38 shots from 3-point range. Paced by another huge game from Paul Geroge (26 points on 50% shooting), the Clippers managed to defeat one of the best teams in the league at full strength without Kawhi Leonard. His injury situation is concerning, to say the least, but even without him available, the Clippers are a legitimate threat to any team they face.

They won’t be an easy matchup in the postseason regardless of his availability.