LeBron James, Anthony Davis score in Lakers win over Trail Blazers

The Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 107-95 on Friday for their third victory in four games. It was frustrating at times and featured many of the same mistakes that have plagued this team this year, but it also reflected a team that led by double digits for much of the night and ended up winning fairly comfortably.

Let’s rate the wins. Grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the player’s average performance.

Cam Red

Played 31 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 of 4 shots, 2 of 1 three-pointers, 3 of 4 free throws, +1

Cam Reddish made a ridiculous steal multiple times in this game, based almost entirely on predicting where the player was going to go. He has an incredible skill that he has demonstrated many times.

Other than that, it was a pretty lackluster game for Cam.

Grade: B

LeBron James

Played 35 minutes, scored 35 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, made 13 of 22 field goals, 5 of 9 three-pointers, 4 of 6 free throws, +18

Can you have a show that makes you turn back the clock without feeling like it’s moving forward? LeBron has classic LeBron play, especially the three-point shot.

After going 5-for-9 from the field on Friday, he’s now shooting 27-for-68 from the field, a 39.7 percent clip. It’s a very welcome sight, especially after last season.

A+ grade

Anthony Davis

Played 35 minutes, 16 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 steals and 2 assists, 8 of 19 field goals, 1 of 0 three-pointers, 0 of 1 free throws, +1

Davis is clearly not 100 percent yet, but he found a way to be more efficient on Friday, too. He had a double-double, his shots at the rim were limited, and he was generally more effective.

He also got into foul trouble and forced turnovers while shooting 42.1 percent from the field on the night. On nights like this, you could bear it with him, good or bad.

Grade: B-

Taurus Prince

Played 35 minutes, 10 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 rebound, 3 of 7 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, +10

It never really feels like Taurus Prince has a noisy bad game, which is a great trait to have. But it would certainly be nice if he started having more ostensibly good games.

He still struggles with his three-point shot. He’s done enough to stay positive, but imagine what would happen if he started shooting at the 40 percent rate he promised.

Grade: B

D’Angelo Russell

Played 29 minutes, 14 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds, 5 of 10 field goals, 4 of 7 three-pointers, 0 of 1 free throws, +2

Russell once again set a very good tone at the beginning of this game, scoring 11 of the 14 points in the first half. However, he continues to find ways to make an impact outside of scoring, as evidenced by his passing.

Despite a dip in usage, his 6.6 assists still rank third in his career. He’s a perfect fit for this roster, which may lead to his tenure in Los Angeles being longer than some expect.

Grade: B

Rui Hachimura

Played 28 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, 3 of 5 field goals, 1 of 2 three-pointers, +9

It’s not a great Rui game, but it’s not bad either. In the decisive offensive of the second half, he received multiple assists from LeBron. After going 1-2 from the field on Friday, Rui shot an astonishing 50 percent from three.

Grade: B

Christian Wood

20 minutes, 10 points, 10 rebounds, 9 of 5 shots, 3 of 0 three-pointers, +5

After a poor showing off the bench, Christian Wood put in a solid performance in Friday’s game. He does a good job of finishing around the basket and counterattacking.

He’s still a really good defensive rebounder, and that alone makes him valuable.

Grade: B+

Austin Reeves

Played 18 minutes, 7 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 of 4 field goals, 0-1 on three-pointers, 6 of 5 free throws, +10

For the second straight game, Reeves struggled with turnovers and was relatively ineffective. Ending with +10 doesn’t really tell the whole story.

Now, that’s just two bad games back to back. But it’s worth noting right now.

Grade: C+

Jason Hayes

8 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 steal, +4

This is a relatively unimportant factor. Once again, I’m amazed that a guy so tall and athletic can grab a rebound in a game.

Grade: C

Max Christie/Maxwell Lewis

Neither performed well enough to warrant a rating.

Darwin Ham

An underrated aspect of coaching is pushing the right buttons in a game when reliable players are underperforming. Ham does a great job at this, but when LeBron becomes a superstar, his job becomes even easier.

Grade: B+

No activity on Friday: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jared Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Colin Castleton.Dermoy Hodge, Alex Fudge

You can follow Jacob on Twitter: @Jacobrud.

read more