J.R.

Smith

Green took a hard fall during the second quarter, and that injury meant a couple spot minutes for J.R. Smith during the third quarter. Smith played three minutes, with no stats to show for it outside of two personal fouls. As for Green, he struggled shooting the ball even before the injury and finished with three points (1-of-8 FGs), two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one 3-pointer in 22 minutes.

Waiters was considered to be a game-time decision, but he did not play at all as the Lakers closed out Portland. With the team’s second round opponent yet to be determined (Houston holds a 3-2 lead on Oklahoma City), Waiters will have a few days to get back to full strength. J.R. Smith played seven minutes off the bench in Waiters’ absence, but neither is worth using in any fantasy format right now.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel reportedly “thinks Waiters will be available,” but obviously that’s conjecture until he takes the court before tip-off. If he’s out, J.R. Smith and Danny Green will pick up his minutes.

They’re likely going to be listed as probable for every playoff game moving forward. The Lakers will not change their starting unit for Game 2, so it’ll be James, Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Davis and JaVale McGee again. Frank Vogel did say he’ll likely expand the rotation for Game 2, so maybe Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith will get out there tonight.

Waiters seemed to tweak his right knee when Buddy Hield rolled back into his leg on a drive to the hoop, but he played through it, so we suspect he’ll be fine for the playoffs. J.R. Smith started the second half with Danny Green on a minutes limit, and he finished with 11 points, one 3-pointer, one rebound, two assists, one steal and one turnover in 25 minutes.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel used Saturday’s game to get extended looks at both Cook and rookie Talen Horton-Tucker, as the general feeling is that the Lakers’ playoff rotation is not fully set. Cook made a good case for himself, shooting 5-of-9 from three, while Horton-Tucker was responsible for 10 points (4-of-7 FGs), one rebound, one block and two 3-pointers in 16 minutes. Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith, who have struggled recently, were both DNP-CD’s on Saturday. With the Lakers having already locked up the top seed in the West, the battle for minutes on the back end of the rotation will garner most of the attention heading into the playoffs.

KCP bounced-back after going scoreless in the Lakers’ first scrimmage, and in addition to going a perfect 2-of-2 from the line, he didn’t commit a single turnover. J.R. Smith finished with six points, three rebounds, one assist and two turnovers in 21 minutes and Dion Waiters contributed 12 points, three rebounds, two triples, one assist and four turnovers in 21 minutes off the bench. It’s likely going to be a committee approach filling the two-guard minutes in Los Angeles, making this a value-killing timeshare situation for all involved.

He hit a big three late that gave the Lakers a chance to get back in the game and steal a win, but it wasn’t meant to be. He’ll join Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma to help the Lakers have 3-point options while LeBron and Anthony Davis work on the inside.

“His nickname is ‘Swish’ for a reason,” Vogel said of Smith. “He’s a big-time shot maker and he looks like he’s in terrific physical condition.” Smith will join Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as the primary deep threats for the Lakers and both players will also focus on defense in the absence of Avery Bradley in Orlando. And on a side note, Mike Trudell reports that the Lakers were 17-3 this season in games where KCP started for Bradley.

This was an expected move that has now been finalized. Smith takes the roster spot vacated by Avery Bradley, who opted not to play in Orlando, but it remains to be seen if he’s in the Lakers’ rotation. More likely than not, L.A. will replace Bradley’s 24.2 minutes per game with more Alex Caruso, Rajon Rondo, and maybe Dion Waiters.