For the majority of the season, defense has been the calling card of this Lakers
club.
But, in the midst of a nine-game losing streak, that side of the ball has
suddenly become its biggest problem, as seen in a 108-94 loss to Charlotte.
The Hornets (15-23) ran past L.A. early, scoring 63 points by halftime before
tacking on 30 more in the third quarter.
“We let the fact that we missed shots early in the game impact our energy,”
coach Luke Walton said. “It slowly felt like we started to lose that, and we got
more concerned with the offensive end than the defensive end.”
Even with starting point guard Lonzo Ball back in the lineup after an 11-day
injury absence, the Lakers (11-27) simply couldn’t hit shots to begin the game,
which bled into their defense.
Ball put up 11 points, five assists, three 3-pointers and one turnover, but his
team shot just 40.4 percent from the field and 9-of-36 on triples.
@ZO2_ #NBAVote pic.twitter.com/piUtGOLENi
It was a rough night from the field for most of the roster, particularly Kyle
Kuzma (2-of-14), Jordan Clarkson (3-of-10) and Josh Hart (1-of-6).
But the biggest issue was defensively, where the Hornets ran wild for three
quarters behind Kemba Walker (19 points, four steals), Marvin Williams (16
points) and Dwight Howard (15 points, 10 rebounds).
Lack of communication stung the Lakers on that side, as did waning effort.
Walton said that he pulled Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (zero points in 20 minutes)
early on because of an uncharacteristically poor attention to defense.
“That’s how we’re going to win games,” Ball said. “We’re not going to shoot well
every night, but you can always play good defense.”
It was a night when only Brandon Ingram (22 points, career-high 14 rebounds,
four assists) had much going offensively.
Give-and-go off the inbound pass to Brandon Ingram for the dunk #NBAVote (:
@SpectrumSN & @spectdeportes) pic.twitter.com/Fq8n3WAgss
Charlotte even held the Lakers’ high-paced offense to nine fast-break points.
But the focus moving forward is all on one side of the ball.
“We’re going to get back to being a good defensive team no matter what it
takes,” Walton said.
Notes Julius Randle had a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. … Ball threw
down a highlight slam after a crossover on Walker. … A sold-out crowd,
including Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, filled Staples Center.
@zo with a monster one-handed slam
A post shared by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Jan 5, 2018 at 8:16pm PST
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