The Lakeshow Review

Sometimes it snows in Clipperland.

The Lakers made the short trek to Inglewood to take on the Clippers, after defeating the Jazz two days prior. The team had made some decent progress as far as establishing some cohesion, with the offense looking to find its footing amidst the absence of Austin Reaves, LAs second leading scorer. Unfortunately, the middle stepchild Clippers would go on to get the better of this one, as the Lakers seemingly sleepwalked through the contest and did not show much interest in trying to mount a competitive showing. The Clips prevailed 103-88, in one of the lower scoring contests of the NBA season so far. Losing to the Clippers is never a pretty sight, and having them break their five game slump at the Lakers’ expense makes it even worse. The Lakers, though shorthanded, still should have found enough in the tank to bring this one home, but with that kind of effort, it’s tough to beat anyone. It was “Role-Reversal Night” in Clip City, which means that the Lakers need to return the favor when they match up again at Crypto. But for now, this is the type of game you forget about and move on.

The Clippers, who were riding a five-game losing streak, were determined to course correct at the Lakers’ expense. They came out of the gates with great intensity, opening up a 20-9 lead early on in the first quarter. Kawhi Leonard led the way with a season-high 32 points, while James Harden contributed 21 points and 10 assists. John Collins rounded out the starting unit’s balanced scoring with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lakers slow start would be further exacerbated when Luka Dončić sat out the entire second half after exiting with a lower leg contusion. He had 12 points and five boards in 19 minutes, but contributed to the team’s shooting woes, after missing his first six shots. LeBron James had a productive game with 36 points, but failed to make an impact once the Lakers got within single digits late in the fourth quarter. Jake LaRavia, who received the starting nod, was the only other Laker in double digits scoring with 12 points, on 0-4 from range.

The Lakers shot an abysmal 6-38 from three, good for 16%. With the type of effort they put forth, shooting that poorly from distance will all but guarantee a loss. The Clippers for their troubles shot 16-43 from three, good for 37%. You could say that was the difference.

The Clippers looked like the more athletic and determined side. They shot the ball more efficiently, and seemed to corral every 50-50 ball. Despite the Lakers winning the points in the paint battle (48-34), committing less turnovers (11-19) and narrowly losing the rebounding battle (43-48), their outside shooting woes were perhaps a hill too steep. Tough to win a game in today’s NBA after missing 30+ thee pointers. Even though the Lakers managed to make the game close in the fourth quarter, eventually making it a seven point deficit, their erratic shooting did them no favors. They could not get any closer.

The Lakers’ effort was nothing to be proud of. They settled for isolation basketball on one end, and soft-switched their way defensively to an array of quality Clipper looks from range. The Lakers continue doing an incredibly poor job of switching on screens, often surrendering open shots, whether its with a soft switch or meekly going under the screen, surrendering a quality shot. LA is the type of team that can mentally check out on defense when the offense isn’t there. If shots aren’t falling, and they certainly weren’t, they quickly lose interest on the defensive side. That’s the making of an unmotivated team, and they can start by addressing their sub-par switching schemes as well as their screen navigation. Their late rotations are also leaving plenty on the table.

Maybe this is simply one of those games. But we’ve seen a few too many of them in the young stages of the season. The team was shorthanded, with Austin Reaves still nursing a sore calf, while Rui Hachimura (sore groin) and Deandre Ayton (left elbow soreness) all sat out last night’s contest. Luka’s mid-game exit didn’t help matters either. Perhaps with a full compliment of rotations, things will start to sort themselves out. But the effort should always be there.

The Lakers will now travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns again, finalizing their current eight-game road trip. The team needs to bring about a renewed effort and intensity, in order to get themselves back on track. Attention to detail on the defensive end will go a long way. Of course, making shots will also help their cause. Players like Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart need to find their stroke, and even the likes of LeBron, AR and Luka who have all well below their averages. Perhaps we’ll see a positive regression to the mean, as the team is clearly better at shooting the ball than they’ve shown. If not, then Rob Pelinka and the front office will have to get to work in order to add the requisite pieces, now that trade season is officially open. Until then, the team should hang their heads on their toughness and grit in order to keep themselves afloat. At 19-8 they’ve built a decent cushion, but amidst an ultra-competitive Western Conference, they should definitely strive to do better. Go Lakers.