The Lakeshow Review

We are dangerously infringing on ‘panic button’ territory, but not quite there yet.

The Lakers continued their rocky New Year tonight, as they travelled to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on the first night of a back to back (they’ll play the Toronto Raptors tomorrow at Crypto). LA is in the midst of a bad skid, having gone 1-4 in the five games leading up to the contest. The team continues to be hampered by injuries, with guys constantly fluctuating in and out of the rotation, and Austin Reaves continuing to miss time due to a calf strain. Luka Dončić sat out the game due to groin discomfort. As a result LeBron James was left to fend off, alongside the likes of Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura. The Blazers, playing shorthanded themselves (sans top star Deni Avdija), still managed to smoke the Lakers by a final of 132-116. The Purple and Gold are in flux, and will have to look inward to make any sort of improvements and dig themselves out of their current ditch. With the trade deadline still weeks away, and Reaves not slated to return until around the same time, the Lakers will have to demand more out of each other with their current group in order to regain their footing in the standings and continue navigating through the season.

The Blazers got their offense into gear early on, often putting the Lakers’ defense in precarious positions. They punished LAs over-aggressive off-ball defense with backdoor cuts and were also able to get them scrambling in transition, where the Lakers are slow-footed. Shaedon Sharpe had a game-high 25 points, while Jerami Grant and Caleb Lowe each chipped in with 22. Portland were also keen on putting Lakers big man Maxi Kleber in constant ball screen defense, as LA was missing regular starter Deandre Ayton due to left knee soreness. Kleber’s lack of footspeed (or any meaningful defensive skills for that matter) was evident, as he was consistently beat by the Blazers roll man (in most cases Donovan Clingan, who scored 18 points and 11 rebounds). The Lakers pick-and-roll defense has taken a step back as of late, but with Kleber logging significant minutes, this task proved more than monumental tonight.

LA lost on most hustle statistics, getting decimated at the glass 42 rebounds to 27, as well as points in the paint, 52-46, as the team generally had a rough time keeping Portland away from the basket. Marcus Smart had a solid outing, and his 25 points paced the team. G-League call-up Drew Timme was a pleasant surprise, scoring 21 points to lead all Lakers reserves. LeBron James however, had a disappointing night, scoring just 20 points on just 16 shots. In a game ripe for at the very least a dignified stat-padding showcase in order to save face, LeBron was far from the best player on the court. Or even the team. At $56M, I just don’t see how his game translates into winning games at this point. The Lakers are 13-10 with LeBron James this season, this after starting the year 10-4 without him. They even went on a 8-2 stretch during James’ first couple of games back, as he was still getting his legs back. But the more that LeBron has “asserted” himself into the offense, the less the team has been winning. As I’ve written before, the Lakers are in dire need to get out of the Klutch Sports business, as those fruits have been rendered bare at this point. But I digress.

Portland led by 10 (71-61) at the half mark. LA fell behind even further, 107-90 at one point in the third, before mounting a last-ditch effort to get back in the game with a late 7-0 run which cut the deficit to 11. Portland answered by hitting back-to-back triples to effectively seal the game and hand the Lakers their fifth loss in the last six games. It’s been a rough stretch of games going back to the Christmas debacle against Houston, as they’re 5-9 in the last 14 games dating back to mid December. Defensive shortcomings, shooting woes, inconsistent lineups and injuries have all played a role in the team’s current slide, yet somehow they still sits as the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a 24-16 record. Their hot start to the season is still providing a small cushion, but it is starting to shrink with each loss. They’ll have to find a way to put together a good stretch of basketball in these next few weeks, as they await the trade deadline as well as ARs return. But for now, they’ll have to make due with their current group. It’s fair to say that they’ll need more out of Luka ​​Dončić, and much more out of LeBron James. The Lakers are a top-heavy team, and will only go as far as their stars take them. It’s time for those stars to step into the spotlight and provide the team a lift, if not, they could see themselves sink further in the standings, especially with this upcoming eight-game roadie. If they dip below the sixth seed, that’s effectively play-in territory where there are less guarantees. Hopefully the team will show some pride and recapture some of the better habits they displayed early on. Go Lakers.