The Los Angeles Lakers are 2-8 since the All-Star break, and although they continue to hold onto ninth place in the Western Conference, they are on track to not reaching the play-in tournament.
The culprit for much of the season has been the slow starts L.A. suffers.
On Sunday against the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers were outscored 46-16 in the first quarter after taking a 6-2 lead. One night later, the Toronto Raptors scored the first nine points and jumped to a 30-6 lead, which set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Slow starts are especially problematic for L.A. given the team is short-handed and lacks both size and defensive ability.
Carmelo Anthony talked about how these bad first quarters and first halves have been sabotaging his team’s efforts.
"We can't be digging ourselves holes." @carmeloanthony on the #Lakers early deficit and the upcoming road trip. pic.twitter.com/2ZliOiB9ed
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 15, 2022
With Anthony Davis sidelined due to a sprained foot and Dwight Howard being played inconsistently (he didn’t suit up on Monday due to personal reasons), Anthony has found himself playing the 5 quite often, which is just asking for trouble.
