It is currently danger time for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they’re expected to be without Anthony Davis for at least a month and are still under .500 on the season.
On Wednesday, they traveled north to take on the Sacramento Kings, one of the more surprising teams in the NBA and one of the highest-scoring teams in the league.
The Lakers did a good job of competing in the first quarter, but after that, the roof caved in on them. They gave up 41 points in the second quarter and 40 in the third, as they had trouble limiting Sacramento to one shot and defending the 3-point shot.
Los Angeles’ lack of bench production was also a big problem, as it got only 22 points from its reserves. In the end, it ended up losing big, 134-120.
LeBron James: B-plus
James hit the 30-point mark for his fifth consecutive game by scoring 31 points on 11-of-21 shooting while adding 11 assists and three blocked shots. However, his production ultimately felt like empty calories.
Thomas Bryant: A-minus/A
Bryant continues to do pretty much everything he needs to do to help the Lakers’ cause. On Wednesday he had 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. H is 3-point shot continues to fall; he made both attempts from downtown. The big man also added 10 rebounds and four assists.
Los Angeles needs more interior defense and rim protection from Bryant, however. He’s not an elite shot blocker, but he has averaged 1.5 blocks per 36 minutes throughout his career.
Patrick Beverley: A-minus
Is Beverley starting to pick up his game after playing poorly for most of the season so far? He went 5-of-7 overall, including 1-of-2 from downtown, and he ended the game with 13 points, three assists and three steals.
Dennis Schroder: A-minus/A
Just as he did on Monday versus the Phoenix Suns, Schroder stepped up his game, especially offensively. He had 18 points and hit 2-of-4 from 3-point land, while also adding three assists in 30 minutes.
This is the version of Schroder L.A. will need to have any chance of winning at least half of its games without Davis.
Lonnie Walker IV: A
By going 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown, Walker finished with 19 points, to go along with five rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot. He has effectively taken over the role Malik Monk, who is now with the Kings, had with the Lakers last season.
Wenyen Gabriel: B
The ball tends to find Gabriel because of his energy and effort. He scored three buckets thanks to his movement off the ball, especially in pick-and-roll situations, and he contributed three rebounds and one blocked shot in 16 minutes.
Troy Brown Jr.: C
After a decent start to the season, it has become clear Brown simply isn’t a dependable shot maker or a net positive on the defensive end. He went 2-of-7 versus the Kings and scored seven points while grabbing five rebounds in 15 minutes.
Max Christie: B
Christie may be permanently playing his way into head coach Darvin Ham’s rotation, especially if he can hold his own defensively at the small forward position. He made both of his 3-point attempts on Wednesday while claiming four rebounds and dishing three assists in 26 minutes.
Kendrick Nunn: F
Nunn missed all six of his shots, and in 11 minutes, his only production on the stat sheet was one turnover.
Damian Jones: B-minus
Jones got just six minutes on Wednesday, as Ham elected to go small most of the time that Bryant wasn’t in the game. He scored one bucket and ended up with three rebounds.
