The future was starting to look hopeful for the Los Angeles Lakers coming into this week. They had won five of their previous seven games and were playing well offensively. But they seemingly undid much of that work by losing, 135-119, to the mediocre Houston Rockets on Monday. They looked to Tuesday’s tilt against the Atlanta Hawks as an opportunity to get back on track.
Unfortunately, they would had to go into battle without Anthony Davis, who sat out due to hip spasms.
The Lakers’ defensive woes of late continued early in Tuesday’s game. They gave up 36 first-quarter points and ended the period down by seven points. The situation didn’t get better in the second quarter, and it resulted in L.A. trailing 67-56 at halftime, partly due to its 2-of-13 mark from 3-point range. The team continued to put forth a weak defensive effort by giving up another 36 points in the third quarter, and it resulted in a 138-122 loss.
Interestingly, the Lakers shot 53.3% from the field, and their bench actually did well by putting up 52 points. However, they had trouble from the charity stripe. They made 14 of their 25 free throw attempts.
As was the case on Monday, this game was lost in the effort categories. Los Angeles surrendered nine more rebounds than it earned, allowed 21 second-chance points, and gave up 26 fast-break points. Its overall effort and energy were lacking, and its body language didn’t exactly suggest a confident team that believed in itself.
Yet again, the Purple and Gold have fallen under .500. With a 24-25 record, they’re in ninth place in the Western Conference, and they will visit the Boston Celtics, who have the best record in pro basketball, on Thursday.
Taurean Prince: C
For most of this season, Prince has been a very good 3-point shooter. For the second straight night, he had trouble finding the basket from downtown. He shot 1-of-4 from that distance, and he finished with seven points, two rebounds and one steal in 25 minutes while being virtually a non-factor.
Jaxson Hayes: C-plus/B-minus
Hayes started in place of Davis, and in 24 minutes, he shot 3-of-4, grabbed six rebounds and added four steals, one assist and one blocked shot.
However, he didn’t provide nearly enough resistance defensively in the paint. Atlanta feasted in the lane off penetration and passes. The Lakers missed Davis’ Defensive Player of the Year-caliber presence all night long.
D'Angelo Russell: D
After playing so well over the last few weeks, Russell finally flamed out. He went 1-of-7 in the first half, and he finished with nine points on 3-of-11 overall shooting and 1-of-5 from downtown.
This was the first time in 15 days that Russell didn’t reach 20 points, as well as the first time in exactly a month he failed to get into double figures in scoring.
Austin Reaves: A-minus
On Tuesday, Reaves had his best outing in a while. He scored 28 points while shooting over 50% from the field, and he also knocked down three of his eight 3-point attempts. He was perhaps L.A.’s only real consistent offensive threat throughout the game.
The Arkansas native also dished six assists and had two steals while committing two turnovers in 32 minutes.
However, neither he nor Russell did much on the defensive end. Trae Young scored 26 points and hit six treys, while Dejounte Murray, the Lakers’ biggest trade target right now, shot 11-of-19 and put up 24 points to go along with nine assists.
LeBron James: C-plus
James scored only 20 points while shooting 7-of-17 overall. While he had nine rebounds and eight assists, he struggled in an area he has arguably underachieved for years.
For the second straight night, he had trouble making freebies. He went 3-of-8 from the free throw line against the Rockets, and on Tuesday, he was just 4-of-9 in that department. He missed two key foul shots late in the third quarter after the Lakers went on a brief spurt to come to within 12 points, and the Hawks responded by quickly scoring five unanswered points.
Rui Hachimura: A
Hachimura continues to do a good job of sparking L.A. off the bench. In 23 minutes, he scored 16 points while shooting 7-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep. He also contributed four rebounds and two steals.
After a somewhat rough start to the season that included multiple stints on the injured list, the Japan native seems to be playing his best ball of the year.
Jarred Vanderbilt: B
Vanderbilt bounced back from his ejection on Monday and had a decent game. He made all six of his shot attempts, and he also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 26 minutes.
While he isn’t and will probably never be an offensive threat, it seems he has figured out how to be effective enough offensively. His movement without the ball, willingness to run the floor in transition and ability to convert layups and dunks while being pressured are the big keys for him on that end of the floor.
Christian Wood: B/B-plus
In 22 minutes, Wood scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. He was one of the few Lakers who were effective on the boards; he grabbed eight rebounds.
Max Christie: C-plus
In 11 minutes, Christie made both of his shot attempts to score five points, and he added one rebound and one blocked shot.
Maxwell Lewis, Skylar Mays, Dylan Windler, Jalen Hood-Schifino: Incomplete
During garbage time, Mays went scoreless and had two assists and one rebound, while Hood-Schifino scored two points on free throws and Lewis converted a layup. Windler showed his range by making a pair of 3-pointers while adding one rebound and one assist.
