Deflating. Irritating. Embarrassing.
What different phrases can be utilized to explain the Lakers’ 100-97 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Area on Wednesday night time?
So what if Luka Doncic was taking part in for under the third time since Christmas? So what if Austin Reaves was ejected within the third quarter? So what if the Lakers’ two greatest defensive gamers at the moment are Dallas Mavericks? So what if the Lakers have been getting back from the All-Star break?
They misplaced to the stinkin’ Hornets, and that was with LeBron James scoring 16 of his team-high 26 factors within the fourth quarter.
The Lakers should do one thing, they usually understand it, coach JJ Redick calling his crew “a little bit of a work in progress.”
Are they ever.
They’ve James and Doncic however no heart, the crew counting on the likes of Jaxson Hayes and Alex Len to supply an inside presence after their commerce with the Hornets for Mark Williams was rescinded.
Teaching could make up for shortcomings in personnel, and that locations a substantial burden on Redick, whose job description was out of the blue and radically modified with about 30 video games remaining in his rookie season.
“Just trying to figure out what this new group is,” Redick stated.
Whether or not Redick can do that can decide how this season unfolds.
Whether or not Redick can devise a virtually center-less system will dictate whether or not the Lakers salvage this season or as soon as once more take a wait-until-next-year method.
The stakes are excessive. Yearly counts, particularly with James already 40 years outdated and Doncic eligible to decide out of his contract after subsequent season.
“I’m excited because this is a new problem to solve,” Redick stated. “Great. We’ll work our butts off to solve the problem.”
He higher. Or else.
The Lakers are properly practiced within the artwork of throwing coaches below the proverbial bus, and Redick can be naive to assume they gained’t do to him what they did to Darvin Ham or Frank Vogel if he can’t remodel the crew right into a reputable contender sooner somewhat than later.
As most coaches in an analogous place would do, Redick pleaded for persistence.
“I think we played, I don’t even know, 39 to 44 minutes of pretty poor offense,” he stated. “Some of that’s to be expected. Some of it was sloppiness, some of it was poor spacing, some it was poor execution. The reason I’m not going to read too much into it is because I think our guys competed tonight and they played extremely hard. I also think Charlotte played very sloppy. That’s not to make an excuse. That’s just the reality of just having six days off as a group and integrating new pieces.”
Doncic scored simply 14 factors on 5-of-18 capturing, however that shouldn’t ring any alarm bells. He’ll presumably regain energy in his legs and resume scoring sooner or later.
Extra troubling was the crew’s offensive method. Redick sounded as if he was doubling down on his analytics-driven philosophy of calling for extra three-point makes an attempt, even when the Lakers may not have the mandatory gamers to execute such a technique.
“I felt from the Detroit game on Dec. 23, I’ve really liked the threes we’ve generated,” Redick stated.
In opposition to the Hornets, the Lakers tried a season-high 51 threes. Of their earlier sport, a 131-119 loss to the equally-awful Utah Jazz, they shot 50.
In a 3rd quarter towards the Hornets by which they have been outscored 32-18, the Lakers made solely two of 12 threes. Their reluctance to assault the basket resulted in simply 12 free-throw makes an attempt over the complete sport.
“I think we had some good opportunities to make shots but we didn’t make any shots, especially me,” stated Doncic, who was 1 of 9 from behind the arc.
James was crucial earlier within the season of the variety of threes that have been being tried across the league. Requested on Wednesday night time concerning the Lakers’ improve in three-point makes an attempt, he replied with a chuckle, “Don’t ask me a three-point question, please.”
The clock is ticking for Redick. The Lakers are to play one other backside dweller within the Portland Path Blazers on Thursday night time, however their schedule turns into harder after that, beginning with a Saturday showdown in Denver towards the Nuggets.
