The frustration was evident early. And it was arduous to inform what was bothering the Lakers extra — the missed pictures or the perceived missed calls? Was it execution or exhaustion?
If it wasn’t one factor, it was the opposite, the dropping to the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets, with more durable days over the subsequent 4 weeks headed their approach.
Enjoying with out 4 of their common rotation gamers due to harm Monday evening, the Lakers weren’t anyplace near their finest, bodily shorthanded and quickly disengaged mentally.
“I believe it was simply an total mentality simply to take shortcuts tonight. We simply wished to take shortcuts,” JJ Redick stated about his staff postgame. “Too many… they scored 20 factors on us playing. They’d 16 offensive rebounds. We ball-watched all evening. We stated no dare pictures. I can’t, I’ll undergo it, they in all probability made six, seven uncontested threes. Simply shortcuts.
“Wish to be a great staff? You need to win within the NBA? You gotta do the arduous stuff. We couldn’t even cross to one another. We couldn’t enter our offense, operating ball screens actually at half-court. Yeah, that’s going to finish up in a turnover. I don’t know what we’re doing.”
Austin Reaves, counted on to tackle extra of an offensive position with LeBron James lacking his first recreation along with his strained groin, by no means received it going. Alex Len and Trey Jemison III, the bigs the Lakers have entry to with Jaxson Hayes coping with swelling in his knee from a bone bruise, mixed for less than two factors and 5 rebounds.
And Luka Doncic, the engine the Lakers might want to push them by this brutal stretch of schedule, missed pictures and seemed towards the refs for whistles that by no means got here. When he lastly received his first one — halfway by the third quarter, he threw his palms into the air in celebration. When a later foul was dominated on the ground, wiping out a made basket, he dismissively waved his palms on the refs in disbelief.
“I imply, on the finish of the day, it was lots,” Doncic stated, admitting frustration with the officiating. “It wasn’t truthful. However we nonetheless received to nonetheless play the sport. I received to maintain enjoying the sport.
“But it surely was lots.”
And needing a cease deep within the fourth, the Lakers compelled a D’Angelo Russell miss, however the possession ended with Jarred Vanderbilt pushed to the ground and Ziaire Williams grabbing the rebound and scoring.
Doncic wanted 26 pictures for his 22 factors to go together with 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Reaves missed 11 of 14 pictures to go along with his eight rebounds and 10 assists.
“I’ve gotta be higher,” Reaves stated. “Yeah, I imply, we’ll begin there with me.”
Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht, filling in with the starters, scored 24 and 19 factors respectively, and Jordan Goodwin had 17 off the bench, however the Lakers have been by no means adequate executing on both finish.
Brooklyn shot 5 extra threes and 11 extra free throws, the Lakers (40-23) making an attempt solely two within the first half.
Monday’s recreation in Brooklyn was one of many few video games the Lakers have this month in opposition to a staff out of the playoff image. They end their present journey in opposition to Milwaukee and Denver on back-to-back nights earlier than coming again to Los Angeles for 5 video games in seven nights.
Pregame, Redick stated James’ injured groin was nonetheless being evaluated, and that the staff doesn’t have a transparent sense of the severity. Hayes’ knee harm remains to be thought of everyday, although he may very seemingly miss extra recreation time. Rui Hachimura, who’s working towards a return from his knee harm, isn’t set for a reevaluation till the Lakers return to L.A. And Dorian Finney-Smith wasn’t accessible due to persevering with points along with his left ankle.
It meant the Lakers began Len at heart alongside Knecht, Vincent, Reaves and Doncic — hardly a bunch with actual on-court chemistry.
The Lakers turned the ball over 15 occasions, resulting in 19 Brooklyn factors. They stayed within the recreation due to Vincent and Goodwin, who made 11 of the Lakers’ 19 threes.
The turnovers got here in all varieties, however typically stemmed from Brooklyn flying two defenders at Doncic and Reaves. Redick stated it’s a easy repair: The Lakers merely passing to the open man and enjoying benefit basketball, however stated an absence of communication was the problem conserving that from occurring.
“That was necessary,” Doncic stated. “That’s my fault and we should always have achieved higher at that.”
