The Los Angeles Lakers have developed an annoying habit over their last several games of falling behind in games. Coming into Saturday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, they were able to overcome this problem and win four of their previous six games, but they clearly needed to rectify this problem as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, they had to go to battle without Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura, and as the night unfolded, they lost Luka Doncic to a leg contusion, which doomed their chances.
The Clippers came into this game with a 6-21 record, but it didn’t seem like it early. Despite ranking near the bottom of the NBA in several offensive and defensive categories, they scored the first nine points of the contest and made the Lakers look discombobulated. The Lakers set a season low with 15 points in the first quarter and ended the period down by 13 points. They didn’t gain any ground in the second quarter — they ended the first half down 54-39 while shooting just 34.1% from the field and 2-of-19 from 3-point range.
Things didn’t get much better afterward, and as the game wore on, it was clear that it wasn’t their night. After they trailed 80-58 near the end of the third quarter, they scored 15 unanswered points, but the Clippers responded with an 8-0 run to regain control.
The Lakers ended up losing, 103-88, and it was one of their worst performances of this season so far. For the game, they shot 38.6% overall and an icy 15.8% from 3-point land, and they mustered just six fast-break points against a Clippers team that is awful at defending against transition opportunities.
With a 19-8 record, the Lakers remain in fourth place in the Western Conference and are one game behind the second-place San Antonio Spurs.
Jake LaRavia: B-plus
LaRavia started in place of Hachimura, and he did an admirable job of hustling to try to give the Lakers a chance to win. He scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, but the biggest measure of his effort was his 11 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass. He also had six assists and two steals in 37 minutes.
Jaxson Hayes: B-minus
Hayes has done very well this season as the Lakers’ backup center. But as a starter, he simply isn’t equipped to get the job done. He played 31 minutes on Saturday and made three of four shot attempts to score eight points, to go along with five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
The Purple and Gold could’ve used a little more output from him, especially early in the game when things got away from them. In the first quarter, he had no points or rebounds.
Marcus Smart: D-plus
After a couple of strong offensive games in recent days, Smart couldn’t throw a pea in the ocean on Saturday. He shot 1-of-12 from the field, and he missed all nine of his attempts from beyond the arc. He finished with five points, four rebounds and one assist.
However, Smart did hustle well. He drew a charging foul on Kawhi Leonard during a fast break early in the second quarter, and later in the period, he drew another charging foul, this time on John Collins. Drawing offensive fouls is something he has contributed to the Lakers on a fairly consistent basis. Early in the fourth period, Smart also drew a flagrant 1 foul on Kobe Sanders, which resulted in three made free throws from him.
Luka Doncic: Incomplete
Doncic didn’t score his first point until there was 3:01 left in the quarter, and moments later, he hit his first shot after missing his first six attempts of the game. He had four turnovers in the first half and went into halftime having shot 4-of-13 overall and 1-of-6 from downtown.
He appeared to tweak his leg midway through the second quarter and was ruled out for the second half. He will have two full days to try to get well before the Lakers’ next game on Tuesday at the Phoenix Suns.
LeBron James: A
Other than perhaps LaRavia, James was the only member of the Lakers who played up to his standards on Saturday.
He scored their first seven points of the game after they fell behind 9-0, and he was fairly consistent offensively throughout the game. He looked physically spry and finished with 36 points on 15-of-28 from the floor and 3-of-7 from 3-point range, and he also had four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in 38 minutes.
With all the players the Lakers were missing, especially in the second half, it was simply too much to ask James to bring his team back and deliver a victory, especially given how much his teammates were struggling offensively.
Dalton Knecht: D
Knecht got 13 minutes of playing time versus the Clippers, and he made one of his three shot attempts. He ended up with two points and four rebounds.
Jarred Vanderbilt: C-plus
Vanderbilt didn’t have quite as much of an impact as he had in his previous two games. In 27 minutes, he got five rebounds, scored four points on 1-of-4 shooting and added one assist, one steal and one block.
Maxi Kleber: D
Kleber had minimal impact in 16 minutes of playing time. He missed both of his shot attempts and went scoreless, and he only contributed one rebound and one block.
Nick Smith Jr.: C-plus
Smith is usually glued to the Lakers’ bench, but he got 22 minutes of playing time on Saturday. He went 4-of-11 from the field and 1-of-5 from downtown, and he finished with nine points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Adou Thiero: Incomplete
The rookie forward got onto the court for six minutes and had a grand total of one rebound.