NBA
Los Angeles Lakers: Poor Defense Sinks Them In 120-124 Loss
In one of the most frustrating games this season, the Los Angeles Lakers came up short against the Minnesota TImberwolves. The Lakers lost 120-124, which is a demoralizing loss because they let another winnable game slip away. The two main bright spots for Los Angeles were LeBron James and Brandon Ingram. James scored 29 and Ingram dropped 24 in his first game back from suspension.
The effort simply wasn’t there from the Lakers defensively. The Timberwolves simply wanted it more. The perimeter defense was horrendous. Minnesota shot 48.3% from three. The Lakers also gave up 20 offensive rebounds and committed 24 fouls. It’s the little things that are going to haunt this team. This team can’t afford to fall behind in the Western Conference. The Lakers are going to need to form continuity fast in order to turn this slow start around.
Lakers coach Luke Walton also needs to be held accountable for what happened last night. Some of his rotations made absolutely no sense. As a result, Lakers’ fans are asking questions like this- Why are Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rondo on the court at the same time? Why didn’t Ball play the last five minutes? What type of awful defensive schemes is he implementing? It isn’t time yet to push the panic button, but sooner or later Walton may be on his way out of Los Angeles.
Player of the Game: LeBron James
In no surprise, the best Lakers player last night was James. He had 29 points 10 rebounds and 7 assists. James is currently averaging 27.6 points 9.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game.
? LeBron James finished 29 points, 10 boards, and 7 helpers tonight against the Timberwolves. pic.twitter.com/pspP4zDAt7
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 30, 2018
Honorable Mention: Brandon Ingram
Looking Ahead:
The Lakers will be at home on Halloween to take on the Dallas Mavericks. Obviously, this game is a must win. Falling to 2-6 is not an option for the Lakers. The Lakers will then finish up the week in Portland on Saturday. Ideally, winning both of these games would be great since Kawhi Leonard the Toronto Raptors are coming to town on Sunday.
This team also needs to form some type of consistency. It is so hard to watch this team crumble in the fourth quarter every single night. This team is young, but James and Ingram need to take charge. This is their team and its time to show up.
Photo Credit to Los Angeles Lakers via Twitter
