1. The Los Angeles Lakers are still really bad on defense.
Welp…I guess that 2-game winning streak excitement died pretty quickly, huh? After playing decent enough defense to win two consecutive games, the Lakers drop a doozy on defense, confirming that they are still in fact the worst defensive team in the league.
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Where should we begin to even explain what went wrong in this game? Let’s start with the fact that they gave up 140 points on 62.2% shooting from the field. 140. As in the most points given up this season for any team. Granted, it was against the Dallas Mavericks who lead in the league in offensive rating at 117.67 points per 100 possessions, but it was still a poor effort to say the least.
Defending the 3-point line continues to be a problem that the Lakers who allowed the Mavericks to shoot 51.4% from beyond the arc. A lot of those threes came from penetration at the guard position, which allowed Monte Ellis, J.J. Barea, and Jameer Nelson to account for 25 of the Mavericks’ 37 assists.
Before the game began, the Lakers defensive rating was a league-worst 116.71 points allowed per 100 possessions. There is no telling how far that number will dip after letting the Mavericks play a figurative pop-a-shot game on them. There is time for the Lakers to turn it around on D, but as of now, they have a long way to go on that end of the court.
2. The 3rd quarter is dooms day for the Lakers.
So far this season, the Lakers have managed to allow teams to outscore them 382-337 in the 3rd quarter. It seems that when this Laker runs out of the tunnel to start the second half, they totally forget that other team got just as much rest as they did and made adjustments to try and stop them.
Tonight, it was Monta Ellis that helped spark a Dallas dominated third frame. After spending much of the first half distributing, Ellis decided that he was going to go off, scoring 18 of the Mavericks’ 42 points in the quarter. His scoring spurt allowed the Mavericks to reach 100 points with 2:30 left in the third period.
Laker head coach Byron Scott needs to change up his halftime speech, because whatever he’s doing right now isn’t working.
3. Swaggy P needs to actually be involved if the “Swaggy P Effect” is to take place.
When Nick Young re-entered the lineup, you could tell that there was a different vibe to this Laker team. Everyone was looser and it showed in their play. Young became the catalyst that aided the Lakers to 2 straight wins, scoring 17 and 16 points respectively in his first two games back from a thumb injury. The “Swaggy P Effect” was born.
Blue Man Hoop
Tonight, in his third game back, the “Swaggy P Effect” looked like it had worn off. Nick Young went 2-7 from the field, finishing the game with 5 points and 2 rebounds. 7 shots isn’t enough for someone with the scoring touch like Nick Young. Whether he was tired from not being completely in game shape or he wanted to get others involved, Young needs to look for his shot more in this offense.
Other than Kobe Bryant, and to a certain extent Jeremy Lin, Young is the only other Laker that can create his own shot. That is his value to this team and that is what he needs to do more often in order for the Lakers to be successful.
Conclusion
It is safe to say that the Lakers haven’t turned the corner defensively and can be depended upon to win them games. Tonight was Exhibit A through Z of that. They are still having trouble guarding the 3-point line and dribble penetration, which is allowing teams to exploit them almost at will. The third quarter continues to be an issue for them and they need to come out of the half with a greater sense of urgency and execute better. Also, the Lakers need Nick Young to be more involved than 7 shots and 2 rebounds. They need his offensive prowess to elevate their game and win more games.