Lakers Hit Rock Bottom In Crushing Defeat
By Hannah Kulik
The Lakers can’t get much worse after their 34-point loss to the Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors are an excellent team, perhaps one of the greatest rosters assembled in NBA history. But that does not explain or excuse the atrocious manner in which the Lakers played in losing 111-77 in a contest that wasn’t even that close.
Every member of the Lakers organization should be embarrassed and humiliated at the team’s lackluster effort in a highly publicized, nationally televised game where the Warriors were going for a record 16-straight victories to start the season. It was not that the Lakers lost, it was the way they lost as they showed up with no energy and played the game with no fight, no passion, and no heart. How this was even possible is beyond explanation.
It was nothing short of a devastating defeat on every level, clearly showing that the once-proud franchise has no clue what to do at this point and has hit rock bottom. The Lakers looked like a small, frightened high school team from the suburbs playing the big, bad state champion. What is especially scary is that there does not seem to be anywhere to go from here with a roster that is bereft of talent and a coaching staff that has no idea how to make things better.
After this contest, there is no more argument about whether Kobe Bryant should have returned this year. If it wasn’t clear before, he demonstrated conclusively that he is finished as an NBA player. He shot 1-14 from the field, and many of his shots did not even hit the backboard. How much more humiliation can he put himself through, and for what?
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There is no point in asking the ridiculous question whether Bryant will return next year. The only relevant question is how he can possibly make it through this season.
Jordan Clarkson chose this moment to have the worst game of his career, making a lowly two of his 11 shots from the field and providing little or no resistance while trying to guard Stephen Curry. Clarkson’s shooting percentage is good so far this season, especially compared with everyone else on the team, but it doesn’t mask the fact that he is not playing with the same aggressiveness and quickness that he displayed last year. Far too often he is invisible for long stretches.
Roy Hibbert likewise played the worst game of his brief Lakers career. He was 0-3 shooting, with six rebounds, one assist, and one block. His lack of energy was especially noticeable when he lost every jump ball to his Warriors counterpart, Andrew Bogut, who is a strong defender but not exactly a great leaper.
Nick Young continued his frightening descent, making only three of his 10 shots from the field. Young started off the season strong, but has faded badly in recent contests. In one particularly embarrassing moment in this game, he was dribbling the ball near mid-court when it was tapped away from him and bounced a few feet backwards. Young casually turned to retrieve the ball, but the Warriors player showed much more hustle and effort, rushing to grab the ball and going in for an easy, uncontested lay-up.
In fact, all night long the Warriors hustled to every loose ball while the Lakers showed no effort at all. The Lakers may have inferior talent, but can’t they even hustle for the ball?
The game was so bad and so far out of reach that the coaches allowed Tarik Black, Ryan Kelly and Marcelo Huertas a chance to play, which had not happened in quite a while. Black, in particular, looked pretty good with his customary energy–perhaps the only Lakers player to show any effort all night. Though rusty from not playing for so long, he ended up with eight points and six rebounds in 12 minutes.
Poor Anthony Brown–he couldn’t even get into a game where the Lakers trailed by more than 40 points during one stretch. Scott presumably trusts Brown to play only if the team is down by a minimum of 50 points. But heck, it is not as though the Lakers need another player right now who can shoot and defend.
Three players who were decent against Golden State were D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Larry Nance, Jr. Russell and Randle made 50% of their shots, though they only had 14 attempts between them. Nance shot better than 50% and made a couple of nice outside jumpers. All three showed some hustle on defense, and Randle was predictably the Lakers’ strongest contributor on the boards. None of the trio played big minutes, however, and they have to learn to assert themselves more for longer stretches of a game for a team where they are expected to be future stars.
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Overall, the Lakers shot 38 percent from the field to the Warriors 49 percent. They made only 15 percent of their three-point attempts (3-20), and had a mere 16 assists to the Warriors’ 32. The Warriors scored with such ease that it was as if the Lakers were a D-League team, and Golden State’s excellent ball movement was in stark contrast to the Lakers’ stagnant offense.
This was one of the most embarrassing defeats in Lakers’ history, given the lack of fight displayed by virtually everyone on the court, and the coaching staff’s utter inability to make any adjustments to even slow the bleeding. The team was not ready to play, which is inexplicable given the national television audience.
Everyone in the entire organization needs to look at himself in the mirror today. As laughable as the team was for much of last season and the season before, they are even worse now. They are going in the wrong direction, if that is even possible.
Next: Nick Young Calls Out Kobe's Iso-Heavy Offense
Very few people expected the Lakers to seriously compete for a playoff spot this season, but no one could have predicted the utter debacle which this team has become. It might be time for Jim Buss, Mitch Kupchak, and Byron Scott to start looking for a new line of work, because last night’s humbling defeat has to be the beginning of the end for all three. In fact, they should be so embarrassed today they should resign.