What three things did we learn about the Lakers in their two big losses to the Jazz and Rockets this weekend?
The Los Angeles Lakers had games on both Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend as they started off the back-to-back on the road against the Utah Jazz and traveled back to STAPLES Center on Sunday night to take on the Houston Rockets. As has long been the theme for this season where the Lakers have the second-worst record in the NBA, things didn’t go well.
The Jazz absolutely throttled the Lakers on Saturday night from the opening tip to the final whistle in what was a largely embarrassing effort. For once, Byron Scott was correct in his assessment that his team didn’t show up and didn’t give the effort necessary to compete.
In contrast to the effort on Saturday, though, the Lakers showed a ton of fight against the Rockets—for one half at least. Los Angeles kept pace with another playoff team in the Western Conference for the first two quarters of play before the shots stopped falling in the second half and James Harden and company were able to pull away for a double-digit victory.
It was two vastly different performances for the Lakers this past weekend, though both results were ultimately the same and another tally in the loss column for this struggling team from Los Angeles. However, there are still things that fans and the team can learn and take away from these two losses. These are the three biggest takeaways for the Lakers from the weekend.
Next: Facilitating Kobe Is What This Team Needs
Kobe Facilitating Is Valuable to This Lakers Team
While Kobe Bryant was leaving Saturday’s contest against the Jazz prematurely due to the sore Achilles that he’s been battling, he had a big night at the office against the Rockets on Sunday night. In the loss, Kobe passed Jerry West in the Lakers’ record books for all-time assists with the franchise on his way to amassing nine assists on the night.
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Much of that work as a facilitator in the Lakers’ offense came in the first half and it’s no mistake that’s when the Lakers were at their best against Houston. One of the most forgotten and underrated aspects of Byrant’s game over the course of his career and in his final season is that he is one of the most skilled passers in the league and can make plays at will when he’s looking for teammates and kicking the rock out to them or hitting guys on cuts.
With how the Lakers have struggled in terms of ball-movement and with how inefficiently Kobe has shot the ball this season—save for that one brief stretch, his biggest asset to this rebuilding Lakers team in his final NBA season is his talents as a facilitator. The offense is at it’s best when Kobe is finding teammates and not just looking for his own shots.
Whether or not we see more of it on a consistent basis remains to be seen, but the Lakers will be at their best this season and the young guys will develop better if Kobe is setting the tone by moving the ball in the offense.
Next: Injuries Are the Worst
Injuries Suck
With the injuries that Lakers fans have had to suffer through in regards to Kobe Bryant in recent years, this isn’t really news. However, the fact that Larry Nance Jr. had to leave Saturday’s game against the Jazz in the first quarter with a knee injury that then kept him out of action on Sunday only further instilled a deep hatred of injuries in the hearts of Lakers fans.
Nance has been the bright spot for the Lakers for most of the season, at least in terms of his consistent performance. He’s shown the polish of a four-year college player coming into the NBA with effort on both ends of the floor and clear progression in terms of his offensive game as he’s gotten more run and since being inserted into the starting lineup.
However, Nance isn’t the only one to be bitten by the injury bug over the weekend. Julius Randle was banged up on Sunday as he played a larger role in the rotation in relief of Nance with his status being kind of up in the air as he looks to see if he broke his nose or not.
Throw in the fact that Kobe’s farewell tour has taken an odd turn as he deals with injuries to his shoulder and Achilles on a nightly basis and the injuries are starting to mount for the Lakers. Leave it to injuries to make an already hardship of a Lakers season even more brutal.
Next: The Lou-JC Backcourt Needs to Go
It’s Time to Shake Up the Starting Backcourt Again
The dust has all but settled on Scott’s baffling decision to demote D’Angelo Russell from the starting lineup in favor of starting Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams. However, as that dust settles, the picture is becoming clearer that starting those two guards and playing them in the backcourt together is largely problematic for the Lakers and something that needs to change.
For one, it’s telling that the Clarkson’s point-differential over the two weekend losses was a poor -33 while Williams’ was even worse at -47. Even though Russell played similar minutes to those two coming off the bench, his combined differential wasn’t nearly as bad at only -15 in the two losses by wide margins.
When Clarkson and Williams are on the floor together, the first problem that arises is that the defense suffers in a big way. Both guards are essentially saloon doors on the perimeter in terms of preventing penetration and also struggle to consistently get hands in the faces of shooters. More problematic, though, is that the duo fosters the unsightly isolation-heavy offense that has been detrimental to the team all season.
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While saying that Scott needs to start Russell is essentially beating a dead horse at this point, he definitely has to shake up something in the starting backcourt. Clarkson and Williams starting together is doing neither player nor Russell any favors while also hurting the Lakers as a whole. The two losses this weekend only banged that point home more emphatically.