The Los Angeles Lakers were so bad in their embarrassing Tuesday night loss (133-109) to the Los Angeles Clippers that head coach Luke Walton benched his starters to begin the second-half.
The Lakers just can’t seem to get it together and muster up any consistency. Be it youth, or worse, complacency, but they went from giving the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers a run for their money, to taking a beating lying down by the Clippers. The Lakers’ starting lineup lacked energy from the gate being outscored 33-24 in the first quarter and then was outscored by more than double their output in the second quarter.
The Lakers’ effort was disappointing considering how well the played just two days before against the Cavs. To send a message, Walton decided to bench his entire starting lineup for the beginning
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of the second-half. David Nwaba, Tyler Ennis, Corey Brewer, Thomas Robinson and Tarik Black were inserted in their place. Even though not every single starter lacked a sense of urgency, as a whole the unit did, that meant benching all five.
Walton admitted that rookie Brandon Ingram was playing well and didn’t deserve to be benched individually, but as the old cliche goes, there’s no I in team.
"“That’s part of [his] responsibility to make sure everyone’s ready to play,” Walton said. “I thought he was really good last night. It’s unfair that it happens for him the way he was playing, but I thought it was important to keep the message. This is about team first and individual second.”"
Walton made a coaching decision to send a message to the entire team about playing the right way. Because Ingram’s teammates did not start the game with the same effort he did, he was sat down right along with them for the start of the third quarter. After the game, Ingram told reporters, “He told us that’s unacceptable to come out like that and I think it was embarrassing for us to be down like that,” Ingram said. “It’s just something that can’t happen.”
As the Lakers have stated, the remainder of the season is about development and seeing what each player has to give. Walton’s move to send a message to his guys plays right into the team’s agenda moving forward. A good lesson for every member of the young core that they have to earn the privilege to play for the Lakers and that it takes maximum effort every night in order to win. Deciding not to single anyone out takes his message to the next level. It reminds his players that no one is above the team and that they can only succeed as a cohesive unit.
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Walton’s message doesn’t just teach his current team how they have to play, but it also tells future players, no matter who they are that he won’t play favorites. You win as a team and you lose as a team, and yes the Lakers have been mostly losing, but Walton’s decision to bench his starters Tuesday may be a wake-up call and may act as a character builder. For the Lakers’ sake let’s hope it does.
Do you think Luke made the right call to bench the starting unit for the start of the second-half? Will his message get through to his players? Let us know below!