Lake Show Life
Fansided

Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Takeaways from loss vs Portland Trail Blazers

By Zain Danani

PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 2: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes for a lay up against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 2, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 2: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes for a lay up against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 2, 2017 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next

Early Struggles

From tipoff to the three-minute mark in the first quarter, the Lakers were trading blows with the Blazers and looked to possibly even win the matchup. As soon as the three-minute mark passed, however, the game would completely shift. The second quarter began with the Blazers up 43-25, and the Lakers would find themselves playing catchup for nearly the rest of the game.

The lead was a huge knock to the Lakers’ hopes of winning the game, but that hope was already dwindling as the go-to-players struggled to find their touch in the early going: Ball, Ingram, and Lopez combined for only two field goals on 22 percent shooting in the first quarter.

In addition to their paltry shooting, the Lakers were unable to find their groove defensively in the first quarter. The Lakers allowed the Blazers to out rebound them 13 to 7 in the opening quarter, and also gave up six threes while they made zero of their own.

Three-Point Shooting Woes

As I just mentioned, the Lakers started off the game with zero three pointers made in the first quarter. If this was not already horrid enough, the team continued their drought for the remainder of the first half and shot 0/9 from deep. The team never seemed to find its shooting touch and finished the game with 22 percent three-point shooting on 18 attempted threes.

Looking forward into the season the Lakers will need to find a way to execute on their three-point looks as their misses have caused them to lose at least a couple games. Additionally, in a league that is becoming heavily reliable on three-point shooting, it is not a good sign to rank last in that category.

Home/Lakers News