Los Angeles Lakers’ key mistakes in loss to Los Angeles Clippers
By Jack Obrien
The Los Angeles Lakers made some mistakes in key moments against the Los Angeles Clippers Monday, ultimately losing the game.
The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Los Angeles Clippers Monday night on account of a handful of key mistakes made down the stretch. Their lack of an ability to close and hit shots in the final three minutes of the game gave the Clips’ the opportunity to capitalize and continue to make tough contested shots that had been falling for them all game.
Lou Williams had a standout performance with 42 points against his old team, getting a high percentage of his points the usual way, from the free throw line. Williams went 14-14 from the line and was able to get to the rim throughout the game, especially in the final minutes of the 4th quarter.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did his best to match Williams’ effort with 29 points, but crucially missed two of his final three attempts in the closing minutes of the game.
As the game drew to a close, the Lakers did not execute on transition passes and hitting open jumpers. Julius Randle missed a wide-open 3-pointer while Caldwell-Pope missed an open mid-range jumper on the same possession. Lonzo Ball missed a three-pointer of his own, and the only points scored by Caldwell-Pope in the final 2 minutes came from a tough, contested, mid-range shot.
More from Lakers News
- Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
- Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
- Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
- Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
- Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated
The Lakers also lost the quality ball movement they had displayed for most of the game. At the 8:00-minute mark in the 4th quarter, the Lakers used up the shot clock zipping the ball around the perimeter and making the defense work, culminating in a wide-open Kyle Kuzma at the 3-point line, only to zip the ball into Corey Brewer for a higher percentage opportunity at the rim.
This is the kind of ball movement that can take this Lakers team to the next level, eventually, and beat teams with veteran talent like the Clippers. However, it won’t make any difference if they lose this play style down the stretch.
The main factor here is time. With more of it, the Lakers will be used to these end of game, close score situations. Instead of that pressure breaking the offense down into firing off contested mid-range jumpers, the intensity will ramp up the Lakers unselfish play.
This might be some ways off, nonetheless, it is a great sign to see the team keep the score close until the end against a veteran team with at least one All-Star. In the end, they gave themselves at least an opportunity to win the game.
There is a lot to like about the first three-quarters of this game, and head coach Luke Walton will most likely spend most of the film review noting those moments. Walton will also likely harp on keeping composure in the final minutes of a game. Precise ball movement will lead to quality, high-percentage shots.
The Lakers play the Golden State Warriors for the first time this season on Wednesday night and will obviously have their hands full. The Warriors, coming off a home loss to the Sacramento Kings, will be looking to get back to their winning ways.
Next: 3 Takeaways From Lakers Loss vs Clippers
Last season, we saw the Lakers beat the Warriors in Los Angeles in their first meeting of the year. How do we beat them again this year? Gregg Popovich said it best, “Pray.”