Los Angeles Lakers miss great opportunity against Orlando Magic

ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 31: Larry Nance Jr.
ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 31: Larry Nance Jr.

On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers missed a great opportunity to win their 20th game of the season.

As the Los Angeles Lakers continue their road trip, they had a great opportunity to earn their 20th win of the season. After losing to the Toronto Raptors, the Lakers had a much easier game against the Magic on Wednesday night.

The Magic have had a very tough season, as they are one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. In addition to that, they were also playing short-handed on Wednesday. As we have seen a few times this season, the Lakers just simply never showed up in this game.

In the win for the Magic, they were able to win in every quarter, with the third quarter being their best. As we have seen sometimes this season, the starting lineup did not get it done for the Lakers.

For the starters, all five had a negative plus/minus, with Julius Randle being the worst at -21. Even though Randle had a poor plus/minus, he was the most productive player in the starting lineup with 20 points and nine rebounds.

In the starting five, both Brook Lopez and Tyler Ennis continue to disappoint, as the two combined to play just 19 minutes. Not getting good production from the starters didn’t set the tone well for the Lakers, and it certainly showed in the final score.

Due to this being a winnable game for the Lakers, the loss is a disappointing one. With recent changes in the Western Conference, a playoff spot or two did open up. However, losses like this one to the Magic make the possibility of making the playoffs even more difficult.

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Next up, the Lakers will be facing the Brooklyn Nets. This, of course, means a matchup with D’Angelo Russell. The Nets will present the Lakers with another good opportunity to win their 20th game of the season. Hopefully, they will be able to get the taste of a bad loss to the Magic out of their mouths soon.

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