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Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Reasons for their recent struggles

By Donny McHenry

NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 14: Head coach Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers removes his jacket after being ejected during the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on February 14, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 14: Head coach Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers removes his jacket after being ejected during the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on February 14, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers
NEW ORLEANS, LA – FEBRUARY 14: Head coach Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers removes his jacket after being ejected during the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on February 14, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

The Los Angeles Lakers are probably happy right now that they don’t have a game until Friday, February 23rd.

The Los Angeles Lakers have taken a 3-game losing streak into the break. They lost to the Mavericks (130-123), the Pelicans (139-117), and the Timberwolves (119-111). The losing streak happened to start right after Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye arrived in the Lakers/Cavs trade. That trade may be one of the reasons they struggled going into the break, but there are other reasons too.

Lakers’ Defensive Struggles

You don’t need to be an expert to see the results of the games and notice that they struggled defensively. The Lakers gave up an average of 129.3 PPG in the span which is not the best. The team looks lost at times while switching screens, but there are some individual performances that have contributed to the defense.

Those players are Isaiah Thomas, Josh Hart, and Julius Randle. Isaiah isn’t surprising, but Hart and Randle are, given that they’ve been consistent on defense for most of the year. For players that have played at least 20 MPG in the 3-game losing streak, Isaiah has the worst defensive rating. Hart has the 2nd worst defensive rating though, and Randle is right behind him for the 3rd worst. This might just be a result of the overall team defense, but it is concerning as the Lakers have depended on their defense.

It’s understandable that the Lakers gave up 119 points to the Timberwolves, they are currently 6th in PPG and have Jimmy Butler who is having an MVP-caliber season. The Pelicans game, meanwhile, was just a mess all around with the ejections of Isaiah Thomas and Luke Walton. It also doesn’t help that Anthony Davis is in the midst of his best stretch of the season, averaging 41.3 PPG in his last 3 games.

The Mavericks game on the other hand is a definite head-scratcher. The team is one of the worst in the league and the Lakers shouldn’t be giving up 130 to them. It was probably due to other reasons I list below, but the Lakers should still overcome the reasons and beat a terrible team.

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