Los Angeles Lakers crash and burn vs. Cleveland…4 Lessons!
By Ronald Agers
Time may be getting short for Luke Walton’s tenure!
I’ve been on record criticizing Luke Walton’s offensive schemes. I have questioned his control of the team at times as well as those rotation patterns. I believe after this debacle, the Chicago Bulls game on Tuesday is going to represent how long Luke Walton stays on the Lakers bench.
He was awful.
The team is not ready to play at the beginning of this game. The half court offense is officially considered bad. There was a report that LeBron was ignoring Walton’s play calling early on in the year.
Okay…cool. Maybe LeBron may have seen something that none of the rest of the NBA knew at the time. It is no secret to the NBA now. The way to beat the Lakers is to slow them down and get them into a halfcourt set. With Rajon Rondo out, the Lakers do not execute at all. This is on Walton and his X’s and O’s. Sorry.
With LeBron James out, it was assumed that the Lakers would struggle some, but not to the point of going completely backward. Right now, the Lakers are not prepared and Walton is not making adjustments. Sure he said there may be lineup changes on Tuesday, but does anyone really take him seriously at this point? He’s talking in press conferences like he’s grasping for straws at this point.
As for those rotation patterns.
Michael Beasley has played extremely well for the last three games averaging 15 points a game. He played seven minutes in this game and scored 8 points.
Lance Stephenson has played sparingly over the same period and not played nearly as well.
Lance’s numbers?…Zero points. He missed all four of his shots and two free throws.
Tyson Chandler played 4 minutes total in this game and did not take a shot and did not score. But he had two rebounds and had a plus/minus total of +12.
Ivica Zubac played 11 minutes scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting and got beat up down low getting constantly posted up by Tristan Thompson. He had a plus/minus total of -2.
Get the picture?
It is common knowledge in NBA circles that Jeanie Buss is the last line of defense for Walton’s job security. A loss to the Bulls may change that. Boos rained down in the Staples Center again during this game. If the Lakers are going to make a playoff run, now may be the time to make the change before it’s too late. The team lacks spark.
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