Los Angeles Lakers are in officially in offensive peril in loss to Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers do not look great in the bubble.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the number one seed going into the Western Conference playoffs. They are coasting and will turn it on when the playoffs start. Okay, these are casual excuses from fans and what the Lakers media will feed you. Want the truth? The Los Angeles Lakers are in deep trouble and Frank Vogel knows it. Might want to send these reports to the coaching staff before it’s too late!

This report could say that the Los Angeles Lakers stink right now. This report could say that the entire team with the possible exception of Anthony Davis or Kyle Kuzma can’t shoot. Since the team started playing in the bubble, all of the reports have basically stated that. But they have been dismissed with these same narratives (Aka excuses!)

• The Los Angeles Lakers are the number one seed going into the Western Conference playoffs. 
• The Los Angeles Lakers will get it together when LeBron turns on “Zero Dark Thirty” and starts his playoff mode.
• Portland Trail Blazers don’t have enough to beat the Lakers.
• They’ll figure it out. 
• If anyone can turn this around, it’s LeBron.

Well, there was some drama leading up to the game and it wasn’t how many points James Harden would drop on the Lakers head on Thursday night.

It seems that JaVale McGee has started a DNP-CD collection (DNP=Coach’s Decision) and did not play one second of this game. McGee was not listed on the injury report prior to the game or mentioned as an absence by Frank Vogel.

However, he was replaced in the starting lineup by Kyle Kuzma in the Lakers small-ball lineup. Lake Show Life begged the Lakers to start Kuzma, but this wasn’t the starter he was supposed to replace.

• Los Angeles Lakers: Players that should replace Danny Green as a starter!

There’s a running joke with readers claiming these critical post-game reports are gloom and doom “Sky is falling” articles. Well we aren’t Chicken Little and we do know something that is not falling.

Any shot from 25 feet out…also read 3 point shots!

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets 113-97 to complete the back-to-back with bad losses. The team was without LeBron James (sore groin) and Alex Caruso (sore neck). The team was without not a player but a very valuable asset that NBA teams need to survive in today’s game.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble folks. Why? They can’t shoot and they can’t score. Period. There’s no debate.

• The Lakers are last in the bubble in scoring.
• The Lakers are last in offensive rating.
• The Lakers guards cannot stop opposing guards from exploding for big scoring nights.
• The Lakers guards can’t shoot period to justify the analysis above.
• The 3 point perimeter defense is so bad, maybe the Lakers should risk it all and smuggle Avery Bradley in the bubble!

The Rockets embarrassed the Lakers from the 3 point line. Houston shot 21-57 from the promised land while the Lakers shot 2-19. The prior game, the Lakers shot 13.5%. This game? 10.5%.

Earlier in the day, Damian Lillard knocked down 11 from the same area against the Denver Nuggets.

The Houston Rockets played without Russell Westbrook, so containing James Harden should have been on the top of the defensive priority list. Double him. Get the ball out of his hands. You know…prepare.

Nope.

James Harden had 25 points by halftime. He would have scored 50 easily if the Lakers hadn’t decided to use a soft trap in the second half (Fun fact: The Portland Trail Blazers used it in their victory over the Rockets! Are these guys scouting?) which was 24 minutes too late. Starting Quinn Cook, who is too small wasn’t a great idea either.

For Lakers apologists: 

The good news is that despite the Lakers getting blown out for the second night in a row, it doesn’t really mean anything because the No. 1 seed is locked up. LeBron James didn’t play and at some point will fully lock in like he did the first game against the Clippers (No he didn’t play well in that game either!).

Okay, now let’s deal with reality. Lake Show Life Lessons!

Anthony Davis is getting exposed as a big man that does not want big man contact

Reggie Miller on the TNT broadcast stated that this should be a 20-point, 20-rebound game for Anthony Davis. No, this should have been a 35-point, 20-rebound game for AD. All Lakers fans should be disappointed because Davis was nowhere close to these totals.

Anthony Davis finished with a stat line of 17 points, 12 rebounds (5 offensive), 3 assists and 7 turnovers. Here lies the rub. Davis has 12 points at the end of the first quarter. Where was he at for the rest of the game?

For the second straight game, Anthony Davis demonstrated his lack of aggression and illustrated the damage to any chances of the Los Angeles Lakers winning a game much less a playoff series or a championship.

For the record, Anthony Davis needs to assert himself more. There can be no excuses because he’s shown what he can do with a 37 point explosion against the Clippers and a 42 point clinic operating on Rudy Gobert.

The benching of JaVale McGee is a clear foreshadowing. Now it doesn’t matter if Anthony Davis wants to play the center position or not. Frank Vogel is slowly moving towards that direction. The problem is the Lakers can’t beat the Houston Rockets if he’s not committed.

Plus, P.J. Tucker, Mike D’Antoni, James Harden and Russell Westbrook know it. It really doesn’t matter who plays the 5 spot because the small ball offense pulls Davis, Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee (Assuming we ever see him again!) out of the paint. This looks like Jeff Green dunks on AD but the Rockets offense sets it up putting Tucker in the corner.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1291571850389192704

• We could talk about that soft uncommitted trap on Harden but let’s leave those issues for later. Harden hits Jeff Green with a bounce pass.
• The defense is stretched out because everyone is at the 3 point line.
• Davis is caught in no man’s land because he has to honor his man P.J. Tucker in the corner. 
• That half-second of indecision makes him late for the rotation and Green gets the dunk.

The Houston Rockets kept running the pick and roll all night long and rendered AD’s defensive prowess useless. Again this is about the perimeter defense.

What was even more upsetting was the physical play of Tucker getting under AD’s skin. In the playoffs, especially with the shooting M.I.A., physicality will be a constant for Davis. Will he stand up to it or disappear?

Right now, Lake Show Life doesn’t know what is worse. The Los Angeles Lakers 3 point shooting or the 3 point defense on the other end. Sadly, both are running neck and neck.

Analytics say the Los Angeles Lakers’ defense is good. Lake Show Life says it is not! 

This is pretty much a moot point because when a team is scoring less than what they give up on defense, more often than not, basketball teams tend to lose. But the Lakers are the number one seed going into the playoffs, so let’s continue.

Lake Show life has been consistent in pointing the awful defense on the perimeter. Since Avery Bradley is not a part of the playoff run and Alex Caruso did not play, the Rockets treated the 3 point line like it was a shoot around. But try to pay attention to the defenders and help rotation.

Or lack thereof!

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1291588881880580096

There is 3 minutes of poor perimeter defense by the Los Angeles Lakers. Out of the 21 shots from distance, how many were closely contested? The execution to rotate to help teammates?

When the defense was stretched thanks to the Rockets exposing the Lakers with the long ball, it opened up the pick and roll offense which Houston ran with ease.

• Kyle Kuzma died on this pick set by Jeff Green.
• This allows a passing lane for Harden to execute the pocket pass for a possible easy lay-up.
• Markieff Morris is in no man’s land and has to deal with the same decision that Davis had to make earlier.
• Stop the ball or stay with Tucker in the left corner for the 3 point shot.
• That moment of indecision allows Green to score.

There weren’t many positives in this one, but there were two players that shined bright on a gloomy night.

Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker competed for the Los Angeles Lakers

Would it shock anyone that Kyle Kuzma has been the most consistent Lakers player on the roster? Look over the roster and take mental notes. Yep, he’s has played very well since the season restarted.

With all of the issues surrounding the team, Kuzma deserves a ton of credit, continuing his strong move to the starting lineup. He finished the night with 21 points on 8-16 shooting and 5 rebounds. In this game, he tried to bring it on both ends even though most of his teammates are not matching that level of effort.

Not blocking Harden’s lay-up once…but twice!

Kyle Kuzma is proving that his injuries at the beginning of the season were the reason that he started so slow. Plus he’s showing that he worked hard while the NBA was shutdown. The confidence is there and he believes that he is the X-factor to the Los Angeles Lakers championship hopes.

Like him or not, that’s the way it is. The fact that Kuzma believes this is a very good thing.

Talen Horton-Tucker:

Rookie guard Talen Horton-Tucker also got a chance to play and let’s be honest: didn’t he look like he made more of an impact than the starting guards? Both KCP and Green got 10 points in the game, but so did THT.

He scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting in 19 minutes with 4 steals, 2 rebounds and one assist. When the Lakers made their last run in the 4th quarter to cut the lead to five points, he was on the floor making an impact.

Look, this isn’t a lesson, this a fact.

The Portland Trail Blazers are coming. Seemingly others are reading Lake Show Life and see them as a threat!

Let’s all say it together one last time. THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS are the NUMBER ONE SEED in the Western Conference playoffs. Okay. But what gets lost in this narrative is the Lakers had that distinction locked up in March.

This is a different time and different season. LeBron James already stated that this is uncharted territory. With this play-in format, let’s be clear, the Portland Trail Blazers will be the 8th seed.

Why?

• Memphis hasn’t won a game yet. Now that Jaren Jackson Jr. is lost for the season, there’s no chance.
• The New Orleans Pelicans can’t stop water for lack of payment on the bill.
• The hottest team in the bubble, the Phoenix Suns have run out of time.
• San Antonio Spurs are always a threat, but with LaMarcus Aldridge out, they do not have enough scoring. 

Remember this prediction a few weeks ago?

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1283930744998395904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1283930744998395904%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2F2020%2F07%2F19%2Flos-angeles-lakers-portland-trail-blazers-nba-playoffs%2F

Lake Show Life has already warned Lakers fans of the potential threat of this team and why.

• Los Angeles Lakers: Barkley is right, Blazers can beat LA!
• Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Reasons why the Blazers can win a playoff series!

Well this prediction is becoming a serious reality. The Lake Show Life staff really wants a deep playoff run (Man those draft features can be rough!) and don’t want the Lakers to be upset but this team is going in the wrong direction.

Based on all of the problems on the defensive end, do you really think Damian Lillard isn’t drooling right now? Remember this is the guy that said if the Blazers didn’t have a chance to compete for the playoffs he didn’t want to play. He relived that statement to ESPN after exploding for 45 points. 

"“Y’all know that I’m always optimistic and always see the best in situations like this, and it’s why I said what I said a few months ago when I said, ‘If we don’t have a chance to compete for a playoff spot, I don’t want to play,'” Lillard said. “Because I knew if we did have a chance to play for a playoff spot, it would look something like it looks right now.”"

The Blazers have their roster back healthy, a Carmelo Anthony renaissance and the kid named Gary Trent Jr., who is shooting lights out since the restart! He dropped 27 points.

The Lakers have three games left to figure out their myriad of issues. To the ones that think the Lakers have plenty of time, the playoffs start in ten days. The Indiana Pacers are next on Saturday. In the meantime, if the Los Angeles Lakers don’t find a jumper or their defense, a colossal upset is coming.