Los Angeles Lakers: Anthony Davis’ struggles continue in loss to Pacers

Anthony Davis did not look great against the Indiana Pacers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are struggling. Pick a subject. Shooting? LeBron James’ groin? Danny Green’s bricks from the corner? 3 point defense? Coaching? Now it seems that Anthony Davis is now joined the party. Lake Show Life has come under fire for the critical analysis of the Lakers’ subpar play. Well, it’s going to continue with this list of Lake Show Life Lessons!

Does anyone want to admit the Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble yet? Raise your hand. The debates in the comment section haven’t been this rampant since last year when the Lakers were close to being eliminated from the playoffs. The only difference from last year is that the team will participate in the playoffs this year.

Now the debates are switching to a laundry list of topics.

• How long the Los Angeles Lakers will actually last in the playoffs?
• Do these eight games leading up to the playoffs a proper gauge of what is to come?
• What’s wrong with LeBron James? Is he injured (Let’s take of this one early, YES!) and if not, is he saving himself for the playoffs.
• What’s wrong with Anthony Davis? Why isn’t he getting his numbers?
• How come Danny Green can’t justify his $14 million contract with his 3 point shooting. Maybe more than two shots a week?
• Forget Danny Green’s shooting, how come the Los Angeles Lakers as a whole can’t shoot from outside of 25 feet? 

Lake Show Life knows the main problem with the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s happened every game they’ve played since the first scrimmage game in Orlando. The defense allows a guard or wing to efficiently and surgically take them apart in the scoring column. In every post-game report it was pointed out.

• Seth Curry did not miss a shot (That includes six 3 point shots!) on his way to 23 points in a loss! 
• D.J. Augustin scored 21 points on 6-7 shooting and never touched the floor in the 4th quarter in the Orlando Magic game. The Lakers won.
• In the Wizards game, all of the guards particularly Ish Smith and Shabazz Napier (He hit all of his shots!) shot very well. A Lakers win that was covered by Alex Caruso and J.R. Smith shooting well!
• Paul George dropped 30 points in the season restart.
• Kyle Lowry destroyed the Lakers a week ago dropping a stat line of 33 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists.
• Chris Paul took the Lakers apart in a blowout orchestrating the Thunder offense while scoring a game high 21 points (8-12 shooting!), 7 rebounds and 6 assists!
• James Harden basically glided his way to 39 points and 12 assists without Russell Westbrook which included 25 points in the first half.  

Why do we show this list of reports? They all have the same thing in common. One opposing player went nuclear tearing up the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers.

It’s turning into the reoccurring hit show “I’m going to smoke the Lakers like a pack of Kools!”

This game’s guest star? T.J. Warren.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1292261371061481473

Thank God that the Phoenix Suns are the only undefeated team left in the bubble because they traded this guy away for “cash considerations”. They would be laughed out of Orlando if they weren’t playing so well. Either way, Warren destroyed the Lakers for 39 points and it probably would have been 50 in the Pacers would have given him the ball more. Here’s some fun facts.

• T.J. Warren scored 18 points in the first quarter spearheading a 22-4 run. At one time, he was outscoring the Lakers 18-17. 
• Nate McMillan is rumored to be on the hot seat. Maybe this is why. Warren never took a shot in the second quarter because the Pacers stopped giving him the ball.
• In the 4th quarter, T.J. Warren scored 12 points. He peronally finished the Lakers scoring seven straight points on three straight shots. Fans are all over the Clippers for Devin Booker hitting a game winner over Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Warren dropped 3 point shots in the faces of Anthony Davis and LeBron James. 

Oh by the way, the Pacers starting backcourt outplayed the Lakers backcourt.

Malcolm Brogdon:

24 points (8-13 shots 4-6 in 3’s ), 5 rebounds and 6 assists and a steal.

Victor Oladipo:

22 points (9-17 shots 2-4 3’s), 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal. He had a plus/minus of +18.

Aaron Holiday:

7 points, (Hit all 3 shots which includes a 3 point shot!), 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals and a block. He had a plus/minus of +21.

All played over 30 minutes.

The Lakers simply didn’t seem to have the personnel to match the Pacers on the perimeter.

Now the Lake Show Life staff has an interesting scenario. Most of the articles foreshadowing the problems of the Lakers even down to the possible upcoming first-round threat against the Portland Trail Blazers have materialized. Some have received backlash.

The scenario? Does the staff want to be right or for the Los Angeles Lakers to be all right.  

Since the Los Angeles Lakers starting dribbling in basketball games in Orlando, they’ve struggled to shoot consistently from the 3 point line and get any production from their stars at the same time. The Indiana Pacers on Saturday was no reason to report change.  For the second game in the bubble, the Lakers’ bench unit went crazy scoring 54 that kept things close.

In the end, the Lake Show lost to the Pacers 116-111, extending their losing streak to three games.

Lake Show Life works hard to break down games and analyze the Los Angeles Lakers to help the fan understand the strengths and weaknesses from game to game. Right now we might be the ONLY site that is openly saying the Los Angeles Lakers championship window is closing. We see that if the team keeps this inconsistent play up, they are a first-round upset or a six-game loser in the second round.

Do we want this to happen? No. These games are fun to watch and the fan engagements are amazing with the best and smartest Lakers fans on the planet. The playoff experience is the most fun for writers. Draft articles are like term papers.

If the fans that follow us are irritated by the current negativity (They are losing! There are no positives in that!), we have this to say.

If the Los Angeles Lakers don’t turn this around, the Lake Show Life Lessons series will be over in a matter of weeks! Why? The season will be over! Enjoy the experience while you can!

To start, let’s give a shout out to a player who actually shoots the ball in an NBA game for the Lakers.