Lakers vs. Suns: It’s already safe to write off the Lakers’ title hopes
By Ronald Agers
The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss:
LeBron got in a little bit of foul trouble!
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but based on how hot he was (He knocked down all four shots for 11 points!) this was a major problem for the Los Angeles Lakers. Granted the calls during this game for both sides were suspect, but the offense suffered big time in the second quarter when he sat down.
It seemed the entire Lakers team was in foul trouble!
Let’s put this in perspective. The Suns were in the penalty with over 9 MINUTES left in the second quarter. We’ve talked about LeBron’s foul issues, he wasn’t alone, to say the least.
- Russell Westbrook had three fouls in the first half.
- Avery Bradley had two fouls in only eight minutes. To be clear, he’s the Lakers’ best perimeter defender these days.
- Anthony Davis had two fouls that threw him out of rhythm in the first half with 1-5 shooting.
- Dwight Howard had two fouls. But is anyone surprised?
Phoenix had a parade to the charity stripe for free points while the Lakers kept right on fouling. How bad were things with Howard? He fouled Chris Paul 23 feet from the basket trying to get a steal and then almost got a technical by shoving him.
The Los Angeles Lakers have absolutely no offensive system at all!
Here’s Frank Vogel’s offensive playbook…
- Give the ball to LeBron James and let him figure it out. Hopefully, there’s a shooter in the corner if things go bad.
- Give the ball to AD on the left wing and let him figure out if he will go to the paint, go to his left for a fadeaway or shoot a fadeaway jumper from that spot.
- Russell Westbrook? Well, the first quarter plan worked and then…afterwards? Let him figure it out.
- Everybody else on the roster? Follow the stars…be ready and yes…figure it out.
This team is depending on fast-break basketball to beat teams. The only problem with this plan is you need defense to start a fast break. The Lakers haven’t stopped anybody.