Los Angeles Lakers season is officially done after loss to Kings

The Los Angeles Lakers looked to extend their winning streak on Dr. Jerry Buss night, taking on the Sacramento Kings for the final time this season. It’s getting to the point these days where the Lakers are who they are. They are below .500 with a very flawed team. This game here was a perfect illustration of how inconsistent this team really is. They can’t go 48 minutes with solid team basketball.

Dr. Jerry Buss would really be sad watching his great creation being destroyed. Jeanie Buss, the Rambises and Rob Pelinka have reduced his “Showtime” vision to a punchline. They basically are now hiding behind the history that made this franchise great. It’s really embarrassing.

Take some advice and watch the video because at least you will see the Lakers the way they should be.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Sacramento Kings 116-111. The Lake Show went from flawless to just flawed in a game that the Kings were without their all-star in Domantas Sabonis. The Lakers should have won this game.

It is officially horrible when you hear Sacramento fans celebrating in an arena where the Lakers handed out beatdowns to their franchise and Shaquille O’Neal famously called the “Queens”.

The night ended like this…“Light the beams….Light the beams….Light the beams”…

The good from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss: 

Domantas Sabonis did not play…

This game was a wrap when it was reported that Domantas Sabonis was scratched from the lineup due to a non-COVID illness (Get better, brother! It’s hard out there with these illnesses!). The Sacramento Kings depend on so many things from this guy from initiating the offense to anchoring the defense. Is he Anthony Davis-level? Nope. But the Kings needed triple-double performances from him to beat the Lakers right…right?

The Los Angeles Lakers had a season-high performance in the first quarter!

To double down on the Sabonis analysis, the lack of rim protection had the Lakers starting a cha-cha line to the rim for layups. It was ugly for a Sacramento fan and a Hollywood movie for a Los Angeles fan. The Lakers had 39 points in the first 12 minutes. Then there was that second-quarter thing. More on that in a bit…

Slowly but surely, Thomas Bryant and Wenyen Gabriel are getting back to that two-headed monster!

For a while, the combination of Thomas Bryant and Wenyen Gabriel was enough to match the top NBA big men in terms of production. But then Bryant went on a flat-out tear that ate into Wenyen’s minutes. After a slowdown lately in production with Bryant, the combination scheme is back in effect in Darvin Ham’s rotation minutes.

• Thomas Bryant: 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
• Wenyen Gabriel: 10 points, 6 rebounds and one assist.

Max Christie can play!

This will be the next cheap replacement that Jeanie Buss and crew will replace Austin Reaves with when he leaves for more money. Before you start thinking they will pay Reaves, did you know that his contract was UNGUARANTEED until recently?

12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. The fact that the Lakers are depending on a rookie in the second half of the season shows how bad things are!

Speaking of bad…

The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss: 

The second quarter!

The Lakers fell asleep at the wheel and got outscored 33-21 to go into the locker room behind after playing a flawless 12 minutes. Why?

The Los Angeles Lakers’ wing defense is about as bad as it can get right now!

Film don’t lie!

Dennis Schroder is not the only culprit but he’s the biggest repeat defender. This defense is atrocious and almost apathetic. This allowed Deaaron Fox to get a rhythm and this is the defense that allowed the Kings back into the game. With so many breakdowns like these, it won’t matter if AD comes back or not. The man can’t cover defensive laziness like this and there were plenty.

Russell Westbrook is collecting technical fouls at a “Rasheed Wallace” rate…  

Three technical fouls in the last three games and seven overall. Keep it up Russ and suspensions will come soon.

The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss: 

Let us tell you because no one else will… The Los Angeles Lakers season is done!

To cover this team is almost depressing. If it’s depressing to watch, LeBron James must be getting punished for a sin from a previous life. This is what this guy has done over 16 games…

https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1615925615936536577

But he adjusted his game much like the staff of Lake Show Life analyzed earlier this season. He plays off the ball and works within the offense. But this is not getting presented like the lazy work of other Lakers media outlets. This guy gets no help from the starters. It was seen in his 48-point explosion against the Rockets and it’s even more evident here! There’s nothing left that he can do. No trade equals no playoffs.

Oh there will be no trade just like this writer has been saying for a year! But let the owner co-sign…

"“However, according to a Western Conference executive who spoke with Heavy On Sports’ Sean Deveney under the condition of anonymity, the Lakers are unlikely to trade away their future in order to improve the current iteration of their roster – a move which Jeanie Buss supports,”"

The Lakers have no chance if LeBron James dominates the ball, but Dennis Schroder plays once a week, the wings can’t shoot or guard anybody and even though Russ tries, Lakers fans, this will be the offense without LeBron running the offense.

32 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. He played well and most of the roster looked like they were keeping themselves healthy to get ready for their next contract negotiations this summer.

This writer feels for LeBron and the fans because the front office and Jeanie Buss have failed you.