The cat is out of the bag as the Los Angeles Lakers are back down to Earth are having their six-game win streak snapped. Now, L.A. is on a two-game losing streak and got embarrassed by the Denver Nuggets at home on Saturday.
Unfortunately, this game played out as each contest has played out in the recent 14 meetings. The purple and gold hung around, took a respectable lead, and then crumbled in the second half.
Particularly in the third quarter, the Lakers’ offense stagnated and stopped generating good looks. That led to settling for jump shots and sloppy turnovers, allowing Denver to get out on the break.
That was combined with the inability to finish defensive possessions with rebounds, which has been an issue for the Lakers all season. Anthony Davis knows that opposing teams are taking advantage of those two issues when scouting for L.A.
“Guys are going to crash. That’s the scouting report on us,” Davis said. “Run when we miss, run in transition and offense rebound, crash the glass. So we got to do a better job putting bodies on bodies, boxing out. Just that simple.”
Not even 20 games into the season, it is readily apparent how many issues there are with the Lakers’ team defense. While head coach JJ Redick has emphasized rebounding, there are simply not enough defensive-minded players on this team willing to do the dirty work.
Simple fundamental box outs are not happening as players are not putting a body on people to limit second-chance opportunities. While Davis did not put together an impressive on Saturday, there is a lot of dependence on him defensively given this roster construction.
For example, the Nuggets have energy guys in Russell Westbrook, Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon, when healthy, who are willing to crash and create extra opportunities. Despite some impressive early-season wins, there still remains a clear gap between the Lakers and championship contenders.
Anthony Davis attributes poor night to ‘missed shots’
After losing 13 out of the last 14 to the Nuggets, it is extremely disappointing each time to see how far behind the Lakers are in terms of contending. However, that third quarter was inexcusable due to how poorly executed their offense was.
When L.A. was settling, their defense reeled due to not getting back, allowing Denver to generate easy looks. Anthony Davis turned in his worst performance of the young season, but he attributed his lackluster night to ‘missed shots’ despite getting good looks.
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