Desperately needing a win, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to get the job done against the Orlando Magic on Sunday night despite another lackluster showing from the starting five.
Since the win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers’ starters have found it difficult to establish any sense of urgency out of the gate. The slow starts contributed to losses against the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, setbacks that dropped L.A. down the standings.
Anthony Davis discussed the starting five’s struggles, though he expressed some optimism that they’ll eventually find their rhythm again.
“I think the last couple of games we’ve kind of struggled, but overall, that lineup has been good for us,” Davis said. “We play fast. I think, just how we did in that New Orleans game, we came out strong defensively and we were just running. It’s hard to play our style of basketball which is to get it off the glass and anyone is pushing and the other four guys are running when we get stops.
“So that first five, the best offense is no offense because we’re running in transition and getting easy buckets and playing with the ball hopping and guys getting in rhythm and making shots. So we just got to get back buckling down to our defensive IQ and our defensive identity and I think we’ll be fine.”
Davis is a large reason why the Lakers have had trouble the past week as he’s looked more passive offensively. Opposing teams are almost selling out to make sure he doesn’t get the ball, but that shouldn’t be an excuse as to why he seems to float at times. The coaching staff needs to do a better job of getting him involved early and often, but it’s also up to Davis to demand his touches.
Outside of Davis, the starting backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley have cooled off from distance. While Russell managed to bounce back, Beasley has fallen back down to earth after his hot shooting night against the Pelicans.
Fortunately, the bench unit led by Austin Reaves and Dennis Schroder has been able to hold down the fort though the starters need to pull their weight. L.A. has a difficult matchup against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, so the starters especially Davis need to bring their A-game for that one.
Anthony Davis expected to play in back-to-back set featuring Utah Jazz and L.A. Clippers
With only 10 games remaining in the season, the Lakers can ill afford for anyone to miss time. To that end, Davis will reportedly play in the team’s final back-to-back set against the Utah Jazz and L.A. Clippers.
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