The Los Angeles Lakers saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped on Friday night, losing to the Utah Jazz in a high-scoring 130-116 affair.
The 130 points allowed was a season-high for the Lakers as they had one of the best defenses in the league coming into the game.
Their struggles on that end were apparent against the Jazz though and Anthony Davis believes it was due to a lack of effort.
“Our effort was terrible,” Davis said after the game. “These guys got whatever they want to sell. Hats off to them. They made a lot of shots, but we wasn’t ourselves on defense tonight. We’re a much better defensive team than we showed tonight. You kind of look at film tomorrow. See where we can be better. See the areas we can be better at and get ready for a really good, tough team coming in on Sunday, and then we’ll see you guys again on Monday.”
For Davis personally though, his struggles actually came on the offensive end in the second half. After dominating o the tune of 20 points in the first half, Davis took just four shots in the second half and finished with just 22 points.
Low scoring outputs in the second half and fourth quarter have become a theme for Davis so far this season. When asked how it can be fixed, the Lakers big man put the onus on himself.
“Demanding the ball… I can’t allow myself to go for four, five or six minutes without getting a shot whether I’m hot or not.”
Overall on the night though, the Lakers had one of their best offensive games, shooting 48.2% from the field and 42.3% from 3. Davis credit the team’s ball movement for that output.
“We were really getting whatever we wanted on the offensive end. Honestly, tonight, we were moving the basketball. We did everything that we need to do on the offensive end… The last couple of games, we’ve been able to shoot the ball really well. Helped us get some wins. But we also played defense as well.”
Davis not concerned with lack of effort
After previously pointing out the team’s lack of effort, Davis was asked if that is a concern moving forward and he brushed it off.
“I don’t think it’s concerning. So nothing to be alarmed about,” Davis said. “We know we can get back to where we need to be. Those guys were coming in really hot, they do a really good job of moving the basketball, cutting without the basketball. … So they do a lot of things. It just wasn’t, our effort wasn’t there. Which we can change.
“A lot of things that they were doing that caused us to have bad defense was self-inflicted. So it was a good thing that it’s all about us on what we can change individually and as a team.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!