The Los Angeles Lakers had a disappointing showing in their season opener as they fell to the Clippers 108-92. Luke Walton’s team struggled mightily shooting the ball as they shot just 40.7 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range.
The team’s top two offensive players were the main proponents as well. Brook Lopez shot just seven of 19 while Brandon Ingram missed 12 of his 15 shots on the night.
After the loss, Walton lamented his team’s effort, believing that the team’s struggles to make shots affected the rest of their game via Lakers reporter Mike Trudell:
Walton said not making shots early impacted players. “That’s not something that should effect the way we play (on defense, etc).”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 20, 2017
This is definitely something that can’t happen to a team like the Lakers. The effort for this team, especially on defense, must remain high if they plan on improving from last year. The problem for many young players is that they focus on offense so much that the effort elsewhere can be lost.
The Lakers have had offensive issues throughout the preseason as well so them struggling to shoot the ball tonight isn’t much of a surprise. Coincidentally, their defense wasn’t awful throughout much of the game.
Los Angeles actually held the Clippers to under 40 percent shooting, though that was in part due to their effort in garbage time when they cut the lead to no avail. There were times when the work they put in on defense was noticeable, but the consistent effort was not there and that has to drive Walton crazy.
The Lakers won’t have much time to dwell on it as they head to Phoenix to take on the Suns Friday night. If they have the same issues, the Lakers could once again be in for a long night.
