The Los Angeles Lakers dropped another one at home on Friday night, this time to their Staples Center cohabitants, the L.A. Clippers. Head coach Luke Walton decided to try out a new starting lineup of: Brandon Ingram, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart, Julius Randle and Kyle Kuzma.
Walton explained that since the Lakers had dropped seven of their last eight games, it was time to switch things up. Walton said that since Randle has been doing so well embracing his role off the bench, that he would give him the opportunity to start.
Walton also discusses whether the recent team meetings carried any influence on his decisions.
After the game, Randle talked about whether he had any extra motivation going into this game, wanting to prove himself as a starter. It’s also clear that the frustrations of losing are starting to pile up.
Despite the Lakers priding themselves on their defensive improvements to start the season (where they were ranked in the top ten for the first quarter of the year), the Lakers have struggled on that end of the floor the past several games. When asked about their defensive deficiencies, Kuzma kept it simple saying, ‘We’re just not defending.’ Kuzma also talked about how different the offense is without Lonzo ball
Larry Nance Jr. finished with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block off the bench in his 18 minutes. Nance agrees with Kuzma that the defense just isn’t there. Plus, Nance says the Lakers rocky start to games has become a theme for them this season.
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