March 16th, 2017

The Lakers are taking this whole tanking thing to a new level.  This time they lost to Houston 139-100 on Wednesday in Texas.  It was their 2nd 39-point loss to the Rockets this season.

Corey Brewer blamed it on the Lakers youth.  “We’re young, we’re young,” Brewer said. “We don’t know what it takes yet. I’ve been in it for a long time, we don’t know what it takes. No matter what’s happening, in an NBA game, you can get back in it. I’ve been down 25, 30 points and got back in games and won games like that. You gotta understand you always have a chance if you’re playing hard and doing the right things.”

James Harden had 18 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds for Houston, and Lou Williams scored 30 points against his former team.  The Lakers lost for the 11th time in 12 games.

Julius Randle had a career-high 32 points, to go along with eight rebounds and two assists. Brandon Ingram scored 18 points, and Jordan Clarkson also scored 18.  Clarkson again started in place of D’Angelo Russell at point guard. He added two steals, three assists and three turnovers.

It was a rough night for Russell, who is adjusting to his new role.   He fouled out for the first time in his career after playing 25 minute.  He made two of 10 shots, missing all five of his three-point attempts. He finished with five points and committed seven turnovers.

Russell didn’t sound very confident about his new role.  “Still trying to figure it out,” he said. “Different role and stuff like that. It’s whatever.”

The Lakers still have the 2nd worst record in the league with 14 games left, and they are two games worse than the 3rd worst Phoenix Suns.  That’s important to watch because the Lakers only keep their 1st round pick if it ends up in the top 3.

The Lakers will return home on Friday to take on the Bucks at Staples Center.

March 13th, 2017

The Lakers shuffled their starting lineup on Monday against the Nuggets, but it didn’t matter.  Denver dominated LA 129-101, despite moving D’Angelo Russell to the bench and starting Jordan Clarkson in his place.

Will Barton and Jamal Murray scored 22 points apiece.  Danilo Gallinari and Nikola Jokic each added 18 points for the Nuggets, who now have a 2 game lead over Portland for the final playoff spot in the West with 15 games remaining.

Ivica Zubac was the lone bright spot for LA, scoring a career-high 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds.  Jordan Clakrson had 19, and Brandon Ingram scored 14, as the Lakers lost for the 10th time in the last 11 games.

Russell scored 10 points and had 3 assist  on 4-14 shooting in 27 minutes.  However, Walton said the move was made more for evaluation purposes.  “D’Angelo has been playing great when you look at his numbers, but we’re 1-7 after the break and I want to see some other looks,” coach Luke Walton said before the game.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 32 points early on in the 3rd quarter.  They managed to cut the lead to 93-76 after 3 quarters, but couldn’t get much closer.  However, Denver went on an 11-0 run in the 4th to build a 28 point lead.

With 15 games left, the Lakers have the 2nd worst record in the league.  They’ll take on the Rockets on Wednesday in Houston.

“We’re gonna continue to look for opportunities to look at new things so we can gain as much information as possible going into the off-season,” Walton said.

March 12th, 2017

The Lakers lost to the 76ers on Sunday night at Staples Center, 118-116, in a game between two lottery bound teams.  Jordan Clarkson had a career-best 30 points and helped the Lakers rally from a 12-point deficit late in the game, but it wasn’t enough.

Dario Saric scored a career-high 29 points for Philadelphia, and Jahlil Okafor added 23.  T.J. McConnell’s hit a 12-foot fallaway jumper with just under a minute left, and the 76ers never gave up the lead from there.

Tomothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 18 points for the 76ers, and Julius Randle put up 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, but used an 8-2 to tie the game at 65 by halftime.

Their execution late in the game though was problematic.  D’Angelo Russell airballed a last minute 3-point try, and looked to be confused about the time remaining on the shot clock.  Randle fouled Gerald Henderson after he was double teamed and looked to be in trouble, and Clarkson missed a key free throw in the final seconds.

“The effort and the intentions were in the right place, which is a good start,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “The actual execution of it wasn’t good enough to win the game tonight.”

The good news for the Lakers was that the game helped them in the lottery standings.  The 76ers receive the Lakers 1st round pick if it falls out of the top 3 in this years draft.  The Lakers remained with the 2nd worst record in the NBA after Sunday’s loss.

March 9th, 2017

The Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night, but it’s debatable whether or not the 122- 110 win on the road was a good thing.

Both the Lakers and Suns are in contention for the 2nd and 3rd worst records in this summer’s NBA draft, which gives both teams a high probability of getting a top 3 pick in the 2017 draft.  That’s imperative for the Lakers, who only keep their pick this year if it lands in the top 3.

After beating the Suns, the Lakers are now just 1 game worse than Phoenix in the standings.  If the Lakers finish with the 2nd worst record, they have a 56% chance of keeping this years draft pick.  However, if they finish 3rd, their chances fall to 46%.

“That’s going to play itself out in the end,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “No matter what happens, it’s still going to come down to the luck of the balls type of thing. My job is to coach these guys to get better. We’re going to continue to do that and try to win every time we play.”

D’Angelo Russell continued his scoring tear on Thursday night, scoring 28 points, which included six 3-pointers.  Jordan Clarkson also added 19 points, as the Lakers snapped an 8-game losing streak.

The last time the Lakers played in Phoenix was on February 15th, when they lost by 36 points.  That was the most one-sided Suns win in the history of the Suns-Lakers matchups.

Phoenix was led by Devin Booker’s 23 points, along with 18 from Marquese Chriss, and 17 from T.J. Warren.

The Lakers will play another team in the lottery on Sunday night…..the Philadelphia 76ers.  Interestingly enough, if the Lakers pick doesn’t land in the top 3, it goes to Philadelphia.

March 7th, 2017

The Lakers went into Dallas on Tuesday night, and witnessed Dirk Nowitzki  score his 30,000th career point against them, while also losing to the Mavs 122-111.

Nowitzki became the 6th player in NBA history, and the first international one to reach the milestone. He joins Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant as the only other players to score 30,000 for one team.  The other four players to reach the 30,000 point club are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan.

The 7-foot German scored 25 points for the game, to go along with 11 rebounds.  He also matched the best 1st quarter of his career with 18 points, and reached the milestone at the 10:58 mark of the 2nd quarter.  It came on his trademark fadeaway jumper over Larry Nance Jr.

“There’s a reason he has 30,000 points,” Nance said. “That’s a 7-footer leaning back. That can shoot. Good luck.”

Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer a few minutes later and the Lakers called timeout.  He was congratulated by teammates at that point, and given a loud ovation by the crowd.  After that he waived to the crowd in appreciation.

As for the rest of the game, the Mavericks built a 31-point lead in the 3rd quarter.  The Lakers fought back in the 4th quarter, but it wasn’t too late.  They did however, get some good numbers from some young players.

D’Angelo Russell scored 22 points on 8-17 shooting, to go along with 4 assists and 4 steals.  Julius Randle had a triple-double with 13 points, 10 assists, and 18 rebounds.  Jordan Clarkson had 22 points, and Brandon Ingram had 13.

The numbers at the end of the game didn’t look so bad, but the reality of it is the Lakers were dominated for 3 quarters.  LA has lost 8 in a row, and are still 2 game behind the Phoenix Suns, in the race to secure more ping pong balls in the draft lottery.  The Lakers will be in Phoenix to take on the Suns on Thursday.

March 6th, 2017

The Lakers had their hands full on Sunday night against the Pelicans new dynamic duo.  New Orleans held on late for a 105-97 win at Staples Center, behind the strength of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.

Cousins piled up 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Anthony Davis added 31 points and 9 rebounds, which ultimately sent the Lakers to their 7th straight loss.

Nick Young led LA with 19 points, while D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram each scored 16.  The Lakers were down by 14 points with just over 5:30 left in the game, and then they went on a 14-0 run.  Julius Randle made two free throws with 1:55 left, but the Lakeres wouldn’t come any closer than that.

Anthony Davis made a jumper on the next possession.  After D’Angelo Russell missed a 3-point jumper, the Pelicans would extend the lead further.  Jrue Holiday made a 3-pointer to put the game out of reach, which came after New Orleans picked up an offensive rebound from Holiday’s jumper just moments earlier.

“I missed a lot of wide-open ones,” said Russell.  “I could see if I was forcing it or whatever, but I feel like I missed a lot of wide-open ones that they capitalized on.”

“The execution wasn’t great in the last couple minutes,” Laker Coach Luke Walton said. “It was good experience for them, but the way we played in the third and the start of the fourth is where we’re going to be focusing our efforts going into practice tomorrow.”

The good news for the Lakers is that they are now two games behind the Phoenix Suns, comfortably giving them the 2nd worst record in the league.  That’s good news because the Lakers 1st round draft pick this year is top 3 protected.

The Lakers hit the road for a couple of games now.  They’ll face Dallas on Tuesday, followed by the Suns on Thursday, in another game that has big implications for draft positioning.

March 3rd, 2017

The Celtics came in to Staples Center on Friday and beat the Lakers 115-95.  It was the Lakers 6th straight loss, but the real chaos that ensued was with LA’s ownership.

On Friday afternoon it was revealed that Jim Buss and his brother Johnny, attempted to oust their sister, Jeanie Buss as controlling owner of the Lakers.  It was just a couple of weeks ago that Jeanie fired Jim from the head of basketball operations.  However, Jeanie thwarted her brothers attempts to take over the franchise.

The Buss boys had attempted to call an emergency meeting next week to have a new board of directors put into place, and ultimately, remove Jeanie as the controlling owner.  However, according to the Buss family trust, it is set up to have Jeanie maintain controlling ownership.  Jim and Johnny have no legal leg to stand on according to Jeanie’s attorney.

On the court, the Lakers weren’t very competitive against their hated rivals.  Isaiah Thomas scored 18 point and Jae Crowder added 14 for Boston.   The Celtics scored 70 points in the 1st half, and opened up a 25 point lead at halftime.

Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 20 points off the bench, and D’Angelo Russell  scored 17, but the Lakers fell to last place in the Western Conference.

“As we were playing hard and competing, they kept inching that lead out more and more, and then it felt like we got in desperation mode, which is the thing we need to learn from tonight,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said.

The Lakers will try to snap their skid on Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center.  The drama with ownership may not be over though.

February 28th, 2017

The Lakers gave a much better effort against Charlotte on Tuesday night Staples, but they failed to make plays late as the Hornets beat LA 109-104.

Kemba Walker scored 30 points for the Hornets, including a clutch 3-pointer in the last two minutes to give Charlotte the lead for good.  The Hornets also got 24 points and 12 rebounds from Frank Kaminsky.

Laker Coach Luke Walton was very disappointed in his teams effort on Sunday against San Antonio, but got a much better effort on Tuesday, despite poor late game execution.  Julius Randle scored 23 points, had 18 rebounds, and 6 assists.  D’Angelo Russell had 23 points and 9 assists on another efficient shooting game as well.

Jordan Clarkson’s basket gave the Lakers a 1 point lead with 2:21 to play.  However, Waker’s 3-pointer put the Hornets back in front 100-98, about a half a minute later.   With 1:07 left Marvin Williams hit another 3-pointer to make it 103-98 Charlotte.  The Lakers never recovered.  D’Angelo Russell made two late three pointers, but the Hornets made 6 straight free throws to get the win.

The win was just the 3rd in the last 16 games for Charlotte, but also their 2nd in the last 3 games.  The Lakers on the other hand lost their 5th straight game, and still have the third worst record in the NBA.  Phoenix is just half a game behind them in the standings (for those of you interested in a tanking update).

Once again, Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng did not play for the Lakers.  It was the 4h straight game Mozgov didn’t play, and the 1st for Deng, although he only played 13 minutes in the game against San Antonio.

The Lakers are off until Friday.  That night they’ll take on the Boston Celtics, for the only matchup at Staples Center this year between the two clubs.

February 26th, 2017

The Spurs issued the Lakers a good old fashioned beat down on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center, in a 119-98 win over LA.

This game was like watching the old man at the YMCA school the young athletic kid that thinks he’s invincible.  The Spurs took a 16 point lead behind 16 1st quarter points from Kawhi Leonard after 12 minutes of play.  They also had 14 assists on 15 made field goals.

Midway through the 2nd quarter, San Antonio already had 17 points off 10 Laker turnovers, and had built an 18 point lead.  That lead ballooned to 61-41 by halftime.

There were a few bright spots for LA despite getting manhandled.  One of them was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar getting honored at halftime for his various work in social activism.   On the floor, Brandon Ingram scored a career-high 22 points, while D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson were productive on offense as well.  Russell scored 18 points, and Clarkson scored 19, with each of them shooting an efficient 50% from the field.

Despite a better effort in the 2nd half from LA, the difference in the game was the Spurs efficiency at both ends of the floor.  San Antonio had 49 baskets on 37 assists.  The Spurs were led by Leonard’s 25 points, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 16, and Pau Gasol had 15.

The loss was the 41st of the season for LA, and their 4th straight defeat.  San Antonio on the other hand improved to 45-13, and 3-0 against the Lakers on the season.

The Lakers continue their home stand on Tuesday night against Charlotte, when they’ll try to get back in the win column.

February 24th, 2017

Russell Westbrook was a human tornado as usual.  Westbrook scored 17 points, 18 rebounds, and 17 assists, as the Thunder took down the Lakers 110-93.

The game was also the first for two new Thunder players who were acquired on Thursday.  Those players were Taj Gibson, who scored 12 points, and Doug McDermott, who scored 8.  That was impressive in spite of the fact that neither was able to participate in the morning shoot around Friday.

As for the Lakers, D’Angelo Russell scored 29 points, but the Lakers shot just 39.6% as a team.  Russell picked up the scoring slack after the team’s leading scorer, Lou Williams, was traded a few days earlier.

“I knew at times we’d stall out offensively because Lou was such a big part of it,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “But I thought they did a great job.”

The Lakers acquired Corey Brewer from Houston, in the trade for Williams.  Brewer scored 2 points in 4 minutes of playing time.  Jordan Clarkson scored 14 points and Julius Randle had 13 points and 11 rebounds as well, but the Lakers shot just 7 for 35 on three-pointers.

The Lakers trailed throughout.  Oklahoma City led 58-51 at the half, and quickly opened up a 73-58 lead in the 3rd quarter.  LA got within 9 points with just over 4 minutes left, but free throw shooting didn’t help their cause.  The Lakers were just 6 of 14 from the free throw line.

Lakers new President of Basketball Operations, Magic Johnson, made the trip to Oklahoma City in order to get a better feel for the team.  D’Angelo Russell recognized the importance of this.

“It’s like you’re starting over and trying to impress,” Russell said. “Everybody has to look over their shoulders once again. It’s like coming to a new team. Trying to impress the GM and the guys in the front office with your play and off the court the way you handle yourselves. So it’s all different.”

Things won’t get any easier for the Lakers.  They’ll take on the Spurs at Staples Center on Sunday.