SLOW Lakers Lose to Spurs. 35 from Luka Doncic, but Austin Reaves STRUGGLES
The Lakers have been eliminated from NBA Cup play, losing to San Antonio in the quarterfinals Wednesday night at Crypto.
There wasn’t much to love in this one. The Lakers got off to a decent enough start, but once San Antonio found their legs, the Lakers just couldn’t keep up. Final score, 132-119.
The big issues were defensive, where the Lakers simply couldn’t string together enough stops to hang with San Antonio, and then claw their way back into the game after falling behind. The Spurs were able to get out into transition, outscoring the Lakers badly on the break. They used their bench to help build a lead, outscoring the Lakers bench. They got to the free throw line more than the Lakers, which always represents a problem for a team that doesn’t tend to win at the 3-point line.
Marcus Smart, back in the lineup, had a great shooting night (26 points, 8-14 from 3-point range), and whatever defensive spine the Lakers had came from him. LeBron James went for 19/15/8, and Luka Dončić finished with 35 points and eight assists. But Austin Reaves didn’t have the bounceback game the Lakers needed after a clunker in Philly. Rui Hachimura didn’t have the ball enough to make an impact.
But overall, it was a night where the team’s deficiencies were on display. Too slow. Struggle to get points if they can’t get to the line. Difficulty generating good looks. And major defensive problems.
Back to the drawing board.
39 Comments
Lakers are 20th in DRtg. That says it all.
I don’t care about the contract ,the age or situation
The best offensive player off the bench is (Two-way) Nick smith Jr
The best physically tenacious energetic defender is Adou Thiero . Period.
Marcus smart is the best “manipulative” defender but not the best
The best balanced on defense and Offense is Laravia but just average on both sides
That’s just the truth I’ve seen enough to make these calls through all these games . But we’re talking about Gabe Vincent and Vando .
Lebron needs to be the 3rd option. He’s not willing to sacrifice. Reaves needs to be the second option, but of course Lebron has to much pride to let that happen. Bron’s to busy chasing stats, and playing no defense like everyone else.
Rich Paul is right, Lakers are not good. Their standings are outliar…Come playoff time another 1st round exit..Rich are just stating FACTS…Their not a good playoff team…
It helps the lineup when you have a high lottery pick every year.
Did you guys even watch? Usage rate for game: LD 35.5 MS 26.6 LJ 23.5 AR 20.7 DA 16.7 RH 5.8
Luca the leader of the team had 5 assists in 40 min. Marcus Smart hasn't played in two weeks. Last night he played 29 min and has his season high in shots and points. Defensive stopper was back in the lineup as the Lakers give up 132. Spacing was different. Blaming this loss on AR is lazy.
Google. Who is the fastest NBA player? De'Aaron Fox
LAKERS HAVE TOO MANY WASTED ROSTER SPOTS……WAKE UP….TEAMS ARE STARTING TO GIVE A LOT OF THEIR PLAYERS RUN……LAKERS HAVE TO PLAY THERIO FOR HIS ATHLETICISM….NEED TO TRADE AND GET ATHLETIC BODIES THAT HAVE OFFENSIVE ABILITIES…..NO NEED FOR VANDO IF HE CANT SCORE….NO NEED FOR BRONNY….
Reaves is just trash right now
Lakers rely to heavily on 2 players Reeves and Luka to put up 40 each every night . Role players are garbage.
Several of the laker players had terrible games.I really think JJ didn't have the team ready . Now they the lakers have 8 days off . Rich Paul is 100% correct !
Who was responsible for guarding Johnson in the first quarter ?
As much as AR has underperformed it should also be noted that when Luka and LeBron play he’s got much more defensive responsibility in the starting lineup (Gabe o/w is the chaser). That’s hurting him too.
RUI SMUI…… HIS SHOTS NOT THE PROBLEM…. NOT IS THE OFFENSE
Everyone was n
Mad at rich Paul, for speaking facts
Reaves always getting cooked on defense
ID PLAY THERIO BEFORE VANDO
Rich Paul's comments may have an impact on Austin Reaves confidence and aggressiveness and impact the locker room dynamics.
NO RACIAL OFFENSE…..FAR TOO MANY NON EUROPEAN WHITE GUYS ON THE COURT AT SAME TIME AT TIMES….
That's the result of re-signinig a 40 years old player at 50 mil.. no matter how good he looks in spots, but when you Need two 3 & D players, you are forced to play Bron and Rui.. and what it is even crazier is the fact that people wants Austin out of the bench.. Bron should be, not Austin..
IF U CAN GET GREEK FOR AR AND OTHERS…..FCUKIN DO IT…ASAP
JJ needs to make the SMART move and replace Rui in starting lineup
"Formula to beat LA" LIKE THIS IS A GOOD LAKER TEAM LOL😂😂😂😂
If you keep Reaves as annunrestricted FA uou ll havevto overpay or loose him for kothung. He and Doncic kot great fit in playoff bball. See what you can get for him and try to copy Mavericks 2024 roster
Rich Paul 🍷
We just have zero truly athletic starters-period
What I saw from Doncic has been he gets points but last night the defense focused on him and he keeps shooting not getting the ball to the open man. Two guys make 30 points a game and no bench points is not going to beat good teams.
The formula? 😂😂Nobody has ever had an issue beating LeBron on the lakers. 8 years of nothing
Cant have multiple guys that have to be masked on defense.
Vanderbilt is NEVER the solution… but each year while he’s injured we pretend he is. Now he’s healthy & he’s still not the solution.
It’s simple. If AR has a good game they have a chance to win. If he doesn’t there is zero chance because his bad defense with Luka & old man LeBron can’t be overcome without AR offense.
The excuses you people (😂) come up with to justify Austin Reaves poor defense. But like I said the playoff will tell the truth.
I’ve been saying “get rid of Austin while his value is high.” It won’t get any higher and could go down as the season wears on. Let’s package him with Rua and a number 1 pick and go get Giannis.
Lakers was catching up when Austin was on bench but Lakers loss game then sit Austin down one game for bad match ups
Luka is playing with doubt. He is not the same player that he was prior to getting traded. He may never recover from that.
Rich Paul stated the lakers are not contenders. He was right they need speed, athleticism etc,etc. They always seem to have these lack of effort games.
Don't understand why Luka and Reeves are playing together. AR seems to play his betst when Luka is not in the lineup. One of them needs to go, or either come off of the bench.
Oh man. I knew the exact stage of roster construction you guys are in. You’re not going to have fun this season. Just enjoy the highs and lows cause these lows. Yall aren’t ready for. ‘Got to find Rui’ lmao. Damn.
• The SAS Abused US on Both Ends; Especially AR bcuz He has to Guard the Best Perimeter Player and it looks worse when He’s not Scoring or getting to The FT Line!!!
• We need 1-2/6’7-6’9, 2-Way Wings (Herb/Wiggins) however, OKC & SAS have a Grip of Young Athletic 2-Way Players that are 6’4-6’6!!!
• OKC & SAS will be a Big Problem for the Rest of The Luka 🪄 Era (10ish Years)!!!
Blow up the entire team. Trade/cut everyone except Luka and then rebuild while he is still only 26
Spurs looked like they knew what they were doing and have great team chemistry not premadonnas