The Los Angeles Lakers pulled back to .500 on the season after a win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. It was a good night for meant in the Purple and Gold, but especially for Anthony Davis, who finished with 41 points and 11 rebounds. In a chat with the media after the game, Davis opened up on their recent struggles and explained how they were to blame for their own downfall.
“Everything is self-inflicted. Our turnovers, poor execution, our lack of attention to detail, is what got us in the situation of losing four straight,” said Davis. “We were able to flip the script and get all those categories back up and we were able to get two wins. We’ve proven that we can do it throughout the course of the season but it’s hard to live with the result when it’s a lot of self-inflicted wounds. When we make a team beat us and not beat ourselves, then you got to live with the result.”
After a hot start, which included winning the in-season tournament championship, the Lakers thought they’d be competing for a top-four spot in the West. But since raising the IST banner in December, the Lakers have struggled to find a rhythm and they’ve slid pretty far down the standings.
No Cohesion For The Lakers
Despite LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing almost every game this season, the Lakers are still just 19-19 and nowhere close to the top West teams. Consistency has been their biggest problem, as a lack of depth has left the team starving for production off the bench and in the starting lineup alongside the star duo. Cam Reddish and Taurean Prince are streaky, Jarred Vanderbilt is an offensive zero, and sharpshooter Gabe Vincent has barely played at all this season due to injury.
To make matters worse, Darvin Ham’s constantly changing rotations are causing division in the locker room and there are reports that he’s losing the team. Whatever the case, the situation is growing dire for the Lakers and if things don’t change soon it could start to get ugly for everyone involved. Hopefully, this mini-win streak is the start of a better run and the Lakers can finally get back to form after months of drama.
What’s Next?
With reports calling it “unlikely” that Ham gets fired anytime soon, the Lakers must look outward for solutions to the season. On the trade market, several big names are available who could give the Lakera a major punch offensively, including Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Dejounte Murray. The question is, what kind of price are they willing to pay in order to bring those guys on?
The Lakers should also consider a lineup change, with more time for Austin Reaves and a lighter role for Cam Reddish and Jarred Vanderbilt, who can only hold their weight on one side of the floor. Perhaps with some more shooting and shotmaking on the perimeter, the Lakers will be able to settle into a more reliable offense. But for now, until the next trade happens, every player needs to step up and be better so that this team can stay alive and avoid wasting another fantastic season from LeBron and Davis.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
