The Los Angeles Lakers slumped to a second straight defeat on Saturday night, losing 128-121 to the Golden State Warriors at home. The Lakers battled hard, but with Anthony Davis exiting the game in the first quarter, they just didn’t have enough to get the better of the Warriors. Lakers fans were disappointed as they reacted to the loss.
One stated that they’re cooked.
we’re cooked. pic.twitter.com/1riPKfvSE5
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 17, 2024
A fan lamented the Lakers’ inability to slow down the Warriors’ offense.
Warriors ran the same play over and over again & the Lakers couldn’t stop it pic.twitter.com/sBfT248usW
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 17, 2024
One said the team is awful.
This team is awful.
— 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙎𝙕𝙉 (@deanstaines) March 17, 2024
A fan blasted Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
Garbage coach. #hamout
— Pay 🇭🇷 (@shortnsweetpay) March 17, 2024
One fan claimed the Lakers would have won if Davis hadn’t had to leave the game.
Would have won with AD
— Swarik28 (@swarik28) March 17, 2024
Would the result have been different had Davis been able to continue? Maybe. The Lakers were up 36-30 with 3.0 seconds left in the first quarter when he finally decided he couldn’t continue, after being hit in the face inadvertently by Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis a few minutes earlier.
Davis had racked up 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block when he exited. The Lakers revealed he suffered a corneal abrasion, and it remains to be seen if he might miss some games.
With his co-star out, LeBron James scored a season-high 40 points to go with 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. James had 13 points in the fourth quarter, but it could have been 16, as a three-pointer of his was ruled out, as he had just about stepped out of bounds.
D’Angelo Russell, meanwhile, had 23 points, 3 rebounds, 13 assists, and 1 steal, but shot 9-21 from the field and 3-10 from beyond the arc. Austin Reaves had a rather inefficient night too, as he shot 4-13 from the field to finish with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry had 31 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals on his return from injury. Klay Thompson, meanwhile, had 26 points off the bench, and Jonathan Kuminga had 23, as the Warriors improved to 35-31.
Brian Windhorst On Why The Lakers Shouldn’t Be Taken Seriously
With the loss here, the Lakers have now dropped to 10th in the Western Conference with a 36-32 record. Despite their struggles, there are still a fair few who believe this team can make noise in the postseason, but Brian Windhorst isn’t among them. Windhorst explained why the Lakers can’t be taken seriously.
“Over the last 15 games, the Lakers are 29th in the league in defense,” Windhorst said. “… The only team worse over the last 15 games in the league is the Utah Jazz, who are doing a grade-A tank job to keep their draft pick… That’s the only team that’s playing worse defense than the Lakers.”
“Last year in March they had the number three defense in the league,” Windhorst continued. “I can’t take this team seriously, I respect their ability to win an individual one-off game because of their talent. I can’t take this team seriously to do anything when you’ve got the second-worst defense in the league in the most important part of the season.”
The defense was terrible here as well, as the Warriors shot 52.6% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. Sure, Davis’ absence played a role in that, but even with him in the lineup, their defense has really struggled in recent weeks. Unless the Lakers sort out their issues on that end of the floor, they will have a very disappointing end to this season.
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