The new year had seemingly brought a change in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ fortunes, but they’re now struggling again. The Sacramento Kings handed the Lakers their third straight loss on Monday, beating them 124-112 at Golden 1 Center. Lakers head coach JJ Redick was asked postgame what went wrong in this one, and he stated there is a clear theme now with his team.
“It’s literally we can’t make a shot,” Redick said. “… First of all, they’re right there with us as being one of the worst shooting teams in the league. That’s the highest or tied for the highest with Houston for the highest anybody’s shot all season. So, you know, that’s typical. We’re 28th before tonight on opponent three-point percentage. We’ll be 29th or 30th after tonight.
“Had 50 potential assists tonight,” Redick continued. “We converted on 21 of those. Expected score, we won by 24. This has been the theme. It’s been the theme. So, just got to keep shooting, I guess.”
The Lakers did indeed miss a lot of open shots in this one. Some of the key role players just could not buy a basket. Jake LaRavia had two points on 1-7 shooting from the field. Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt, meanwhile, went scoreless on 0-5 and 0-3 shooting from the field, respectively.
The Lakers as a team also went 8-36 (22.2%) from beyond the arc against the Kings. They are now shooting 33.8% from three this season, and if you’re wondering where that leaves them, it’s right at the bottom at 30th.
Then, on the other end, the Lakers are also seeing teams rain down threes on them. The Kings went 17-26 (65.4%) from beyond the arc here. They came very close to matching the Houston Rockets for the highest three-point percentage in a game this season. The Rockets went 19-29 (65.5%) from three against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 1, 2025.
The Celtics have allowed teams to shoot 37.0% from three this season, the eighth-highest mark in the league. The Lakers are even worse than them, with teams shooting 37.4% against them, which ranks fifth-highest.
Shooting the three poorly while allowing your opponents to hit them at a good rate is not a recipe for success. The fact that the Lakers are still 23-14 on the season can boggle the mind a bit. One big reason for that good record is the fact that they have won almost every clutch game they have played this season. The Lakers are 13-1 in them this season, and no other team has lost fewer than four.
So, one can certainly make the case that the Lakers’ record is a bit inflated. Their -0.9 net rating for the season also shows they are not as good as the record indicates. A total of 17 teams have a better net rating than them at this point.
The Lakers need to make some trades, but you wonder if they can make a significant one. Sophomore guard Dalton Knecht is someone who has had his name thrown around in trade rumors for a while now. Lakers insider Dan Woike reported, however, that Knecht has zero trade value. The team also doesn’t want to trade their 2032 first-round pick, as that would mean they can’t trade their first-rounder in 2031 and 2033.
So, the 2031 first-round pick and players on expiring contracts are what the Lakers have to offer in trades. Is that good enough to get anyone who can strengthen this roster significantly? Time will tell.
The Lakers will take on the Atlanta Hawks next at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday at 10:30 PM ET. They haven’t lost four in a row all season and would like to keep it that way.
