5 Things: Lakers overwhelmed by Suns

This should not have been a surprise. With so many players out, Carmelo getting tossed and the Suns rolling through the NBA this was, to me, an expected loss. The Lakers are who they are now in terms of being a team but dealing the amount of players out, including coach Vogel, meant this was a hill that would have to be climbed perfectly. That was something that did not happen. The themes surrounding the blowout are familiar ones.

1. No interior defense worth mentioning. I mean…Melo and Rondo got a blocked shot apiece but none of our “centers” managed to block a shot or deter the Suns from burning us in the paint all night long. The 2 centers from the Suns, DeAndre Ayton and JaVale “looking pretty useful to my eyes” McGee abused the Lakers down low to the tune of 14-18 shooting combined for 29 points (Ayton got to shoot a free throw for the odd numbered tally), 22 rebounds (4 offensive rebounds with JaVale accounting for 3 of those) and a block. We had no answer for Ayton who feasted off of crisp passes from his teammates and abused whomever we slotted to defend him. The Lakers are simply too small to hang with a team like the Suns and, in general, suffer from an abysmal interior defense.
2. A team versus a group of guys. The Lakers, to date, play more like a group of guys who showed up at the gym, picked sides and let it roll. The Suns look like an NBA team poised to challenge for the title. A lot of people wrote the Suns off last season they way they wrote the Heat off the previous season which, in my opinion, is a mistake. You do not reach the NBA Finals on luck alone or by accident. It takes a collection of talented individuals who play together well and with purpose. It’s not a fluke kind of thing to achieve. That teamwork was on full display last night as the Suns got what they wanted, when they wanted, how they wanted indicated by their 29 assists with every starter getting at least 1 dime and several bench players moving the rock efficiently, as well.
3. The pace we want to play. There is a myth the Lakers want to play fast and loose. This has not been the case as we play kinda fast but not very loose. We run through 2 guys and one of them plays at a high pace and the other, well, notsomuch. Russ has frenetic frenzied aspect to his game that has worked for him his entire career. LeBron has a more controlled and at this point sometimes plodding aspect to his game which has also worked for him quite well up to this point. The problem is figuring out when and how to deploy which player’s skillset. Thus has been made more difficult with the injuries and games lost for a variety of reasons. If the Lakers want to get anywhere it is beyond imperative that they figure when to play fast, when to play methodically and maybe how to manage more than 15 fast break points for a team that’s supposed to be burning up the floor according to the coach and players.
4. While we didn’t turn the Suns over a ton we did a great job turning those miscues into points. We punished the Suns in points off of turnovers, though not necessarily via the fast break. While it didn’t alter the complexion of the game in a meaningful way it was a bright spot.
5. An overdue welcome back. Isaiah Thomas is back in the purple and gold. His first game back, his second game back was largely forgettable. He and the newly returned Talen Horton-Tucker went a combined 2-24. Just…wow…it’s incredible to imagine two players on the same team reaching almost the exact level of poor shooting. IT is a replacement player and we’d need to waive someone to keep him on the roster. I don’t really see the logic as we are already small, old and bad on defense. We need size and we need defense, desperately, IT checks almost zero boxes we need to check but does continue Rob’s theme of “old and slow but we really want play fast somehow” theme for the season. THT is basically our best tradeable contract but let’s be honest in regards to his value for a minute. It’s not high now and really never has been. He’s a solid player, not a future superstar just waiting for the right situation to come along. He can get hot from the outside but is not a shooter. He can score inside but isn’t a slasher. He can make plays for others but isn’t a playmaker. He is a good role player and, as such, we should expect the market for him to be about that high. You can attach Nunn or whomever you want to the deal but THT isn’t a sweetner or a haul for another team. He fills a role, could fill more than one because of his diverse skillset, and that should be the expected level of player we could potentially trade for him. I don’t see a trade as being too likely though for the reason LeBron voiced in regards to this team: we have no idea what it’s truly capable of because the team has barely played together. Not in camp, not in the regular season. basically the LBJ Vegas mini-camp was the only time the whole group of guys go together and could scrimmage or whatever they did together. We aren’t alone in that regard, many other teams have fared better against a stronger schedule facing similar obstacles. Our limitations go beyond a lack of chemistry and cohesion. There are physical obstacles (age and size) that I really don’t see a way to coach or game plan around. I also don’t see path to trade our way out of them as we’d likely be giving up whatever young players we do have for someone older but hopefully bigger and better at D.

We got a winnable game on Thursday against the Spurs then it’s the traditional “Lakers on X-mas” where we tend to fall short. Doesn’t matter if it’s Kobe, Randle or The King the Lakers tend to lose on Christmas. The one thing to hope for is that we continue to tread water. We have yet to win more than 4 in a row and we have yet to lose more than 3 in a row. So, with the 3 game losing streak attained, here’s hoping we switch back to our winning ways and beat San Antonio and avoid a long losing streak which could well doom the season, even this early.