That was pathetic. Let’s get this over with.
- 83 points, to date. That’s the amount the Lakers have been outscored in the 3rd quarter by the opposition to this point in the season. We come out of the half like the game is in the bag. It’s a bad habit that started in preseason and has been consistently displayed throughout the season.
- Lazy basketball. In the 3rd quarter, after the Timberwolves had run out to a double-digit lead in a not double-digit minute span, the Lakers fell back on the laziest shot in basketball: the early shot clock three pointer. Most of those came within a Mike D’Antoni-esque 7 seconds or less in regards to the shot clock. The five out sets mean there are no rebounders for these lazy shots and it allowed Minnesota to get out on the break since we also chose not to really get back on defense after bad shots like we took in the 3rd.
- No pride shown. This got so embarrassing so fast I was surprised the starters played as much as they did in the second half. If you’re not going to compete, if you’re just gonna jack up lazy shots (everyone, no one player did a good job of trying to make a basketball play, throwing inane passes out of bounds under little to no pressure, and basically choose not to show up then do the fans who shelled out over $100/ticket a favor and just leave your ass at home. Nobody wants to watch NBA level talent play lazy and silly. Nobody.
- This Laker team is soft. Like Charmin soft. We get out-rebounded consistently. We play defense without moving our feet consistently. We settle for bad shots consistently. Those are the defining characteristics of this team, I don’t care what name is on the back of the jersey. We rarely work inside out, almost never run a set play unless it’s an inbounds (and even there it’s iffy) and have shown that we are more than willing to play down to lesser competition. Weak.
- Kiss that banner good bye. AD called out the team in his post-game but even that, in my opinion, fell short of what this team needs which is a swift kick in the butt. We’re coming up on the 20 game mark which is generally a barometer for the kind of team you have. That being the case, welcome to the 2021-22 version of the Los Angeles Lakers: a collection of names, not playing cohesively, showing up for 2/3s of every game and trying to get by on talent alone. If I were the coach I’d bench every player who isn’t getting back, who grabs instead of moves and shoots a three with 14+ seconds left on the clock. Be better or go this will become one of the biggest collection of losers with HOF credentials ever assembled in any sport.
This glass is full, 100% full of reality people. I’m sure this post could be considered more arm-waving and hand-wringing but we’re almost done with what was considered the easy part of our schedule and it’s only going to get harder. That doesn’t bode well for the LA Lambs, er, Lakers
Aloha Jamie, I feel your pain. I turned the game off in the 3rd when we got down by 30. Now I think the TWolves are better then their record. They have talent on that team. And we were missing LeBron and 4 important rotation players. So for me it wasn’t about losing the game. It’s how we lost. If we had battled and came up short I would have chalked it up to an injury loss and moved on. But the pathetic lack of hustle, of energy, is what really was disturbing for what is supposed to be a veteran team. This team NEEDS to play inside out. With AD in the middle and Westbrook’s ability to attack the paint, we need to attack, especially when the outside shots aren’t falling. Rarely does everyone on a team go cold but that was the case and we continued to just dribble up, pass the ball around the perimeter and take a 3. This is on the coaching staff as much as on our VETERAN players. While I still believe that things will turn around when we get players back this lack of energy going into the 3rd quarter has been a problem, even when LeBron was playing. These guys should be embarrassed.
It was embarrassing to watch, AD sounded more than embarrassed and this is like the 5th game of the season where the overall effort, focus and presence is MIA. The whole team is vets except Monk and he’s playing with more intensity than most of the vets. Getting LeBron back should help but the MO for the team to this point has been disappointing on
My goodness, I don’t even know where to start my response from or what to even say. What started as a game headed for a Lakers win quickly turned into a nightmare.
The Lakers suddenly found themselves in a deer-in-a-headlight situation, flat-footed with no clue about what the hell had just happened as if it was a buffalo that is swiftly ambushed by a pack of wolves in the middle of the Serengeti National Park. Once the Wolves smell blood they went for an early Thanksgiving dinner. The Lakers gave them free turkey. I mean, who wouldn’t mind a free meal for an early Thanksgiving in this time of inflation? I will take that anytime, and any day.
I almost turn the tv off by the end of the 3rd quarter but I thought I might miss an epic comeback in the 4th quarter. So I stay tuned. But Man, little did I know of the endless onslaught. That literally dragged my night into oblivion after staying up late to watch the game. Very disappointing loss in every facet of the game.
I’ve got so much to say about the game but I am typing with my left hand and it takes me forever to do. Thanks for the post, Jamie.