3 reasons

Aloha,

After digesting another Laker loss, that easily could have been a win, I came up with 3 reasons Lakers lost. Hopefully they aren’t repeated today, especially if LeBron sits again.

1. So much for the “if Russ plays alone, he can be himself and lead the team “ theory. He had a miserable first quarter with 4 turnovers. His inept play helped build the Spurs lead. He was better in the middle but fell apart at the end going 1-6 in the 4th. 5-17 and 5 turnovers to 6 assists, won’t cut. 7-13 from the free throw line didn’t help. With or without LeBron he has to find a way to regain his confidence or even trading him for anything at all will be difficult this summer.

2. Franks inability to make the proper in game adjustments is simply mind boggling at times. He chose not to put Dwight back in when Pop inserted Poeitl back into the game. Pop exploited the mismatch and Poeitl destroyed us in the paint and on the glass. It was too much to ask of a Melo to ask him to check a player with that kind of size advantage. It literally won the game for the Spurs.

3. I’m not as concerned with this one as the other 2, but Melo and Malik our primary 3 point shooters went a combined 2-11 from 3. It happens, but our margin for error is razor thin and we can’t afford to have them both cold in the same game.

One more note. The officiating continues to be lopsided even with LeBron out. That no call on THT’s layup attempt was one of the worst missed calls I have seen this year. The guy wasn’t even close to the ball, hitting THT on the elbow. Of course the Spurs picked up the ball and hit a 3. A potential 5 point swing down the stretch of a close game. Unforgivable.