The Los Angeles Lakers have stumbled to a 1-3 record in their five-game road trip, which concludes against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, as all the hype surrounding new coach JJ Redick has cooled off. Moreover, after their disappointing loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday, the Lakers might miss Anthony Davis due to a foot injury he re-aggravated against Detroit. Without AD, the Lakers will their hands full with Ja Morant and the Grizz' interior attack.
“The Lakers are listing Anthony Davis as QUESTIONABLE for tomorrow night's game against the Grizzlies due to a left heel contusion,” NBA reporter Brett Siegel said on X, formerly Twitter.
Lakers struggling
After Anthony Davis challenged his team not to lose two games in a row, the Lakers have skidded to a 1-3 road record, and may even lose his services to injury against the Grizzlies.
“I'll talk to the trainers, well my trainer, and figure out exactly what is going on,” Davis said after their latest loss, via Daniel Starkand for Lakers Nation. “I've been managing it since this summer honestly and trying to do everything before the game to be on the floor. Kinda just landed directly on the spot that's been killing me. So we'll figure it out.”
Still, the Lakers have apparently activated backup center Christian Koloko, acquired this offseason, to eat some minutes if AD doesn't play.
“Christian Koloko is not on the injury report and I'm hearing he'll be with the team in Memphis and should be active tomorrow night,” according to Lakers writer Dan Woike on X, formerly Twitter.
In the Pistons loss, the Lakers seemed discombobulated, unable to limit Detroit's guard play. First, Cade Cunningham notched a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, while Jaden Ivey torched LA all night with 26 points.
Their defensive performance on Monday doesn't inspire optimism that the Lakers could control the dynamic Ja Morant, a more explosive and creative interior scorer than Cunningham.
Moreover, without Davis, and exhausted from the road trip, the Purple and Gold might face an uphill battle on Wednesday.
Bad habits
Additionally, facing the prospect of finishing their first road trip of the season 1-4 showed why it was important for the Lakers to win the games they should have won.
They've already beaten the Raptors, and they needed to beat the Pistons, to settle into a nice record before the end of the trip.
Yet, the Purple and Gold let their old terrible habits come out against Detroit, mostly poor effort and nonexistent bench production. For instance, only rookie Dalton Knecht and Jaxson Hayes scored off the bench, combining only for 10 points.
The Lakers have to find some answers before facing Memphis or else they'll go home right back where they started.
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