LOS ANGELES – The impressive win over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day felt like a long time ago on Monday night at the Staples Center. The LeBron-less Los Angeles Lakers played host to the defending NBA champions on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and it resulted in a forgettable night for Luke Walton's shorthanded squad.
This time around, the Lakers were without three of their best players. LeBron James is still nursing a groin injury he suffered against the Warriors on Dec. 25 while both Rajon Rondo (hand) and Lonzo Ball (ankle) deal with injuries of their own.
Ultimately, the absence of these star players and a red-hot shooting night for Klay Thompson turned out to be the difference. The Lakers couldn't keep up with Golden State as they cruised to a 130-111 victory which was more or less won in three quarters.
After the disappointing loss, Walton talked about the imminent return of Rondo and the job Brandon Ingram did shifting over to point guard. The head coach believes his veteran floor general will return on Thursday when the Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I thought Brandon did a really nice job,” Walton said. “I thought he was pushing the pace. I thought he got himself going. He was play-making. I thought more of our trouble came once [the Warriors] started making runs, us having to rely on groups that haven’t really played together that much… On the defensive end that’s the biggest thing – you have to communicate against that team. I thought more so defensively, tonight we just couldn’t figure out ways to get stops. I thought Brandon did good at the point. I think Rondo will play Thursday as long as he continues to move with no setback until then. That’ll be something that we’ll keep pushing him, and we’ll re-evaluate each morning.”
Ingram, who finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists, spoke on what it means to have Rondo back on the floor on Thursday potentially.
“It gives us a leader,” Ingram said of Rondo. “It gives us a leader on the basketball floor who puts us in our spots on the offensive end and pushes the pace. He can score the basketball. It just makes our team better.”
Along with LeBron, Rondo hasn't played a game since Christmas Day. The one-time NBA champion has missed all but 14 games for the Lakers this season, and his absence has been costly for a team that relies on the point guard position to dictate the pace they want to play under Walton.
Although the Lakers have missed Rondo, Ball was starting to turn the corner while shouldering the load in the backcourt until he went down with a severe ankle injury in the overtime loss to the Houston Rockets over the weekend. Ingram also talked about the impact Lonzo was having on both ends of the floor.
“He’s kind of everywhere,” Ingram said of Ball. “He anticipates a lot of passes, gets a lot of steals, gets a lot of deflections, rebounds the basketball, and he starts the offense, so he’s a big part of what we do.”
Los Angeles will be without Ball for the next four to six weeks as he deals with a Grade 3 ankle sprain and will hope Rondo can finally be cleared this week. The Lakers will play three more games at home against the Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Philadelphia 76ers before playing six straight road games starting as the away team against the L.A. Clippers on Jan. 31.