It has been a rough week for the purple and gold, as the Los Angeles Lakers have gone 1-2 on their five-game road trip. After the Lakers fell to the Atlanta Hawks, they bounced back with a 121-111 win over the Charlotte Hornets before an ugly performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lakers' coach JJ Redick kept it real when acknowledging the team's struggles on this road trip.
“The Atlanta game and tonight, I don't think were reflective of who the group is going to be, but it's clearly who the group is right now,” Redick stated when discussing the blowout losses.
The Lakers simply could not keep up with the Hawks on Saturday, and it was more of the same against the Thunder. Ultimately, they would start the first few minutes strong before losing control of the game. The Lakers have been without LeBron James since this season began, which has affected their defense. But there is good news on the horizon, as James is getting closer to returning. Despite these ugly losses, the Lakers have had some good performances, but it has not been consistent.
The losses to the Hawks and Thunder showed a lack of physicality in both games. Moreover, the two biggest issues were turnovers and defense. Los Angeles had 19 turnovers in the loss to the Hawks, while also allowing them to shoot 51.6 percent from the floor, including 41 percent from beyond the arc. What made the loss to the Hawks worse was the fact that Atlanta was without Trae Young.
The loss to the Thunder was not much different, as they turned the rock over 20 times, while allowing their opponents to shoot 50 percent from the field. While the Lakers' head coach has led some good wins this season, he was unable to direct them to victory over the defending NBA champions. If the Lakers can make some adjustments, they can prevent these ugly losses from becoming a recurring thing.
