The Los Angeles Lakers had one of their most embarrassing losses of the season on Monday night, falling to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers by a score of 101-95. Lakers guard Lonzo Ball was confused by his team's lack of success and energy after the game, claiming he had no explanation for the team crashing and burning on the night.
Lonzo Ball on team's slow starts: "I can't explain that. We're losing games, so I don't know why the energy is not there, but we can't keep getting in holes like that." #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) January 14, 2019
Lonzo Ball on how to correct #Lakers' slow starts: "It's energy. We can't control making every shot, but we can control getting stops. Just got to be on a string-type thing and get out to the shooters."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) January 14, 2019
The sophomore guard struggled mightily yet again against the Cavs. He made only five out of the 14 shots that he took, but also recorded eight blocks and eight assists. Unfortunately, this has become a recurring trend for the young player. He is shooting only 40 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range.
Article Continues BelowEven though he struggles to shoot the ball, Lonzo Ball always provides energy while on the court. He is right that the effort from his teammates is not where it needs to be right now. There seems to be no sense of urgency for a team that is on the very edge of the top eight seeds in their conference after being as high as three.
Even though the Lakers are missing their best player in LeBron James, there is no excuse for the team to lose to the Cavs, especially at home. Even without LeBron, the Lakers' roster has much more talent on it than the tanking Cavs have on their side.
If the Lakers don't start reeling off wins, the team is in danger of missing the playoffs yet again. Thankfully, James will be returning to the squad soon and it won't be a shock to see the Lakers immediately reap the benefits of his return.