Lakers lose their 4th straight game with big loss to the Utah Jazz.
The Lakers dropped their 4th straight game tonight against the NBA best Utah Jazz with a huge 114–89 loss, moving the Lakers record to 22–11 as they still remain in 3rd place in the NBA. The Utah Jazz moves their record to an NBA best 26–6 and have won 22 of their last 24 games. The Jazz are the 3rd best 3 point shooting team in the NBA and tonight they showed why by making 22 shots from the perimeter finishing 46% on 22–48 shooting.
Ever since the loss of Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder in this Lakers lineup there has not been a second option to LeBron James and is one of the biggest reasons the Lakers are currently on a 4-game losing streak. The Lakers struggled to find a rhythm from the field tonight shooting under 30% from 3 going 8–33 (24%) and barely cracked 40% going a total 34–85 (40%) on the night.
The Lakers played their 4th straight game without starting point guard Dennis Schroder and in those games, it has shown how valuable Dennis Schroder is to this Lakers team. Frank Vogel said it's still possible we see Dennis Schroder this Friday vs the Blazers and spoke about the absence of Dennis Schroder in the past 4 games:
“Dennis is a big load for us, we missed him on both sides of the ball.”
In tonight’s loss to the Utah Jazz, LeBron James finished with 19 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds in 27 minutes. LeBron’s shooting struggles from 3 continue as he ended the night 1–5 from 3 and a solid 7–13 from the field. In the Lakers 4-game losing streak, LeBron James is 5–29 which is a whopping 17%.
LeBron James from 3 in the Lakers 4-game losing streak:
Vs. UTA: 1–5 (20%)
Vs. WAS: 2–10 (20%)
Vs. MIA: 1–8 (12%)
Vs. BKN: 1–6 (17%)
LeBron James spoke with the media about the struggles the Lakers have had shooting from 3 as of late:
“We need to hit those shots from the perimeter. We hit a rough patch and it happens during the course of the season. It’s a tough stretch for us, but this won’t define who we will be for the rest of the season or the long haul.”
Montrezl Harrell was coming off of a night where he scored a season-high 26 points in the Lakers loss to the Washington Wizards and tonight he brought that same energy. The Lakers second-leading scorer on the night was Montrezl Harrell who finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds on 7–12 (58%) shooting.
You have to give it to the Utah Jazz as they looked like the best team in the NBA tonight. Even with a bad shooting night from all-star Donnavan Mitchell going 4–16 (25%) from the field, the Jazz were able to win big against the NBA champs behind the great performances from their starting lineup and their bench. The Jazz have a potential 6th man of the year candidate with former Laker player Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson provided a huge spark off the bench for this Jazz team finishing with 18 points and 4 rebounds on 6–13 (46%) shooting from the field.
The Lakers have to find a way to get back to Laker basketball and shake off this 4 game losing streak. They might get Dennis Schroder back on Friday vs the Portland Trail Blazers which would be huge as the Lakers have struggled not having one of their best perimeter defenders and ball handler. The Lakers will face a potential MVP candidate Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers team this Friday. The Blazers are also on a losing streak and look to snap their current 3-game losing streak this Friday against the Lakers. Look for the Lakers to come out and try to get over their slump and snap their 4 game losing streak.