Lakers struggle defensively in tonight’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.
The Lakers struggled defensively tonight, losing to the Phoenix Suns 114–104, snapping a two-game win streak, and moving the Lakers record to 24–12 overall. With tonight’s win, the Suns jumped into the Lakers 2nd place spot in the NBA with a 23–11 record behind the 27–8 Utah Jazz. The Lakers have struggled to win at home this season, giving them an 11–8 record at home this season with their record on the road being 13–4 and in the last 10 games, the Lakers are 4–6.
The Lakers had a couple of late-game scratches before tonight’s matchup against the Suns. Marc Gasol (COVID protocol) and Kyle Kuzma (Bruised Heel) were not available to play tonight, making the Lakers shorthanded at the frontcourt. Montrezl Harrell started in place for Marc Gasol in the starting lineup and gave the Lakers zero presence like he normally does off the bench. In 18 minutes, Harrell had 6 points, 2 rebounds, and had a +/- of -15 tonight.
The Lakers struggle on the defensive side of the ball was the main focal point of tonight’s loss allowing five players on the Phoenix Suns to finish with 15 points or more. Devin Booker left the 3rd quarter after being ejected after an argument between players and the Lakers still weren’t able to take advantage of the Suns losing their best player. The Suns were able to shoot a ridiculous 55% from the perimeter tonight, going 16–29. The leading scorer tonight for the Suns was Dario Saric, who took advantage of the Lakers late-game small lineup, putting Markieff Morris at the 5. Dario Saric finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds in 26 minutes tonight and Lakers Markieff Morris was vocal about his performance on defense after tonight’s loss telling the media:
“Defensively, I played like shit! My worst defensive game in a long time. Undisciplined defensive game.”
Despite LeBron James’ game-high 38 points, it still was not enough for the Lakers to get past the Suns. In 37 minutes LeBron James had 38 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds finishing 16–24 (67%) total from the field. In the last 10 games, the Lakers are 4–6 and in those 10 games, LeBron James averaged: 25.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and has shot 52.1% from the field and 24.6% from 3.
The Lakers second-leading scorer tonight was Dennis Schroder, who gave this Lakers team 17 points and 6 assists in 38 minutes in tonight’s loss. Schroder struggled to try to find a rhythm shooting tonight going 6–17 (35%) from the field.
One of the biggest bright spots in tonight’s loss was the young emerging Talen Horton-Tucker. In 18 minutes off the bench tonight, Horton-Tucker finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds, and finished 6–9 from the field. Tonight’s 16 point performance was the 10th time this season Talen-Horton has scored 10 or more points. Horton-Tucker was asked about his promising performance tonight by the media saying:
“I’m just still out here trying to learn every game and just do what I do best and that's being aggressive. Trying to bring energy to the court, I just felt like being out there tonight was good.
The Lakers play their 2nd game of a back-to-back tomorrow night on the road against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are 3rd last in the Western Conference at 13–21. In the last 10 games, the Sacramento Kings are 1–9 and with the questionable injuries from players on the Lakers, the all-star break could not have come at a more perfect time. After tomorrow’s game, the Lakers will be off for the next 8 days and look to have a healthy Anthony Davis back. After tonight’s loss, it was reported that the Lakers will rest LeBron James in their matchup tomorrow against the Kings. Look for the Lakers to come out hot tomorrow and finish the last game before the break with a win.