Lakers fall to the Phoenix Suns in their first game without LeBron James, losing their 2nd game in a row.
After losing LeBron James to a high ankle sprain in the 2nd quarter of yesterday's matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, the Lakers battled in their first game without James against the Phoenix Suns. The energy was there for this Lakers squad, but it wasn’t enough without their playmakers LeBron James and Anthony Davis, losing to the Suns 11–94. With tonight’s loss, the Lakers season record drops to 28–15 and moves to third place behind tonight’s opponent Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference standings.
Playing without Anthony Davis was already something this Lakers team was starting to adjust to, but now playing without both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, makes things even tougher as the margin for error becomes thinner. This Lakers team has not caught a break from the injury bug as Lakers starting center Marc Gasol has also been out for 8 straight games due to COVID protocol. The “next man up” mentality has been a focal point for the Lakers throughout the season and they’re going to need role players to step up in this stretch without LeBron James to stay afloat in the Western Conference standings. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel on tonight’s outing without LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Marc Gasol:
"Our guys really fought tonight. It's going to take time to adjust to figure out our new identity but we're going to play within our system. I was proud of how our guys competed on a second night of a back-to-back."
The current second-place Phoenix Suns had their way tonight on offense, fully took advantage of a depleted Lakers team. 35-year-old veteran Chris Paul had a solid performance for the Suns, notching a triple-double of 11 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds. The great performances came from the Suns’ young stars Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton who combined for 52 points on the night with each notching 26 points.
Despite the loss and some struggles on offense, the Lakers had some solid performance from their role players. In 29 minutes, Dennis Schroder finished with a solid 22 points on 8–14 shooting from the field. Dennis Schroder spoke on what the Lakers need to do without LeBron James and Anthony Davis:
“We’ve got to move the ball. We’ve got to play with more pace and on the defensive end, we’ve got to be more scrappy.”
The Lakers struggles came from the three-point arc tonight, finishing 20% on 5–25 shooting. The Lakers’ three-point marksmen Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wesley Matthews have struggled to stay consistent from three all season long and tonight they couldn’t find a rhythm. Caldwell-Pope and Matthews combined for 1–7 (14%) from the perimeter and 2–12 (17%) overall. In order for the Lakers to be successful for the next stretch of games without LeBron James, their three-point specialists are going to have to be consistent.
The Lakers are also going to need to rely heavily on Kyle Kuzma to step up. He did not have a solid night for this squad. Finishing with 13 points on 5–16 (31%) shooting in a game-high 36 minutes, a performance this team cannot afford right now. We all know Kuzma is capable of going off any given night and he understands the margin for error is thin right now.
The Lakers had 50 points from their bench tonight, which would be a solid night for this team with a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Montrezl Harrell and Talen Horton-Tucker lead the way for the Lakers bench combining for 40 points. After missing his first 8 shots Montrezl Harrell was still able to finish with a solid double-double for this Lakers team with 23 points and 10 rebounds on 10–13 (77%) shooting.
With LeBron James out for some time, 20-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker’s role on this team significantly increased tonight having played 29 minutes in tonight’s loss to the Suns. Horton-Tucker finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds on 6–16 total shooting from the field (37%). Horton-Tucker spoke about the increased role for this Lakers team and the advantage of increased playing time saying:
“I have to be a sponge and learn from my mistakes.”
The Lakers are set to travel to New Orleans this Tuesday to face the young and explosive Pelicans. The Pelicans are coming off a nice road win over the Denver Nuggets with a huge 30 point performance from All-Star Zion Williamson. The Lakers are going to have to come out with a lot of energy against this Pelicans team, who look to take advantage of an injured Lakers team.