Everything is bigger in Texas… including the disappointment.
The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off their Texas road trip on Sunday with a heartbreaking loss to the Houston Rockets. The Purple and Gold clawed their way back from a 22-point deficit, only to throw the ball away at the last second.
Heading up the I-45 to Dallas, the Lakers had an opportunity to salvage the trip on Tuesday night against the reeling Mavericks.
Tuesday night should have been an easy win for the Lakers
Dallas had won just one game since superstar Luka Doncic went down with a calf strain on Christmas. They were also losers of five straight. And making matters even worse for them, they would have to face the Lakers without Kyrie Irving and Daniel Gafford, both of whom were ruled out due to injury.
Playing a team that was down three starters, Los Angeles should have left the American Airlines Center with an easy victory. However, there’s a big difference between what should have happened and what actually did.
Instead of taking care of business against the limping Mavericks, the Lakers played down to their competition and resigned themselves to an embarrassing 118-97 defeat.
The Lakers’ defense hit a new low against the Mavericks
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has been around basketball for a very long time. And whether it be from his 15-year playing career or his scholarly analysis on studio shows and podcasts, Redick has made it emphatically clear that he is one of the brightest minds the game has ever seen.
But even couldn’t figure out what the Lakers were doing on defense last night.:
“I’m not sure what our rotations were,” said Redick in his postgame interview. “I’ve never seen us try to execute what we were doing. I haven’t watched the film yet. Just watching it live and talking to the assistants who did watch it on film, we’re not sure what was going on with the shift positioning and the rotations. Never seen it before.”
Without the guard tandem Luka and Kyrie, the Mavs didn’t have a single player on the court that averaged over 15 points per game. However, professional basketball players can knock down open shots. And the Lakers allowed a lot of open shots.
Dallas faced little resistance as they erupted for 118 points on 52% shooting from the floor. They made Los Angeles pay from beyond the arc, where they buried a whopping 18 triples at a 47% clip.
The threes that Los Angeles surrendered were especially detrimental because they often came in unanswered bunches. Klay Thompson knocked down three straight to take the lead before halftime. The Mavs then hit four consecutive shots from deep in the third to go up 15. It was never really close again after that.
Four Mavericks hit three deep balls or more, including Thompson, Jaden Hardy, PJ Washington, and Quentin Grimes, the final of which matched his career-high with six threes to finish with 23 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Los Angeles couldn’t respond on the offensive end
On a night where they couldn’t get a stop, the Lakers couldn’t get a bucket either. The team shot just 45% from the floor, missing a handful of easy ones at the rim, while hitting a measly 31% of their looks from downtown. They capitalized on their many opportunities at the free throw line – hitting 18 of 24 – but it was an ineffective strategy to bring ones to a three-point shootout.
“Just another night for us where we weren’t very good offensively,” James told reporters after the game. “Didn’t shoot the ball well. We missed a lot of shots at the rim, and they countered that.”
James finished the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. In an otherwise quiet night from him offensively, he got the crowd on their feet in the first quarter when he rose to the rim for a highlight-reel, windmill slam over Dereck Lively II.
It was just one of those nights for Anthony Davis, who led the team with 21 points and 12 rebounds but shot just 39% from the floor. Austin Reaves also struggled to hit his targets, tallying 15 points with four threes on 36% from the field.
Dalton Knecht added 13 points with a pair of threes, Max Christie pitched in 12, and Dorian Finney-Smith cashed in three long balls to finish with 11.
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The Lakers will look to rebound from the disappointing road trip
Before the two-game disaster in Texas, the Lakers were clicking on both ends of the ball and had won seven of their last nine. In his postgame interview, James acknowledged that the road trip was disappointing given their recent success. However, understanding the ups and downs of an NBA season, the 22-year vet explained to reporters that instead of taking the losses to heart, the Lakers will focus on getting a win in their next time out.
“We can’t really dwell on it too much,” he said. “That’s the name of the game of the NBA. You see what you could have done better, but you gotta get ready for the next opponent.”
The Lakers, holding a record of 20-16 and a sixth seed in the Western Conference, head back to Los Angeles for a five-game home stand that begins when they welcome the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night.
