The Los Angeles Lakers have been in free fall as soon as they pass halfcourt. The Purple-and-Gold returned to their former home city on Monday night but couldn’t have looked more out of place. Visibly frustrated, they watched shot after shot clank off the rim — or miss it completely — while the Minnesota Timberwolves steadily added to their lead. By the final buzzer, the Lakers were on the wrong side of a nearly 30-point blowout loss with a final score of 109-80.
The Lakers hit a new offensive low against the Timberwolves
The Lakers’ offense came to a screeching halt and their measly 80 points marked their lowest point total of not only this season but of the entire LeBron James Era. They shot a season-low 40% from the field and connected on just 19% of their shots from beyond the arc, their lowest mark since the season opener.
Point guard D’Angelo Russell led the Lakers with 20 points, while the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis was anything but. Both All-Stars recorded season-low point totals, with James posting 10 on 25% shooting and Davis contributing 12 on 29%.
The team’s motion — something head coach JJ Redick has listed as a primary factor in their success — was especially stagnant in Monday’s contest. Thwarted by the lack of “ball and body movement,” the Lakers failed to reach 20+ assists for the first time this season.
In his post-game press conference (h/t Dave McMenamin of ESPN), Davis described the team’s offensive performance as “disgusting.”
Lakers offensive woes aren’t an “aberration”
The Lakers haven’t looked the same since they were outscored 70-39 in the second half of their loss against the Denver Nuggets on Nov 23. At the time, Redick emphasized that it was a one-time occurrence. Five games later, though, he views that half started a pattern, saying, “It’s looking more and more like it’s not an aberration.”
In their last five games, the Lakers have had the third-worst offensive rating in the NBA (102.9). They have scored the least points per game – averaging under 100 – while shooting a league-worst 27% from three. When asked about the team’s recent offensive lulls, James didn’t beat around the bush:
“Our offense is nasty right now.”
Both James and Redick shared the opinion that the team might have spent too much time working on their defense, which has struggled in its own right, and that their offense has dragged as a result.
“I think we spent so much time trying to get our defense corrected that our offense took a toll and took a back seat to that,” said James.
The Lakers’ star duo of Davis and James are both slumping
It’s difficult enough to compete when one star is slumping. It’s borderline impossible to contend when both are. Davis is in the midst of an MVP-level season, averaging 28 points and just under 12 rebounds per game. However, the nine-time All-Star has been held under 20 points in three of his last four games.
Much more concerning, though, is the production of James, who has not hit a three-pointer since before Thanksgiving. He has missed 19 consecutive threes dating back to Nov. 26 against the Phoenix Suns, a number he hasn’t sniffed since missing 24 straight in his rookie season.
Over the last six games, the soon-to-be 40-year-old is averaging roughly 16 points on 39% shooting and a measly 10% from beyond the arc. While he is still contributing roughly nine assists and eight rebounds in that span, James has been far too careless with the ball, averaging five turnovers per game.
The 20-time All-Star explained to reporters that he has struggled to find his groove in recent games:
“It’s everything,” James said. “It’s the rhythm. I just feel off rhythm these last three, four games.”
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The Lakers will look to improve upon their quarter of the season
The Lakers wrapped up the first quarter of the regular season by losing five of their last seven, culminating in a record of 12-9. Currently standing at eighth in the Western Conference, Redick summarized the team’s first 21 games as “uneven and inconsistent.”
Davis went further, acknowledging that the team has the talent to compete with the best teams in the league. To him, it’s a matter of putting their best foot forward every single night.
“Sometimes we look like a team that can compete with anyone, and sometimes we look like a team that looks terrible and is not going to do anything this season,” Davis told reporters. “So we just got to figure out what team that we want to be for the rest of the season.”
The Lakers will pack their bags for Miami, where they look to rebound against the Heat tomorrow night. Knowing it all starts with him, James gave reporters a straightforward answer for how he and the team will address concerns heading into the second quarter of the season:
“Work,” he said. “Just work. That’s all.”