Like Orlando and Sacramento, still hoods after a regular season week, the Lakers clearly didn’t start the season on the right foot.
Defeated in quick succession by the Warriors, the Clippers and then the Blazers, three direct competitors in the West, the violines and gold do not want to repeat the mistakes of last season, which ended in a pitiful 11th place for an inglorious record of 33 wins for 49 losses.
“There’s obviously a sense of urgency because you don’t want to end up in too deep a ditch to start with. But we have to keep calm”said Anthony Davis on ESPN. “We must not be shocked or frustrated. In the same way as if we won twelve games in a row. We don’t want to look too good. »
“We will end up taking our shots”
After two defeats at home, against rival Angeleno then Portland, the Lakers embark on a two-game “road trip” with a first stage in the Rockies, against the Nuggets also in need of victories, then a second in the Minnesota where the Wolves are currently in the adaptation phase, also barely balanced (2 wins – 2 losses).
“We think all this adversity is going to be positive for us,” continues Davis. “We are happy that it happens to us in October and not in March or April. But we will end up taking our shots, we will continue to defend as we know how to do and we will try to get two wins on Wednesday and Friday. »
Picking it up offensively, especially in terms of skill at 21% 3-point success, the Lakers are the last in class, by far, with the Wolves penultimate at 29%.
An effective defense
Fortunately, the Lakers still manage to hold on defensively, in third place in points conceded per possession (100.7 points on 100 possessions) behind the Bucks and the Mavs. Better, they are first in interceptions with more than 11 per game. So there are some grounds for hope for the future.
“We continue to learn to play together”, Davis concludes. “What is good is that we play hard in defense, we are third in the League in defense. We are even in the Top 10 of all statistical categories [défensives]. We must continue to insist. We must continue to work and move forward, with the mentality of going for a victory in Denver. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| lebron james | 3 | 36.5 | 47.7 | 25.9 | 76.5 | 2.7 | 8.3 | 11.0 | 7.3 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 27.3 |
| Anthony Davis | 3 | 34.6 | 50.9 | 20.0 | 80.0 | 2.3 | 5.7 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 24.7 |
| lonnie walker | 3 | 32.8 | 43.9 | 17.6 | 77.8 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 15.3 |
| Russell Westbrook | 3 | 28.5 | 28.9 | 8.3 | 80.0 | 0.3 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 10.3 |
| Patrick Beverly | 3 | 29.1 | 20.0 | 21.4 | 100.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| Austin Reaves | 3 | 19.0 | 40.0 | 28.6 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 4.7 |
| Kendrick Nunn | 3 | 14.6 | 26.3 | 23.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 4.3 |
| Juan Toscano Anderson | 3 | 18.5 | 38.5 | 12.5 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 4.0 |
| Troy Brown, Jr. | 1 | 22.2 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 |
| matt ryan | 2 | 15.2 | 37.5 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 4.0 |
| Damian Jones | 2 | 6.7 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Max Christie | 1 | 1.9 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Scotty Pippen, Jr. | 1 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| cole swider | 1 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Wenyen Gabriel | 1 | 7.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
