The Lakers are now just 8-11 in their last 19 games after starting the season 15-4. They sit at the 5th seed with a 23-15 record.
The absence of Austin Reaves has been felt during this tough stretch for the Lakers, though the source of their on-court struggles goes beyond his absence. Their last three losses have been to teams below .500 (Bucks, Kings, and Hornets). While each of those three teams have better talent than their record suggests, they’ve still struggled all season, each for differing reasons.
Last night’s 135-117 loss to Charlotte didn’t reveal anything that wasn’t already known about the team. 108 of those 117 Laker points all came from the 5 starters alone. Their bench only scored 9 points total (6 from Jarred Vanderbilt and 3 from Rui Hachimura). While LeBron James and Luka Doncic have been remarkable offensively, the team’s lack of a defensive identity and inconsistent bench scoring is a ruthless combination to overcome.
Hot Shooting Hornets
The Hornets shot 20-43 from three (47%) and LaMelo Ball had 9 of them. He ended the game with 30 points and Miles Bridges had an incredibly efficient 25 points on 9-13 shooting. The Lakers endured a very similar shooting night a couple games ago against the Kings on January 12th where Sacramento shot 17-26 from three (65%).
Luka in the loss to the Hornets scored 39 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds on 6-11 shooting from three. LeBron had 29 points on 10-19 shooting, 6 assists, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. LaRavia added 18 points with 3 three pointers, Ayton scored 12 with 6 rebounds, and Smart notched 10 points and 2 steals.
The Lakers will have a set of back-to-back games coming up, first in Portland on Saturday then back home against the Raptors on Sunday.
The post Lakers Drop to 1-4 in Their Last 5 Games After Homecourt Loss to the Hornets appeared first on Los Angeles Sports Nation.