Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 134-93 loss to the Heat.
The Lakers suffered their worst loss of the season Wednesday night, getting blown out by the Heat 134-93.
Miami got out to a double-digit lead early and never looked back, cruising to victory and setting a franchise record in made threes with 24.
A 41-point loss should never happen to the Lakers in an NBA game. This defeat will either be a low point that will begin a turnaround or a sign of a long season in front of the purple and gold. Let’s hope for the former.
So, let’s dive into the loss. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Anthony Davis
31 minutes, 8 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3-14 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-4 FT, -29
Was AD’s variant playing for the Lakers versus the Heat? Because that would explain his performance. This was an awful game for the Lakers big. He’s been great for so much of the season, but this was a game where he was ineffective from the field and uninterested defensively or offensively. You can add this game to the short list of awful performances by AD as a Laker.
Grade: F
Rui Hachimura
26 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 6-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-1 FT, -27
Hachimura is one of the few Lakers who did their job on Wednesday night. He was aggressive attacking the basket, had some nice finishes and only missed one shot.
Defensively, he got burned a couple of times, but compared to how poorly everyone else on the roster performed on Wednesday, Hachimura was the least of the Lakers’ problems.
Grade: B
LeBron James
29 minutes, 29 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 12-18 FG, 1-4 3PT, 4-4 FT, -21
After a few bad LeBron games, including a 10-point performance versus the Wolves, he responded with 29 points in 29 minutes. His defense wasn’t sensational, but this game was a reminder that when LeBron is active and engaged, he is still a force to be reckoned with.
Now, let’s see these kinds of nights consistently.
Grade: B
D’Angelo Russell
30 minutes, 12 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 5-13 FG, 1-4 3PT, 1-1 FT, -25
A turnstile on defense and inefficient on offense made this a rough game for Russell.
He can’t play this many minutes if he’s struggling this badly on both ends of the floor. The only bright spot was that he only had two turnovers, but other than that, this game is one you want to move quickly past.
Grade: D-
Dalton Knecht
23 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 1-4 FG, 0-2 3PT, -20
This Heat matchup was a stinker from Knecht. Not only did he struggle to get good looks at the basket, but he also failed to get active in other ways. His defense was bad, his assists were virtually nonexistent and the same can be said about his rebounding.
Knecht is a rookie and won’t be perfect, but if he can’t find ways to be positive when the shots aren’t happening, he can’t start for this team.
Grade: F
Armel Traore
13 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 1-5 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-5 FT, -17
Traore is one of the try-hard guys who always gives an appropriate amount of hustle and effort. In a game where the Lakers were never in contention, it didn’t matter much or impact the result, but he was fine.
With Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes out, he’s proven to be respectable for a shift or two a night.
Grade: B-
Gabe Vincent
24 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3-11 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, -11
Playing against his former team, Vincent played enough to have a revenge game. Instead, he went 3-11 from the field, and his only highlights were a few steals and a nice 3-pointer.
Vincent has had some truly horrendous games, so this is far from his worst, but that doesn’t mean he played well, either.
Grade: D+
Max Christie
26 minutes, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4-8 FG, 1-1 3PT, -19
Christie has proven that he belongs in the rotation and Wednesday’s game is a perfect example of this. He stayed engaged, shot 50% from the field and grabbed seven rebounds, tying AD for the most on the team.
It’s nice to see him playing well after a bad start and hopefully, Christie will gain more confidence after this game.
Grade: B+
Cam Reddish
15 minutes, 0 points, 2 assists, 1 block, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, -16
It’s been said before, but it bears repeating: Reddish is a decent defender, but he’s not good enough to warrant the number of minutes he gets.
The Lakers are struggling offensively and defensively and they can’t give 15 minutes to someone who scores zero points unless that person is Dennis Rodman; Reddish isn’t that.
Grade: F
Christian Koloko
13 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2-3 FG, -12
It’s hard to be mad at Koloko, knowing he had no training camp because he was awaiting medical clearance from the NBA.
In a short time, he’s proven he can give the team energy and effort at the center position. Ideally, he shouldn’t be playing, but the Lakers are clearly in a less-than-ideal scenario.
He’s doing the best he can.
Grade: C-
Maxwell Lewis
Lewis played during garbage time and didn’t log enough minutes to warrant a grade. He got some cardio in and missed the two shots he took.
JJ Redick
Postgame Redick mentioned taking responsibility, which is nice to hear, but talk is cheap. The Lakers are horrendous on defense and with the offense struggling to score, the coach’s speak will quickly turn into eye rolls from the fans if wins don’t start happening.
As the leader of this team, he’ll receive a grade that reflects Los Angeles’ overall performance.
Grade: F
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.