
Assessing every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 124-108 loss to the Bulls.
The Lakers laid an egg versus the Chicago Bulls, getting thoroughly outplayed and losing 124-108.
Not many bright spots from any Lakers players, as the team has now dropped three straight and four of their last five. So, don’t expect these grades to make it on your parent’s refrigerator.
As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
LeBron James
37 minutes, 25 points, 9 assists, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 10-18 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-4 FT, -11
LeBron James started the night hot, scoring six of the Laker’s first nine points, but things fizzled out after that.
Yeah, he messed around and almost got a triple-double, but it was more of a fun fact than an impactful performance.
On a night when the Lakers looked abysmal, a mediocre game from James wasn’t enough to get the win.
Grade: C+
Anthony Davis
38 minutes, 19 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 7-15 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-8 FT, -3
It’s tough to judge Anthony Davis harshly tonight. He fought through another ankle issue as he rolled his left ankle again after a chase-down block on Bulls guard Coby White in the third quarter.
He returned in the fourth quarter and looked okay, scoring five points in the final frame.
Even before the injury, it was an average Davis performance. Great defense but was not spectacular offensively. With the team struggling from beyond the arch, it felt like he vanished for moments on the offensive side of the ball.
Grade: C
Taurean Prince
34 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 5-10 FG, 4-8 3PT, -7
How bad were the Lakers on Wednesday? Taurean Prince was their best player.
He had a bounce-back game, scoring 16 points and shooting 50% from three, making four of his eight 3-point attempts.
Darvin Ham speaks on the #Lakers rotation and being consistent with the starting lineup. pic.twitter.com/lQwCjDpvCT
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 21, 2023
He struggled in the opening quarter, which was part of another poor start for the Lakers. Darvin Ham seems hesitant about changing the starting lineup, but it looks like if you don’t get Prince’s best, the drop-off is too big and happens too often to keep him in that role.
Grade: B
Cam Reddish
29 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5-14 FG, 3-8 3PT, -1
Cam Reddish came to play offensively with 13 points, but the defense was rough.
Alex Caruso got the best of him a couple of times and he tried to defend the perimeter, but the Bulls feasted, scoring 18 threes, with many happening on Reddish’s man.
Reddish has been a pleasant surprise on defense, but how he does against elite guards is something to focus on. Are most of his good games just try-hard attempts against average players, or can he truly defend the best in the West?
Grade: C-
D’Angelo Russell
28 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1-6 FG, 0-4 3PT, +3
D’Angelo Russell is the only player with a positive plus-minus for the Lakers tonight.
He also had his worst game of the season.
He gave you next to nothing offensively with just two points. Didn’t distribute the ball well at all with a pair of dimes. And defensively, I mean, it’s Russell.
Nowhere to go but up after tonight’s game.
Grade: F
Austin Reaves
28 minutes, 21 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 9-14 FG, 2-5 3PT, 1-1 FT, -22
Austin Reaves has consistently been the best player on the Lakers’ bench, and against the Bulls, he shined.
He scored 21 points, not only the most by anyone on the bench but the second-most points on the team. It’s not all about scoring and while his defense left a lot to be desired and zero rebounds is suspect, you have a lot of players to complain about first before you get to Reaves tonight.
Grade: A-
Rui Hachimura
16 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist 2-9 FG, 1-2 3PT, -12
Playing Rui Hachimura at the five was certainly a choice.
Now, that falls more on head coach Darvin Ham than on Hachimura, but even so, he looked bad throughout the night. He was slow on his feet defensively, failed to get to the line and his only highlight was a late three in the third.
He did crash the boards well, grabbing five rebounds, but you expect more from Hachimura given what he usually produces and his role on this team as a wing who can get mid-range buckets.
Grade: C
Jarred Vanderbilt
13 minutes, 2 points, -15
Jarred Vanderbilt is not healthy.
Either that, or he’s a shell of his former self, but given that he’s just returned from a long-term injury, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Still, he didn’t defend well, didn’t crash the boards and only managed two points. He was invisible out there and didn’t make his impact felt in any way.
That’s not the lockdown defender fans have been excited to see this season. So, here’s hoping he can play his way into shape because the Lakers desperately need the Vanderbilt of last season to show up as soon as possible.
Grade: C-
Gabe Vincent
14 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1-4 FG, 1-3 3PT, -12
Gabe Vincent is back!
But this wasn’t a triumphant return, more like an easing into the season for Vincent, who hasn’t played since November. It’s hard to judge with that context, but he looked average at best and disappointing at worst. He only made one three and didn’t look like the sharpshooter the Lakers hoped for when they signed him during the offseason.
If he doesn’t turn things around in 2024, Vincent will be one of the most disappointing signings in the Rob Pelinka era.
Grade: C
Max Christie, Jaxson Hayes, Maxwell Lewis, Christian Wood
These four players only played during the last two minutes of the game, which was garbage time and nowhere near long enough to give a grade to any of them. Max Christie and Christian Wood are likely the most deserving of a longer run, but we’ll see if Ham makes that adjustment during this road trip.
Darvin Ham
You can’t play Hachimura at the five.
Ham had virtually all his guys available and while many are not in full health and at least Vincent is on minute restriction, this team still looked bad under his watch.
Why is Max Christie playing next to nothing when the players in front of him are underperforming? Why do we never see Reaves, Hachimura, James and Davis on the floor, even though they shined together last year?
Fans are getting tired of hearing about the process and the team has been spiraling since the In-Season Tournament. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same result, so Ham has to do something, anything, even if it comes out worse, to shake this team up and get a win.
If we see more of the same from Ham and the Lakers during this road trip, you can expect the discontent with Ham’s job as a coach to get louder and louder. It doesn’t take much for the seat to get hot in Los Angeles.
Grade: D
Monday’s DNPs: None
Monday’s inactives: Alex Fudge, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Colin Castleton, D’Moi Hodge
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.