PHOENIX — Even with Luka Doncic, in addition to Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, unavailable to play on Tuesday night, there weren’t many indicators that the Lakers were on the precipice of one of their worst defensive performances of the season.
But that’s exactly what came to fruition in their 132-108 defeat to the Suns, their first consecutive losses of the season dropping them to 19-9 overall and 4-5 in December.
Coming off Saturday night’s loss to the Clippers, the Lakers’ pregame energy felt higher on Tuesday than it did over the weekend. Coach JJ Redick was in a jovial mood as one of the team’s stars, Austin Reaves, was set to make his return after being sidelined for nearly two weeks because of a calf injury.
LeBron James, who led the Lakers with 23 points and six assists against the Suns, found a rhythm offensively after not looking like his typical self in his first handful of games after making his season debut.
But the Lakers didn’t do what was necessary to keep pace with – or slow down – a Suns team they know will punish opponents for mistakes.
“The theme with our team again is like these young teams that move, we just can’t move,” Redick said. “So it’s like we’re stuck in mud.”
The Lakers’ defensive ball containment was weak, with the Suns (16-13), led by Dillon Brooks (24 points) and Devin Booker (21 points, 11 assists) getting into the teeth of their defense at will and scoring 62 points in the paint.
The Lakers’ off-ball defense was lacking, allowing multiple Phoenix players to cut into the paint for easy layups or dunks.
And their help defense was even more concerning – several times Lakers were either late or didn’t show the effort to stop the Suns once they did get near the rim.
The result was the Suns shooting 58.8% from the field (50 for 85) and 41.2% from 3-point range (14 for 34).
As Redick put it, many of the Lakers’ defensive struggles on Tuesday came down to making difficult choices.
“There [are] shortcuts you can take, or you can do the hard thing, and you can make the second effort or you can sprint back,” Redick said. “Or you can’t. It’s just a choice. And there’s a million choices in a game, and you’re very likely not gonna make every choice correctly.
“But can you make the vast majority of ’em correctly? It gives you a chance to win.”
Redick didn’t go as far as to say the Lakers’ decision-making in those moments was concerning, since the decisions aren’t easy.
“It’s not the easy choice,” he added. “It’s human nature. We all do it. We do it on a daily basis. We make easy choices cause it’s comfortable. Comfortable doesn’t win.”
Veteran guard Marcus Smart (14 points, six assists, three rebounds) didn’t hold back when it came to how the Lakers respond to those tough decisions in games.
“We’re being real [expletive] right now, and it’s showing,” Smart said. “But like I said, it’s our turn. Every team goes through it trying to figure it out. You just pray that it happens early and we can fix it before it’s too late. There’s really no defense, no scheme we can do when we’re giving up offensive rebounds in crucial moments like we are, or guys are getting wherever they want on the court. And there’s no help, there’s no resistance, there’s no urgency.
“And JJ is right. There’s really nothing he can do. It’s on us. We appreciate the coaches for everything they do, but it’s on us when it comes down, ultimately, we got to figure it out.”
One of the Lakers’ typical advantages – the free-throw line – didn’t go in their favor since they shot 18 for 29 from the foul line compared to the Suns’ 18-of-20 effort.
Laker opponents are averaging 121.6 points over the past 10 games, and this was the third time in a 13-day stretch that a team eclipsed 130 against them.
“We just lack physicality a little bit, effort,” forward Jake LaRavia said. “I don’t know how many points they got off second-chance, but they were getting a lot of extra possessions. We just gotta be better. That’s all it is. Regroup and get ready for the next game.”
Reaves had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting off the bench in his first game since Dec. 10, but he struggled with fouling (four) in his 22 minutes.
“I was pretty tired the first couple minutes but after that, I felt pretty good,” he said. “I thought I caught a decent rhythm in the second quarter, too. Getting to the rim. But it’s going to take time.”
The Suns – who have won two out of three against the Lakers this season – led by 10 at halftime and quickly pushed that advantage to 99-72 midway through the third quarter. They took a 112-86 lead into the fourth after scoring 45 points in the third on 16-of-22 (72.7%) shooting. Brooks scored 12 points in the third and finished 10 for 15 from the field, including 3 for 6 from 3-point range.
All five Suns starters scored in double figures. Mark Williams had 18 points and nine rebounds, while Collin Gillespie scored 16.