An unexpected development for the slumping Lakers has been losing the minutes when their two stars are on the court together, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Going into Tuesday night, L.A. was being outscored by 5.5 points per 100 possessions in the 365 minutes that LeBron James and Anthony Davis were both in the game.
There are several glaring issues with the James-Davis lineups, Price adds. No matter who else is paired with them, the groups haven’t rebounded well or forced enough turnovers, and they’re letting opponents shoot high percentages from the field.
The inability to gain an advantage when their best players are sharing the court has contributed to the Lakers’ recent slowdown after a 10-4 start, but coach J.J. Redick doesn’t consider it to be a cause for alarm.
“Not concerned, not concerned at all,” Redick said. “It’s more diving deeper into the why and trying to self-correct that.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Tuesday’s return of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal has the Suns looking like an elite team again, observes Doug Haller of The Athletic. Durant and Beal sparked a 27-point rout of the Lakers in an NBA Cup game and provided a reminder of how good the team looked during its 8-1 start to the season. “I just wanted to be out there with the guys,” said Durant, who missed seven games with a strained left calf. “Wanted to travel. When you’re injured, you’re still a part of the team, you’re still on the roster, but there’s a level of separation you have (with guys who are playing). I just wanted to be part of the group again.”
- Defense has become an issue for the Warriors in their last two games, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. They let a 17-point second half lead slip away in Saturday’s loss to San Antonio, then squandered an 18-point lead Monday against Brooklyn. The Warriors ranked 25th in team defense in those two games and allowed an atrocious 154.2 points per 100 possessions in the combined fourth quarters. Defensive issues were the focus of Tuesday’s practice. “Our communication wasn’t good and we didn’t rotate and trap the box how we normally would,” Kevon Looney said of Monday’s game. “(Assistant coach and defensive coordinator Jerry Stackhouse) talks about us being early, being aggressive and I think we were a half-second late on everything.”
- After being listed as questionable on Tuesday, Warriors guard Stephen Curry will sit out tonight’s game against Oklahoma City with bilateral knee pain, Gordon adds in a separate story. This will be Curry’s fourth missed game of the season, and Golden State has won the first three.
Regarding GSW’s new peak-energy, swarming defense being slower/late in recent games, that raises questions about the 12-man rotation strategy — the primary goal being improved team defense.
Does the 12-man rotation enable the sustained, peak effort required of all players over 82 games? Or, is fatigue inevitable, even though players are playing less minutes? The eyes suggest a drop in energy the last few games, but it’s too early to tell.
It seems they peak a little early in 3rd quarter and take the foot off the gas. Get too much in being 3 point happy. Nobody was driving inside against Nets who had both their centers out.
arc89, wouldn’t you say that they looked the most aggressive and energetic defensively in the first 10 8-10 games, and less so since then?
I’ve re-watched the Boston and Dallas games. Even Steph was in on the double-teaming, and right up to the end of the game. Compared to those games, we haven’t been the same defensively.
Thats odd, the minutes LeBron is out there not playing any defense they are bad on defense? And the chance the Suns have all 3 healthy for more than 40 games together are slim to none.
Brawny Sensation was a -30 in the +/- last night, luapnor. Think about that……a MINUS THIRTY!! Imagine if basketball was like soccer. What if he could strictly remain in the half court where the Lakers’ basket stood – let the scrubs play defense? There’s gotta be some way Silver can convice the rules committee to give this idea serious consideration…..for Brawny.