They have never been perfect during this already painful season, increasing injuries and increasing illnesses and losses in the process. Lakers.
And just as they brought back another player from the sick zone for their game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at the Crypto.com Arena – a 120-114 defeat The Lakers lost MVP when it was ruled that LeBron James would not play because of a Left adductor tension suffered during Wednesday night loss against clippers.
James is listed as Day by Day, but his injury could leave him off the field at least in Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Lakers don’t play again after that until hosting the Detroit Pistons on Friday, giving James eight days to recover.
James had missed one game prior to this injury, missing Monday’s game in Utah due to pain in his foot.
On the other hand, the Lakers have recalled goalkeeper Lonnie Walker IV, who has missed the last two games due to a non-COVID illness. And perhaps most importantly, Anthony Davis was able to play despite missing a shooting Friday morning due to a non-COVID illness. Patrick Beverly was playing in his second straight game after missing the previous two games due to a non-COVID illness.
Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, left, shoots in front of Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis during the second half on Friday.
(Mark J. Terrell/The Associated Press)
Meanwhile, the Lakers cannot win games, having now lost five consecutive games.
The Lakers leveled in the 114th minute with about two and a half minutes left, but they couldn’t contain Dearon Fox, as they watched him score back-to-back baskets to give the Kings a 118-114 lead, giving the goalkeeper 32 points. To go with 12 assists.
Meanwhile, the Lakers missed their last six shots after a tie, and none came close.
Even with Davis producing 24 points and 14 rebounds, Russell Westbrook contributing 21 points and 11 assists along with five turnovers and ending Austin Reeves with 19 points, the Lakers couldn’t win because their defense failed them again.
They ranked 15th in the NBA in defensive rankings (110.9), dropping from the second place they held earlier this season. They concede 116.1 points per game, ranking the Lakers 24th in the league.
“Again, we got it wrong,” Lakers coach Darvin Hamm said before the game. “Dennis Schroeder (thumb) hasn’t played yet and neither has Thomas Bryant (thumb). So, you’ve taken Looney out of the squad, Pat Biff. LeBron. This is his second game he’s going to take out. But M. Just different guys. Just trying to keep us healthy.
“Once we recover and get our bodies full, I think you’ll see our defensive numbers start to be more fit and back to where they were at the start of the season.”
The Lakers ramped up their defensive pressure in the second quarter on Friday, opening a 13-point lead.
Then they got sloppy and the lead was cut back to 60-56 in the first half.
The Lakers opened an 88-87 lead at the end of the third quarter behind 20 points, 11 rebounds from Davis, 16 points, and six assists from Russell Westbrook, who also scored five runs. Davis finished with a team high of 24.
Hamm has been calling for patience, but he also wants his team to play with a sense of urgency.
“I think you kept focusing on your principles and that’s the thing that I said to them after the match, the Clipper match, as well as yesterday, today,” Hamm said. “Just to hang on and really embrace and solidify our principles. That’s the best way to weather any storm.”
“It’s easy to start picking things up like, ‘Okay, that’s it. How not to do this and how not to do that? We had to get back to doing what we were doing well earlier in the year.
“Although there weren’t a lot of victories, we were very competitive on the defensive side and this has gone downhill here in recent games. So, the most important thing for us is to come back to defend at a high level and that will generate attacking and confidence in our attack and confidence in our ball movement.”
etc.
The Lakers said Bryant, who had surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, and Schroeder, who had surgery to repair the collateral ligament of his right thumb, were re-evaluated this week and both are progressing well. Both Bryant and Schroeder will be re-evaluated again on Thursday.