Before the All-Star Game, the Clippers finished 30-31, ranking eighth in the West, while the Lakers were ninth in the West with 27 wins and 31 losses. There's a bit of a gap in terms of record, so the matchup between them is important for any team, and the Los Angeles derby is a "top two-game game at a time." Unfortunately, the Lakers were too angry, losing to the Clippers in their first game after the All-Star Game, losing the crucial standings card battle.
During the game, the camera found Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on the sidelines, the two core players of the Clippers could not play, and the new signing Norman Powell could not play, so the Clippers have really been a civilian team today. On the Lakers' side, Anthony Davis missed the game, but they at least had LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. So, this is actually not a game of equal strength, the Lakers have two All-Star level players, the Clippers are really a bit of a shrimp soldier crab will taste.
It was the Clippers who still achieved a crucial card position victory. Of course, the Lakers are not without a chance to win, Carmelo Anthony missed the key three points in the final moment, James also failed to hit the equalizer of the three points, the Lakers can only accept the situation of defeat. Davis missed the game, and all the pressure on the Lakers was on James and Westbrook, and Westbrook did not fare badly, scoring 18 points and 3 rebounds on 9-of-21 shooting. James was slightly inefficient, with 6 of 18 shots, including 8 three-pointers, 2 of 8, plus 8 free throws, 7 of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, the overall data is not bad, but the efficiency is too low, and the last quarter is 3 shots 0.
The Lakers' loss to the Clippers is really unacceptable, but just looking at the performance of the two sides this season, we should probably accept it calmly. So far, the two sides have met a total of three times, and the Lakers have lost all of them. So, the Clippers are really a team that can't be ignored, and they have excellent resilience. In addition, the Clippers' ability to beat the Lakers has a lot to do with James being pinched, after all, Clippers head coach Tyrone Lu once coached James, and he really knows James.
James missed the Los Angeles derby on Feb. 4 due to injury, and in the two Los Angeles derbys he played, James averaged only 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, shooting 36.6 percent from the field, 25 percent from three-point range, and 4.5 turnovers per game. James can average 28.9 points, 8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game this season, shooting 51.8% from the field and 35% from three-point range, in contrast, James is really a bit powerless against the Clippers, not only the overall data is lower than the season average, shooting percentage and three-point shooting rate have also declined sharply, and the most important thing is that the Lakers lost to the Clippers.
After losing to the Clippers for the third time of the season, the Lakers' record became 27-32, ranking ninth in the West, and the 25-35 Trail Blazers in tenth place. Although there is still a slight advantage, but it is not too much of an advantage, the next few games, the Lakers still need to face the lone ranger, Clippers, Warriors and other teams, if you can't seize the opportunity, the record is likely to continue to decline. In a short period of time, Davis will not come back, the Lakers do not have much to win in the free market, it seems that they have to find a way to get more wins, otherwise they will not even be able to get a playoff spot.
Text/Duncan's laugh