The offense is the league's worst, and the team is sluggish: There is not much time left for the Lakers
Of course, one hopes that the time back in Los Angeles will bring some benefits to the Lakers. Their coach pleaded with the players that the excuses of the past month – many of which were justified – needed to be over. The team had to play "conscious sustained competitiveness" – a phrase that Darvin Hamm later cut out.
He said before the game on Wednesday: "Play with all your might. ”
The Lakers' January game started at home and basically played at home for the entire month, so the effort was not a problem.
But what about execution?
They're doing too poorly at this.
The Lakers made 22 turnovers and made just 4 of 30 three-pointers to lose 96-110 to Miami, the ninth loss in their last 12 games.
This is the first time the team has dropped below 50% of its win rate since Nov. 10.
They were the first team this season to shoot less than 15 percent from three-point range and make more than 20 turnovers.
And Anthony Davis continued his outburst — scoring 29 points on Wednesday, plus 17 rebounds, six assists, five blocks and three steals — and it didn't matter.
The Lakers have 11 games to play in Los Angeles between now and January 27, and the first game was a terrible game, losing possession of the ball a heinous number of times while allowing the short-staffed Heat to play well in the frontcourt.
Despite the Lakers' loose play, they were able to chase the deficit to two points early in the fourth quarter until the final moments.
Throughout the game, the Lakers' body language reflected that the team was in a terrible slump. LeBron James wasted an offensive opportunity against the Heat's box and missed a three-pointer at the end, just looking at the bench and shrugging.
James declined to comment after the game.
Speaking after the game, Ham said: "Unforced errors are what really hurt the team,...... It's human nature that you will be frustrated and disappointed when these misfortunes happen. But at the end of the day, that's what the NBA is. It is very difficult to win in this league. You have to put your heart and soul into every attack or as many attacks as you can. We'll figure it out. There's a lot of time, but time is precious. We have to do it, to figure it out. ”
With the NBA trade deadline just over a month away, the Lakers should once again ask big questions about their future path.
Before the game, Ham said he and his team looked in the mirror after a 3-8 finish in December and concluded that "there were still a lot of people in the room." "
While not everyone in the Lakers can play — Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell have to be sidelined for a day with calf and tailbone injuries, they are not short of the kind of players that rival Heat lacks.
Miami played without Jimmy Butler for the 19th time this season, and instead their seven players who played on Wednesday scored at least seven points each.
The Lakers brought Austin Reaves and Cam Reddish back to the starting lineup in an effort to bounce around, while Jarred Vanderbilt was on the bench. (Hachimura replaced Reddish as the Lakers starter in New Orleans).
"I don't think it's a question of who starts and who doesn't," Davis said. Everybody has the ability to do what we have to do and win games on both ends of the pitch, so squad issues are just an excuse. We have high-IQ players who know what they are supposed to do and what we are supposed to do as a team on both ends of the pitch. ”
Reaves scored a season-high 24 points on just 12 shots. James made 18 shots and scored a season-low 12 points.
"If you just look at the stats, we have to shoot better three-pointers," Reeves said. We shot just 13 percent from three-point range tonight, so we couldn't win the game. ...... In today's game, you have to shoot three-pointers. Obviously, mistakes have always been a problem. But once we start shooting threes, I guess the three-point shooting percentage is going to be high, then everything will open up, especially for LeBron and AD. So, we have to do our part to help them because they attract so much attention. "
The move came at a time when the Lakers were hungry for some consistency, a quest that was thwarted by injuries and the constant search for five Lakers players who could consistently play well.
Among them, rookie Jalen Hood Schifino played five minutes in the first half, but he missed all four shots. On the opposite side, Miami rookie and former UCLA star Mame Jax Jr. played a team-high 39 minutes and scored 16 points, including a jumper against James.
The Lakers will face Memphis again on Friday, having played their worst performance of the season in the last three weeks or so.
"If we play like we did tonight, then we're going to be really bad," Davis said. ”