Lakers Shoot Badly Against Nets and Extend Losing Streak to Eight

This wasn’t exactly the most watchable basketball game. Whether it was or not, it didn’t really matter to the Lakers as they lost for the eighth straight time, 107-97.

The ball movement was very lacking in the first half. Not only that but the second quarter proved disastrous to the Lakers. They went 4 for 19 (.211) from the field, including an 8:49 stretch where they missed 14 straight shots. L.A. also only had three assists in that first half. Neither team shot well in the first half and there were so many stoppages of play due to the number of trips to the charity stripe.

The Lakers showed a bit more life in the second half, going on a 10-0 run to take the lead. The third quarter ended emphatically with a Larry Nance, Jr. slam. Someone tell Robin Lopez that he no longer has a twin brother.

Then the Lakers’ well went dry again. They didn’t make a field goal in the last 6:18 of the game. The Nets took advantage of that and their shot-making, though not very good, was enough to beat the Lakers. Not only was the game hard to watch for the most part but for the Lakers trying to get out of this slump, it was extremely disappointing.

The Lakers only had 11 assists and that’s partly because of the Lakers’ woeful shooting (.385). The Nets didn’t shoot well, either (.384). It felt like I heard a lot of glass shattering in this contest. There were a lot of trips to the free throw line but the Lakers only shot under 62 percent on that department (21 out of 34). The Nets went 30 for 40 (75 percent). Plus the Nets outhustled the Lakers in rebounds, 61-49. Trevor Booker made up for the corpse of Brook Lopez by going for 18 boards. Three Nets had 20 or more points (Lopez, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Sean Kilpatrick).

L.A. had balanced scoring as six players had double figures (Lou Williams had 16 to lead the way). D’Angelo Russell never got going (2 for 10 from the field) because he got in foul trouble early. Julius Randle continued to struggle on his shot (2 for 8). Timofey Mozgov played well as he went for 12 and 13. And Nance, to go along with that electrifying dunk, had a good game that doesn’t show up on the numbers. But the Lakers just didn’t have enough on the offensive end. You’re not going to beat any team if you go on extended droughts like that and if you only score three points in the latter half of the final quarter.

As mentioned, it’s the Lakers’ eighth straight loss and it’s not good for the morale of the team at the moment. They lost two winnable games on the road against the Kings and the Nets. They do have another chance to redeem themselves as they go against the Sixers on Friday. Hopefully, Coach Luke Walton can get the team back to what they were doing before the long slump. They oughta move the ball more, be energized on defense, and get back that fighting spirit that was their signature for the first 20 games.

And it seemed like yesterday when all their troubles seemed so far away…