The Los Angeles Lakers started off the week on a low note, losing to the Orlando Magic, 118-106. Despite looking sharp early in the game and taking a lead into halftime, L.A. suffered a significant third quarter collapse, one that saw the Purple and Gold get badly outscored, 34-18. The Magic’s dominant third quarter basically put the game out of reach for the Lakers, condemning them to a third consecutive loss.
The Lakers’ Poor Stretch Continues
The Lakers have now gone 3-7 in their last 10 games, before which they had won eight games in a row from February 20th to March 6th. The current rough patch began with a loss on the road against the Boston Celtics—a game that saw LeBron James exit with a groin injury that would cause him to miss two weeks. James returned to action in Saturday night’s contest against the Chicago Bulls.
Even though L.A. had both LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the court for the first time since March 8th, the Lakers were completely destroyed by a Bulls team that is well below .500, losing 146-115 at home. 146 points was the most points that the Lakers have given up in any game this season, while the 31-point margin of defeat was their second largest loss. Much like in Monday night’s game against Orlando, the Lakers suffered a major collapse in the second half that turned a close back-and-forth contest into a one-sided rout.
LeBron And Luka Are Playing Well Despite Team Slump
After being eased back into action against the Bulls, LeBron James played his usual amount of minutes in the game against the Magic. He posted a solid statline with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists, while shooting 50 percent from the field. Additionally, Luka Doncic scored 32 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Doncic has now scored 30 or more points in five of the last six games he’s played in.
Aside from the return of LeBron James, the Lakers also got Rui Hachimura back after an extended absence with a knee injury. Prior to Saturday’s game, Hachimura had not played since February 27th. Hachimura does, however, remain on a minutes restriction.
With both of their superstars playing well and the presence of their best role players, it might be puzzling to some as to why the Lakers’ form has not improved over the past couple of games. In Monday’s loss to the Magic, the Lakers suffered from a lack of production from their bench players, none of whom managed more than five points throughout the entire game. The team’s overall effort was not good enough in spite strong performances from Doncic and James.
L.A.’s defense has also not been as stout as it had been before LeBron James’ injury. After having the best defense in the NBA from the time of the Luka Doncic trade up to James’ injury, the Lakers have seen their worst defensive effort of the season, as well as two more games where they gave up over 125 points in the past two weeks.
The Lakers currently occupy the fourth-seed in the Western Conference after having previously been as high as number two earlier this month. They remain firmly packed into a group of seven teams from Houston to Minnesota that currently only has a 5.5-game gap from top to bottom. L.A. will want to ensure that they can at least jump up to the three-seed so that they can avoid playing the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.
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