The first game back from the All-Star break ended in a Los Angeles Lakers loss. This Luka Doncic-LeBron James duo can be one of the better ones in the league. However, their 97-100 loss to the Charlotte Hornets showed a couple of areas of concern.
This team's newcomer struggled. Granted, the Slovenian is dealing with a calf injury. However, he started off slow. His shot didn't fall. Furthermore, there were multiple instances of forced turnover between him and LeBron.
Timing is likely to improve. But the fact remains that regular season games are starting to run out. Although they have a lot of high-end talent, they may run out of time to figure out what would be needed to beat good teams come the post-season.
Doncic's poor shooting night is likely to be closer to a one-off with more time on the court. However, the fit, and particularly the lack of defense at key times, needs to be fixed if the team is going to make a serious playoff push.
Especially in transition, this team is going to struggle if they give up too many easy baskets on something that is largely based on effort. The turnover battle was mostly a tie with 19 and 18 apiece. But the Los Angeles Lakers' loss saw the ball going the other way with the ball sailing in the stands on multiple possessions. Again, something like this can be fixed. But it shows how disjointed the teammates were for their first action back.
Fourth-quarter shortcoming in Los Angeles Lakers loss
Then the half-court setting saw the Hornets target Doncic late. Even when LaMelo Ball didn't take him off the dribble, the action started against him one-on-one and led to the shot that they wanted more times than not.
This was showcased on the final made three by Nick Smith Jr. to take the 96-94 lead. LaMelo then followed that effort up with a scoop layup in the paint that more or less sealed the game. Although James had a chance to force OT, this brings up something else.
Close games late need to have cleaner possessions. The inbounds play resulted in Rui Hachimura having a decently clean look, but he gave the ball up. Maybe Austin Reaves would have helped had he not been ejected; either way, it still looked disjointed and is another aspect that will need to be cleaned up.
There are enough games to improve defensively and late-game possessions. But time is running out. And this Los Angeles Lakers' loss needs to serve as a wake-up call. Especially against a team that earned its 14th win in late February after their latest effort.
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