Welp, that’s another L on the loss column for the Lakers. With the 105-98 defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday, they are now just 6-33 since the start of December.
It’s bound to continue as the season goes along, and this Thursday against the Jazz could be one of the obvious ones. They have already met with Utah thrice this season, and lost every time. In those contests, they either got dominated or edged out in a close finish, which makes it really hard to be positive towards the Lakers.
Adding to that is the knee injury of starting point guard D’Angelo Russell (14.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 4.4 APG), who will be out for at least a couple of weeks.
The problem roots from both sides of the floor. Their offense has five players that average at least 13 PPG, led by veteran Louis Williams (17.9 PPG), but it’s still average at best (18th in scoring, 20th in efficiency).
Basically, the offense isn’t that good for them to rely on it too much that they almost give zero defense. Their poor D (27th in points allowed, 30th in efficiency) has been highlighted in the last eight weeks, particularly this past Sunday, where they lost a franchise-worst 122-73 to the Dallas Mavericks, who are currently dead-last in the NBA in points.
The Lakers have lost nine straight games on the road (3-6 ATS).
The Jazz have now dropped back-to-back games after stitching together six straight wins. It was quite the two-game stretch, too – Russell Westbrook hung a triple-double and game-winning jumper on them on Monday (97-95), and the Nuggets blasted them with a balanced attack on Tuesday (103-93).
In the pair of losses, the poor play of the team’s main options in the perimeter – Gordon Hayward and George Hill – are certainly playing a huge part. They have combined for a dreadful 16-for-55 shooting (29 percent) over the last two contests.
Such performances from Hayward (21.8 PPG) and Hill (18 PPG) can quickly affect the Jazz big time, since they are two of the biggest contributors in the team’s precise low-scoring, slow-paced style of play. The Jazz are only 28th in points (99.4 PPG), but they are on the decent 13th spot in the offensive efficiency rankings.
On defense, they shine on the floor and on the stat sheet, and it’s one of the main driving force of their surprising record. They are third in points allowed (95.5 PPG), fourth in defensive efficiency, second in opponents’ field goal shooting (43.4 percent), and first in assists allowed (17.9 APG). The D, of course, is being anchored by the towering presence of Rudy Gobert (12.8 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 2.5 BPG).
The Jazz are 3-0 versus the Lakers this season (1-2 ATS).
