The Los Angeles Lakers were without Anthony Davis on Wednesday night. Boy, could they use him.
The Houston Rockets defeated the Lakers 128-94 with Jaylen Green scoring 28 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.
LeBron James (18 points, 6 rebounds) and D’Angelo Russell (22 points, 4 assists, 3 blocks) had solid performances for the Lakers, while Austin Reeves had a A brutal night, shooting just 2-for-9 from the field and only being poor from the field. Seven o’clock.
Then there’s Christian Wood, who entered the AD starting lineup and ended up scoreless and fouled four times. oops. Maybe Hachimura should start and score 24 points off the bench.
But regardless, you’ll find this one ugly, and fans and pundits alike made the Lakers heard about it on social media:
On the Lakers’ defense, the team is missing AD, Gabe Vincent, Jared Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes and Jalen Hood-Schifino. This is a tough injury report to overcome.
But that doesn’t excuse the loss of 14 offensive rebounds and a 57-34 rebound defeat. That’s not a reason to miss nine free throws, or why starters Taurean Prince, Reaves and Wood combined for just 14 points.
Overcoming the loss of a star player isn’t easy, but the Rockets outplayed the Lakers from the start. The only positive was that James — who averaged 35.9 minutes per game despite the team’s goal to reduce his workload this season — played only 27 minutes in the fourth quarter.
But Los Angeles does have some concerns after the team’s 3-5 start. There’s nothing wrong with a loss on the road to Houston that left five players out. To be soundly beaten by a 4-3 Rockets team that started three players 21 or younger — and a Lakers performance that can only be described as lackluster and incompetent — is unacceptable.