Episode Details

The Lakers can't quite decide what they are, or what they're supposed to be. 

On an emotional Monday night at the Crypt—in which the Lakers both honored the first responders and volunteers working tirelessly to gain full control of the wildfires still active around the city and care for those who have been displaced—LA started strong and faded hard. They were blown out over the second half 73-40 (and particularly in the fourth quarter, 37-13), getting sloppy with the ball and costing themselves far too many possessions... though it could be argued the Lakers didn't do much with the opportunities they didn't kick away. 

Final score, 126-102. LA loses its third straight game. 

The consistency simply isn't there. And after a good run, the Lakers suddenly look a lot like the team that had everyone worried that a good record was mostly a mirage. The defense, fueled on Monday by an inept, turnover prone offense, isn't holding at the high level we saw after the NBA Cup layoff. The offense is easily compromised, lacking secondary ballhandling and playmaking. San Antonio made life very hard for LeBron James and Austin Reaves by putting extra pressure on the ball, particularly when only one of them was on the floor. 

Getting Jarred Vanderbilt back, likely at some point next week, will help. But it's not a cure all. JJ Redick is going to need to find other levers to pull, including potentially flipping Dorian Finney-Smith and Rui Hachimura in the starting lineup. 

Good teams sustain good play for a month or two at a time, not just a week or two. The Lakers aren't there yet, and need to find the formula to change that. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get thumped in the second half. 

SEGMENT 2: What went wrong with the defense? Was it the fault of the offense, actually? 
 

SEGMENT 3: PUSH THE BUTTON, JJ!

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