Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Without LeBron James, the Lakers Play Timberwolves Tough, But Lose 118-111.

Without LeBron James, the Lakers Play Timberwolves Tough, But Lose 118-111.

12/22/23 • 36 min

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

With a full squad, coming in healthy, the Lakers still could have lost to Minnesota Thursday night. The Wolves are the top team in the Western Conference, and have only lost one time at home.

The Lakers, though, aren't fully healthy. LeBron James and Gabe Vincent both missed Thursday's game with what likely amount to maintenance injuries as much as anything. Jarred Vanderbilt is still banged up, and Rui Hachimura still has to dress like Batman to get on the floor.

But with all of that, or perhaps because all of that, the Lakers played one of their better road games of the season. They looked relatively unencumbered, and played hard. Minnesota was just better.

But don't blame Anthony Davis, who went for 31/8/4. Taurean Prince didn't miss a shot until the fourth quarter. Austin Reaves had 20, Rui Hachimura 18, and a big fourth quarter might indicate that D'Angelo Russell could be breaking out of a horrific slump. The Lakers did a decent job on Anthony Edwards (9-19) and Karl-Anthony Towns (7-16), but struggled to keep the Wolves off the line.

Short James, against arguably the best defense in the NBA (and maybe the best team) the Lakers needed to play perfectly to win. They couldn't hit that bar, but while the Lakers don't have the luxury to embrace moral victories, if you're looking for signs of life in what is now a stretch of five losses in six games (with OKC coming up on Saturday, then Boston on Christmas) there were some to pull from Thursday's game.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers lose again, but showed signs of life.

SEGMENT 2: How can the Lakers break out of the slump?

SEGMENT 3: Did Russell shake the slump in the fourth quarter?

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With a full squad, coming in healthy, the Lakers still could have lost to Minnesota Thursday night. The Wolves are the top team in the Western Conference, and have only lost one time at home.

But with all of that, or perhaps because all of that, the Lakers played one of their better road games of the season. They looked relatively unencumbered, and played hard. Minnesota was just better.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers lose again, but showed signs of life.

SEGMENT 2: How can the Lakers break out of the slump?

SEGMENT 3: Did Russell shake the slump in the fourth quarter?

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Previous Episode

The Lakers Lose Big to Bulls, 124-108. D'Angelo Russell Struggling, Team Energy Lacking

Wednesday's game to kick off the road trip was supposed to be the "easy" one for the Lakers. A sub-.500 Bulls team in Chicago.

Well, maybe it will be the easiest, but it still didn't go well for the Lakers. They lose 124-108, and are completely out of sorts on both sides of the ball. Wednesday, they came out of the gate with energy—LeBron James was very aggressive from the jump—but as Chicago made shots, the Lakers couldn't respond. And then once again, they found themselves down big, and playing uphill.

Over the course of 48 minutes, the Lakers looked disorganized and confused. It was the opposite of their best moments this season, where the execution was sharp and the team played with confidence and swagger. There was none of that on either side of the ball, probably most exemplified by the game D'Angelo Russell played. Only two points and two assists, and even when he was doing good things, moving the offense along, he did it with a level of passivity that must be disturbing to the coaching staff.

But he's not alone. The attention to detail has cratered, and the Lakers are getting pounded on all the all the little things.

And they need to figure it out quickly, because it doesn't get any easier.

Darvin Ham certainly has a lot of work to do, trying to establish a rotation (they welcomed back Gabe Vincent on Wednesday) while players are moving in and out, and he's clearly losing faith in certain players on the roster (here's looking at you, backup centers).

This is as bad as they've looked all season. What can turn it around?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get blown out in Chicago.

SEGMENT 2: Gabe Vincent returns, but the Lakers still have a continuity problem.

SEGMENT 3: Russell needs his swagger back.

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Next Episode

Lakers Get 129-120 Win Over Thunder, fueled by LeBron, Anthony Davis, New Starting Lineup

Heading into Oklahoma City, Anthony Davis called this game against the Thunder "must-win," which may have raised eyebrows for a December contest, but considering they had lost five of the previous six, and had already pulled themselves out of a sub .500 state earlier this season, the urgency was in fact warranted. So much so, in fact, that Darvin Ham opted to change the starting lineup again. Defensive specialist Jarred Vanderbilt joined the first five, while D'Angelo Russell moved to the bench.

The result? An extension of the Lakers at their best, with more physicality and defensive intensity to set a tone for opening halves. Davis made good on his call to arms, putting up 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks. And LeBron James was phenomenal, with 40 points (15 in the fourth quarter to hold off a surging OKC), plus seven rebounds and seven assists. In the meantime, Russell responded well to the move, scoring an efficient 15 points, and forming quite the offensive punch with Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.

Is this new look the cure to the Lakers' ails moving forward? It's too early to tell, although the Christmas day game against the Celtics will definitely offer more clues. But for now, the Lakers can head back to L.A. feeling good, and enjoy the holiday before getting back to work shortly afterward.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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BetterHelp

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

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