I hope you enjoyed the couple days of respite from the Lakers panic, because it is back on.
If the Lakers were looking to carry over their momentum from their win over Detroit, they failed miserably against the Jazz and fell hard 95-86. L.A. looked listless early and dug themselves a hole that they couldn’t climb out of even with a spirited second half that saw their effort improve dramatically.
The Jazz controlled the paint against the Lakers’ vaunted front line and ultimately this was the key to the game. Utah scored 28 points in the paint in the first half alone and rode their trio of Al Jefferson (18 points and 10 boards on the night), Derrick Favors, and Enes Kanter early on to set a tone of bruising, physical play.
On the perimeter, the Lakers had a hard time containing Mo Williams and Randy Foye. The backcourt duo combined for 33 points on only 24 shots with Williams making his mark early in the game and Foye hitting several key shots down the stretch (including three huge three pointers) to bury the Lakers last ditch attempt at a comeback.
For the Lakers, it was another mistake prone night as they turned the ball over 18 times and got lost on their defensive rotations too frequently. Combine that with a 34% shooting night from the floor (including going 4-23 from behind the arc) and they simply weren’t ready to play. Kobe Bryant had a team best 29 but was clearly frustrated after the loss.
If the Lakers were playing better to start the year you could chalk this game up to a bad night and brush it off. But poor play has been the norm for them through five games and even the most patient observers should start to be a bit concerned.