Los Angeles Lakers struggling to close games without Lonzo Ball
With Lonzo Ball sidelined for the past two games, the Los Angeles Lakers’ fourth quarter offense has stalled in close games, resulting in double-digit losses.
Lonzo Ball has missed two games with a left shoulder sprain he suffered in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ Dec. 23 contest against the Portland Trail Blazers. He finished the game, an eventual 98-92 loss, but was ruled out for a week after growing sore the next day and will be reevaluated on Dec. 31.
I expected the Lakers to see some drop-off in their offensive production with him missing time, but their fourth quarter offense has struggled to create good shots, and watched teams race to big leads.
We’ll start with the Minnesota Timberwolves game on Christmas night. Brandon Ingram joined Lonzo on the bench with sore quadriceps, leaving the Lakers without two of their best playmakers. They lost this game 121-104, one in which they entered the fourth quarter down just three points.
Jordan Clarkson notched seven assists and Kyle Kuzma scored 31 points with some impressive passing of his own, but went cold late, scoring five points in the final 4:26 of the fourth quarter after cutting the lead to six. L.A. eventually lost by 17.
When the Lakers cut it to six, Karl Anthony-Towns blocked consecutive layup attempts as the lead stretched back to double-digits. The Lakers missed four straight 3-pointers, most of them early in the shot clock and contested.
The offense resorted to running Kuzma off screens and hoping he made a contested 3-pointer. Granted, he made six treys that game, but there was no ball movement or creativity down the stretch.
More from Los Angeles Lakers
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
- A surprise LeBron ranking should raise alarm bells for the Lakers
- Surprising Austin Reaves contract detail confirms Lakers got him for a steal
- Instant Grades for the Lakers’ unprecedented Anthony Davis extension
- Report: Lakers have big plans for recent top-10 pick amid roster shakeup
The pattern remained the same Dec. 27 for the Lakers, a 109-99 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, despite Ingram returning to the lineup to lead the Lakers with 23 points. The ball swung more with Ingram sharing ball-handling duties with Clarkson.
The Lakers cut the lead to six with two minutes left, but gave up two free throws before Ingram missed an isolation jumper from the baseline. Los Angeles was outscored 33-23 in the final frame, capping off a poor shooting night all-around.
The most interesting aspect of that fourth quarter was the Lakers playing Kuzma at the 5, something I wrote about the Lakers experimenting with Brook Lopez injured. Kuz matched up with Marc Gasol, holding his own defensively.
The Grizzlies kept Gasol away from Kuzma on defense, instead placing him on Josh Hart. Now Hart isn’t the best offensive option the Lakers have, but there’s no reason why he wasn’t fed the ball multiple times.
The lone time he touched the ball with Gasol on him resulted in a shooting foul against Gasol, who clearly was not quick enough to handle Hart.
This is an example of how Lonzo’s absence impacts the game. He searches for which teammate has the best matchup and feeds that player. I’m not saying Lonzo playing would’ve resulted in a Lakers win, but he would have recognized this mismatch and allowed Hart to go to work.
Ball may not have been the turning point in the loss to Minnesota, but the Lakers’ offense would have been more than Clarkson handling a pick-and-roll or running Kuzma off ball screens.
The Los Angeles Lakers are a young team and closing games in the NBA is a growing process, so I’m not shocked they’re losing games big late, especially without their best creator. Having a calm presence like Lonzo on the court is tough to replace when the team is this inexperienced.
Ball is expected back soon, and was starting to play some of his best basketball of the season. He’s asserting himself more frequently throughout games, and shooting much better from deep since adding more arc to his shot.
Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition
We will see if a healthy, confident Lonzo can come back to the Lakers and get their crunch time offense flowing, potentially resulting in more Lakers wins.