Lakers' loss just latest collapse in close game
EL SEGUNDO » While the Lakers had never lost a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter before, in fact never in their franchise history, something about Monday night's meltdown against the Indiana Pacers felt numbingly familiar.
Missed shots on iffy offensive possessions. Miscommunication on defense. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook forcing late attempts, while Anthony Davis hardly touched the ball in the closing minutes.
The Lakers (7-12) are 19 games into the season, but they are still struggling with some of the same problems.
Even the language the team used Tuesday afternoon, after yet another harsh film session on the heels of a close loss felt like going back in time. It was easy to get the sense from coach Darvin Ham — who publicly claimed accountability for the loss despite players acknowledging it was also on them — that the mistakes revealed in the review weren't new ways to fail.
“A bunch of head nods,” he said. “A bunch of guys chiming in and just constructively criticizing ourselves and seeing where we could get better. That's the biggest thing just to turn this thing around. It could be like a whole lot worse.”
It could also be better. Much better. In NBA data, “clutch” games are defined as games within five points with five minutes to go. The Lakers are 2-5 in such games, and their minus-43.2 rating is the worst in the entire league.
That puts them behind inexperienced teams like the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons, despite having three experienced players who have seen reams of close game situations.
There's a lot that goes into that lastplace designation, highlighted by the shortcomings against Indiana. But the one that sticks out given the Lakers' recent success is another game in which the team couldn't figure out how to produce shots for Davis, who had four touches in the last three minutes according to NBA tracking data.
In his last six games, Davis is averaging 32 points on 63.8% shooting and is 86.6% at the free-throw line on more than 11 attempts per game. So why is the ball so often out of his hands? That has a more complicated answer, players and coaches said, including Myles Turner's fronting defense on Davis that took away certain post-up looks and blitzes on the pick-and-roll that forced the ball from his hands. But Ham said in rewatching the game in real time, he saw opportunities where the team, including through his play calls, could have involved Davis more.
“Just to move him around like we've done,” he said. “Whether we're calling a post-up for him. Calling him up in the pick-and-roll. Throwing the ball to him. Having someone come screen for him. Getting him involved in dribble hand-offs. There's a variety of ways. We have enough things in our package where we can get him touches frequently.”