The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns, 115-105 on Friday night to start the NBA season 0-2.
After losing all six pre-season games, the Lakers have started the season in similar fashion. Back to back defeats. First to the Warriors and last night to the Phoenix Suns in a terrible performance. It’s tough to say what the real issue is. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still playing at a high level. The rest of the team just isn’t. The Lakers were unable to defend against Chris Paul or fashion out any effective plays. For long stretches, there was a sense of confusion about what they needed to do. This defeat meant they dropped to 0-2 to start this season.
However, during a first half timeout something happened. Lakers big men, Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis got into an altercation in the bench area. Some shoving and pushing that needed to be quickly de-escalated by the players and staff. The Lakers were disappointing for most of the game. They came alive in a fourth quarter that saw the Suns rest some of their stars. LeBron James scored 25 points but the Suns were dominant in a rematch of the first-round playoff series from NBA’s last season.
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Adding 12 new players to a roster isn’t always a quick fix. This is going to take a long process to get these players up to the level they may be capable of reaching. It may be early days but more defeats like this one will mean the Lakers struggle to build the chemistry and winning mentality needed to make an effective title push.
