After a tough loss against the New York Knicks, the Lakers (29-19) look to redeem themselves against the Brooklyn Nets (13-35) on Tuesday. This is the last stop in their Grammy road trip.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles
Lakers vs. Brooklyn Nets
When: 4:30 p.m. PT, Feb. 3
Where: Barclays Center
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet
The Lakers were once again confronted with some harsh realities in Sunday’s loss against the Knicks:
- They’re not going to win many games whenever they shoot 12-45 (28.6%) from the 3-point line
- Losing one quarter by a wide margin can significantly affect the game’s outcome
- They have a tough time against opponents who rebound the ball well
- Their struggles against teams above .500 continue (9-11) has become a concern
Frankly, these points have been reccurring issues throughout the season and the purple and gold have shown very little to no signs of improving. Whether that’s because of roster construction, injuries, JJ Redick’s coaching, players underperforming or everything at once, it’s fair to say that the Lakers won’t go far if these issues continue.
In fact, after the annoying loss to New York, Los Angeles fell to seventh in the competitive Western Conference standings which, as we all know, is play-in territory. This didn’t last long thanks to the Suns’ loss a few hours after, but it’s a warning on what can happen if they don’t start stringing some wins.
Luckily for them, they’ll have a good chance of improving their record right away when they take on a rebuilding Nets team on Tuesday. The Nets are pretty much Michael Porter Jr’s team right now along with a bunch of serviceable role players like Cam Thomas, Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton. They can be competitive at times but truth to be told, there’s no reason for the Lakers to lose to them.
Now in jeopardy of being a play-in team, this has become sort of a must-win game for the purple and gold. They can’t lose games like this anymore, especially with seven of their next 10 games coming against teams above .500. The Nets are one of the very few teams in the league with a bottom-tier offensive and defensive rating. They don’t shoot and rebound the ball well. If there’s a group that’s worse than the Lakers in pretty much everything, it’s them.
The goal is to make sure MPJ — who is averaging 25.6 points a game — doesn’t go off. Same goes with Claxton, who shouldn’t dominate the boards and in the paint against Deandre Ayton. If the Lakers can manage to make sure the Nets don’t have an anomaly type of shooting performance or feast inside the paint, then they should be able to handle them.
The Lakers should also use this as another “get right” game before they head home and their schedule gets tougher. Their biggest competitors will be themselves, especially if their offense underperforms again. Hopefully, the team that shows up is the one that’s determined to close their road trip on a winning note and is serious about being a competitive playoff team this season.
Let’s see if the Lakers can do just that on Tuesday.
Notes and Updates
- The Lakers’ injury report lists Bronny James Jr., (left lower leg soreness) and Austin Reaves (left calf strain) are questionable.
- Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) is out.
- For the Nets, Haywood Highsmith (right knee surgery) is out and Noah Clowney (lower back sprain) is probable.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
