In context, this was a pretty understandable loss for the Lakers. Amidst a tough portion of the schedule with some notable injuries, it wasn’t a shock to see the Lakers come up short on Saturday against the Blazers.
But context or not, the losses are really starting to pile up for the Lakers. They’ve lost five of their last six and nine of their last 14. After sitting at 19-7 and battling for the No. 2 seed just weeks ago, the Lakers are now 24-16 and only percentage points above the play-in as the No. 6 seed.
The loss lines up pretty directly with the loss of Austin Reaves, but those excuses mean little. The losses are piling up and the Lakers are falling down the standings with Saturday being no different.
So, let’s dive into the loss. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
LeBron James
32 minutes, 20 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers, 2 fouls, 6-16 FG, 1-3 3PT, 7-7 FT, -16
Considering the Herculean ask of him to carry this team at 41 years old and the slow start he had, this turned out to be a decent game. He was getting beaten a bit defensively but a largely acceptable performance.
Grade: B
Jake LaRavia
28 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT, -10
A night where you wanted a bit more out of LaRavia ends with him injuring his arm and ending the game on the bench. It didn’t sound serious, fortunately, but it also didn’t take away from another quiet night when the Lakers needed him.
Grade: C
Maxi Kleber
21 minutes, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 4-8 FG, 1-2 3PT, 2-2 FT, -19
What a pleasant surprise of a first quarter that was from Kleber. He didn’t really continue his performance after that, but that one quarter was pretty fun.
Grade: B-
Marcus Smart
25 minutes, 25 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 9-17 FG, 4-6 3PT, 3-5 FT, -14
Speaking of pleasant surprises, Smart was arguably the best Laker on the floor in this one. He definitely filled the scoring void as well as he could.
Grade: A
Gabe Vincent
23 minutes, 3 points, 1 assist, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 1-6 FG, 1-4 3PT, +4
Vincent, meanwhile, did not fill the scoring void at all. And it was really brutal, particularly when he opened the second half with a blocked 3-pointer.
Grade: F
Rui Hachimura
19 minutes, 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 fouls, 4-7 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT, -11
Rui finding his shooting stroke after his return from injury was a positive from this game. Given the minutes restriction he remains under, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he doesn’t play on Sunday.
Grade: B
Nick Smith Jr.
10 minutes, 5 points, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT, -5
This wasn’t nearly as fun as NSJ’s last game in Portland, I must say.
Grade; D
Drew Timme
29 minutes, 21 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 9-12 FG, 3-4 3PT, -2
After hardly getting any run since signing his two-way deal, Timme finally got a chance and looked really good. It’s unclear how much room there is for him in the rotation, but with a game like this, it’s at least worth consideration.
Grade: A
Jarred Vanderbilt
18 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-3 FG, -10
A fairly mundane game from Vando. While he’s earned his way back into the rotation, it hasn’t felt like he’s reached the level of impact he had as a starter in LA’s playoff run.
Grade: B-
Kobe Bufkin
22 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2 fouls, 3-8 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, +0
A better showing from Bufkin in this game, though still not a great one. The Lakers had a lot of guards on the bench in this one and none of them really impressed.
Bronny James, Dalton Knecht
Bronny got some actual rotation minutes in this one in the first half. He didn’t look great in them, but that’s something at least. As for Dalton, two different two-way guards and Bronny all played over him, so it might be over.
JJ Redick
Redick tried all he could in this, playing some zone defense and giving some minutes to different players. But when you have 10 players and two of them are bigs, there isn’t a lot of strings he can realistically pull.
Monday’s DNPs: Chris Mañon
Monday’s inactives: Deandre Ayton, Luka Dončić, Jaxson Hayes, Austin Reaves, Adou Thiero
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
