If it feels like déjà vu all over again when it comes to another Lakers loss, you’re not alone. The purple and gold are quickly developing a habit of losing games to teams with quick, athletic guards, and they do so in pretty convincing fashion.
Save for a brief run in the fourth quarter, the Lakers were more or less completely out of this one. They trailed by double digits for most of the last three quarters and simply could not get enough stops to mount a serious charge.
It didn’t help that they
were also struggling shooting the ball, allowing the Spurs to get out in transition and punish them, too. Add all that up and you have a loss that felt pretty familiar this season.
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
36 minutes, 19 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 7-14 FG, 0-3 3PT, 5-6 FT, -16
For the first time this season, the Lakers really went to a small ball lineup, which might be a sign of LeBron really coming along. It was also a sign of how poorly the Lakers’ bigs were playing, but more on that later.
As for LeBron, while he didn’t have his 3-point shot going, he did have his hops and had a highlight reel dunk. Unfortunately, that dunk also came immediately before a horrible close to the half by the Lakers, too.
Grade: B
Rui Hachimura
31 minutes, 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-4 FG, 2-3 3PT, +5
A fairly pedestrian game from Rui. He was quiet offensively for most of the game and while I thought he was one of the few defenders who weren’t awful, he wasn’t necessarily great either.
Grade: C
Deandre Ayton
26 minutes, 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 5-9 FG, 1-2 FT, -10
This was one of the lesser impactful games from Ayton on both ends of the floor. Offensively, the struggles he had a handful of floaters but never really felt like he found a groove. Defensively, the Spurs were pulling him away out to the perimter with their spacing centers, meaning there was no rim protection and leaving him with little else to do.
Grade: B-
Austin Reaves
40 minutes, 15 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 6-16 FG, 2-6 3PT, 1-1 FT, -5
Another poor Austin showing where he, again, looked tired. In each of the last two games, he’s also had to chase around young guards defensively. Are those two things related? It sure feels like it!
Grade: D
Luka Dončić
41 minutes, 35 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 11-24 FG, 3-8 3PT, 10-14 FT, -2
Luka has the gift that LeBron has in that he could put up absolutely gaudy stat lines and it also still feel like a bad game. Much of that came because of his defensive approach, which was bad. He and Austin each had five fouls as lots of the fears about them defensively were realized in this one.
Grade: C
Gabe Vincent
14 minutes, 3 fouls, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, -7
This was the fewest minutes of the season for Vincent, which feels notable. Perhaps it was simply the result of Marcus Smart’s big night and him getting more minutes, but also there’s not a lot of utility for Vincent when Smart is available.
Grade: F
Marcus Smart
28 minutes, 26 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 9-16 FG, 8-14 3PT, +2
What a waste by the Lakers. It was an unbelievable night from Smart and the fact it came in the loss is a tough pill to swallow. But it’s very encouraging that, after six games off, Smart walked into this one and didn’t miss a beat.
Grade: A+
Jaxson Hayes
12 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 foul, 1-1 FG, -10
This was a pretty woeful game from Hayes. He was out of position often on the night, had a really frustrating contest at the rim and really was just a complete non-factor.
Grade: D-
Jake LaRavia, Adou Thiero, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht
A staggeringly bad game from LaRavia, who only played nine minutes. That saved him from the F grade he earned.
The rest of the players came on in garbage time.
JJ Redick
How much do you ding Redick for the roster he has, which has pretty clear faults? He still deserves to take some flack because Vincent played 14 minutes, but the Lakers’ bench has lots of problems that need addressing.
Grade: C-
Wednesday’s DNPs: Jarred Vanderbilt
Wednesday’s inactives: Maxi Kleber, Drew Timme, Nick Smith Jr., Chris Manon
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
