Even under the best of circumstances, the Lakers probably came into Saturday’s game feeling a bit run down. An unorthodox schedule means they’re amidst a four-game road trip where the longest trip is Utah
with multiple stops in Phoenix. But more often than not, they’re spending nights back in LA, even if they’re not playing in Crypto.com Arena.
And not playing at home has been a common theme for the Lakers. With one more stop on this “road trip,” the Lakers will head into their Christmas Day game having played 16 times on the road, most in the league, to just 10 home games, second-fewest. Only one team has played fewer than their 10 home games and no one has traveled more than the Lakers.
The Lakers also aren’t in the best of circumstances now, either. By the end of Saturday’s game, they were down four starters with Luka Dončić exiting at halftime with a left leg contusion.
None of that is to explain away LA’s loss to the Clippers. They did plenty on their own to lose the game, highlighted by a historically bad 3-point shooting performance. But it does add some context to a loss where the Lakers started slow, were forced to play catch up and, despite fighting all the way through the fourth, never got out of that hole.
It was a frustrating, if maybe understandable, defeat.
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
38 minutes, 36 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 15-28 FG, 3-7 3PT, 3-5 FT, -6
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of this game was how good LeBron looked. He played well into the fourth — perhaps a few too many minutes, even — but was engaged throughout, even diving on the floor for a loose ball as the Lakers were trying to come back.
Grade: A
Jake LaRavia
37 minutes, 12 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 fouls, 5-11 FG, 0-4 3PT, 2-4 FT, -23
This is another instance where I came away from this game thinking LaRavia played well, but his plus-minus surely doesn’t back that up. Still, a double-double as a wing is impressive, as is his six assists.
Grade: B+
Jaxson Hayes
31 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 3-4 FG, 2-2 FT, -13
On a night when Ivica Zubac left early in the game and the Clippers either played Brook Lopez or no center, you’d hope he’d be able to get more rebounds and have more of an impact at the rim.
Grade: C+
Marcus Smart
31 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 1-12 FG, 0-9 3PT, 3-3 FT, -10
While I appreciate his willingness to shoot on a night when the Lakers had to get shots up with so many players out, somewhere around the fifth or sixth or seventh missed 3-pointer, maybe a light bulb should have gone off and perhaps he should have stopped shooting.
Grade: D+
Dalton Knecht
13 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, -4
These are the games where you’d hope Dalton could come in and give the team a boost offensively. But there’s a growing list of games in which he hasn’t done that. The days for Dalton sure seem to be numbered.
Grade: C-
Jarred Vanderbilt
27 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 1-4 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-4 FT, -14
Vando did a little bit of everything, both positive and negative, on Saturday. I think the point of diminishing return comes somewhere around 15-20 minutes for Vanderbilt and then things start to go haywire.
But the Lakers really didn’t have any choice but to play him on Saturday, so it resulted in some adventorous moments, whether it be missed layups and offensive rebounds or over-zealousness defensively.
Grade: C+
Maxi Kleber
16 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 block, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, +1
Given where his 3-point jumper is now, both in his actual form and his willingness to shoot it, it’s hard to believe that Kleber once shot 41% from range in a season. It turns out, Kleber’s season may have peaked in that Utah game.
Grade: D-
Nick Smith Jr.
22 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 4-11 FG, 1-5 3PT, +0
Given how much the Lakers lack in offensive firepower off the bench, I think it’s time for NSJ to get more of a look. I’m fine with moving him above multiple people in the rotation, even on a night when he wasn’t even all that efficient.
Grade: B-
Adou Thiero
I would have definitely preferred Thiero to get more minutes tonight. It felt like a game made for him to get extended action with the team shorthanded and needing a spark for most of the contest.
Saturday’s inactives: Chris Mañon, Deandre Ayton, Austin Reaves, Drew Timme, Bronny James, Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
