In Los Angeles’ opening night game against Golden State, the Lakers were down by just one at the half. For diehard fans of the Lakers, what happened next was as predictable as the Sun coming up in the morning.
The Warriors started the third quarter on a 17-4 run and completely took over the game
. When play resumed, it was more of the same. Only Luka Dončić showed up offensively to start the second half, scoring the team’s first seven points.The first non-Luka points didn’t come until the 5:29 mark
in the period. By then, the Lakers trailed by 14 points.
Now, the Warriors are a very good team. So, losing a third quarter to them by itself is not cause for concern. What is concerning is that this happens to the Lakers regardless of their opponent or the situation.
“The trend I see is that we continue to be a terrible third quarter team, head coach JJ Redick said postgame. “That was last year, that was the preseason. Got to rethink some things. It’s a two-way thing with the guys. What do they need to have time to make sure they’re ready to play? They’re not ready to play to start the third quarter.”
In the preseason, the Lakers were outscored 201-136 across six games in the third quarter. Those cumulative numbers aren’t inflated by a bad game here or there. LA lost the third quarter in five of the six preseason games they played.
The only contest where they won the third was against the Kings and they won that time by just one point.
Now we have evidence of poor third quarter performances in games that matter, as demonstrated by the Lakers’ display on Tuesday against the Warriors.
This isn’t a new trend discovered during this new year. It’s an issue that has been happening for years.
“We’ve just been bad in third quarters,” Austin Reaves said. “Last couple of years for sure. But I think ever since I’ve been here, we’ve had a problem with third quarters. So just got figure out a way to come out with a little more energy. First thing JJ talked about after [the game] was just figuring out a way to be better in the third quarter and that’s on us players. That’s not on the coaches. They come in and give us what we need to give us the answers to the test. We just didn’t go out and execute. So that’s on us. We have to be better.”
Last season, the Lakers were outscored by 35 across the five playoff games they had against the Wolves. During the regular season, they were -124 in the third quarter. That was the eighth-worst point differential in the NBA.
“We talk about it,” Rui Hachimura said. “It’s been like this probably since I got here, too. It’s something that we have problems with, the 3rd quarter. I think it’s a mind thing. We got to lock in as a team. We have to be ready to play basketball from the start of the third quarter. I think as a team, we have to lock in. We might have to meet as the players and then kind of talk before the third quarter or something so we can figure it out.”
With a regular season game, all of preseason, last year’s regular season and playoffs as evidence, it’s clear the third period is a problem for the Lakers.
So, what’s the solution?
Is it making lineup changes? Should Redick alter the rotations during the third? Does this fall on the players just not being as sharp after the break in action?
The answer is unclear, but the problem is evident. One way or another, Los Angeles has to fix it, and that involves everyone involved looking in the mirror, taking responsibility and action.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
