And just like that, the Lakers’ attempt to go 82-0 flies out the window.
It was always going to be tough for LA to go undefeated this season, particularly with a defense as porous as the one they showed on Tuesday. In a game where they shot 56.3% from the field and 39.5% from three, the Lakers allowed Portland to hit 59% of its shots and half of their 36 threes.
Not ideal!
But, at the same time, not a surprise. Jokes aside, a loss was going to come and likely soon. The Lakers can learn from this. It’s
still just the fourth game for a mostly new roster. They still have plenty to figure out.
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.
Matisse Thybulle
21 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 3 turnovers, 2-5 FG, 1-4 3PT, -12
A pretty ho-hum game from Thybulle. For those wanting to argue taking him out of the starting lineup, a performance like that helps their case.
A common theme in these is to not overreact to one game. But Thybulle has to bounce back.
Grade: D
Ziaire Williams
28 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 4-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT, -3
On the flip side, this was a really good Williams game. He was active on both ends and had a couple of nifty moves on fastbreaks to set up teammates for easier finishes.
Grade: B+
Walker Kessler
32 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 6-9 FG, 1-4 FT, +3
It was a pretty underwhelming first half followed by a decent second half. There’s going to be a greater emphasis placed on his production with Kevon Looney struggling so much, which isn’t entirely fair to him.
But he also just has to be better.
Grade: C-
Austin Reaves
39 minutes, 26 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 fouls, 8-13 FG, 4-8 3PT, 6-7 FT, +0
Another consistent, strong game from Reaves, who has made a habit of that so far. It goes a bit under the radar because of Luka’s recent explosions, but Austin is now averaging 26.5 points per game on 63.3% shooting.
The defense wasn’t great, though, which will knock him a bit.
Grade: A-
Luka Dončić
36 minutes, 41 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers, 12-22 FG, 6-15 3PT, 11-13 FT, +7
Another fantastic Luka game that wasn’t enough. His shotmaking remains unmatched in the league. The Blazers resorted to faceguarding him down the stretch the moment he crossed half court and it still didn’t matter.
Grade: A+
Quentin Grimes
18 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 1-4 FG, 0-3 3PT, -10
If there was a night for him to have a strong game, this would have been the one. With Thybulle struggling, a big Grimes showing would have increased the noise for him to start.
Instead, he struggled and was turning down open shots at the end of the game. Finding the best role for him off the bench will be one of the challenges in the coming weeks.
Grade: D
Sandro Mamukelashvili
24 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 6-9 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, +6
This was easily the best Mamu game of the season. He hit a pair of big threes at the end of the second and then was at the center of a big run in the second half. He justly closed the game in this one.
Grade: A-
Jake LaRavia
19 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 steals, 4 fouls, 2-2 FG, 1-1 3PT, -10
As good as his season started, this was an outlier. Truly, this was a woeful game.
His four fouls were all of the frustrating variety. One was on a Deni Avdija drive to give him two free throws, one was 94 feet from the basket with the player falling out of bounds and with the Blazers in the bonus and the last two were on 3-pointers.
Ten free throws on four fouls. Efficiency, but in the worst possible way.
Grade: F
Collin Sexton
13 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers, 4-11 FG, 0-5 3PT, 1-2 FT, -8
A weird stat line that doesn’t really tell the whole story. A pair of backdoor cuts where Luka found him for layups saved his stat line from looking much worse.
I’m not going to be too harsh on Sexton yet because he didn’t have a preseason that everyone else had.
Grade: C
Kevon Looney
Unplayable. Next.
JJ Redick
I originally wanted to give him credit for going to Mamu to close the game, but as I wrote out these grades, I realized everyone else on the bench had pretty rough nights.
He at least won his first challenge in this one, even if it was very obvious. But there wasn’t much else to break down. He only played Looney five minutes, but maybe it’s time to at least try something else.
Grade: B
Tuesday’s DNPs: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, Arthur Kaluma, Jarred Vanderbilt
Tuesday’s inactives: Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero, AK Okereke, Chris Mañon
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
