Turns out the Lakers won’t be going 80-2 this season.
Even if their win streak wasn’t going to last forever, there were more ceremonious ways for it to end. But even if the Lakers knew firsthand the dangers
of playing against a severely undermanned team, they certainly overlooked the Hawks on Saturday and paid a hefty price.
This loss, then, falls somewhere between “Oh well, it happens” and “How could you let this happen?” These types of games are part of every season even for the best of teams. But for the purple and gold to have been on the other end of this so recently, it’s a bit of a headscratcher that this was still a lesson they needed to learn the hard way, apparently.
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.
Luka Dončić
27 minutes, 22 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers, 2 fouls, 7-17 FG, 4-10 3PT, 4-6 FT, -21
As I scan the box score postgame, a lot of the stat lines for players are more flattering than their performance.
This was a pretty frustrating game from Luka. After going 9-27 from the field against the Spurs, Luka’s shot was still missing in this one. What was more frustrating, though, were the five turnovers. It was a mixture of really wild pass attempts and annoying giveaways.
A perfect microcosm of this game was Luka pulling up from the logo for a 3-pointer, then Rui Hachimura having a shot the next possession to make it a seven-point game late in the second quarter. Instead, a pair of 3-pointers from the Hawks made it a 14-point game going into the locker room.
Just an annoying game
Grade: C-
Marcus Smart
21 minutes, 5 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT, -23
Not nearly as fun of a Smart game in this one. No one was making much of an impact defensively and he wasn’t doing much offensively, either.
Grade: C
Deandre Ayton
20 minutes, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 5-5 FG, 1-1 FT, -15
For a lot of that first half, Ayton was about the only non-frustrating Laker. He was battling underneath to do what he could.
Atlanta’s offense pulled him away from the rim defensively and the team took advantage of that with a lot of back cuts to the rim. Not having him there to deter players in the paint was definitely noticeable.
Grade: B-
Rui Hachimura
23 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 3-9 FG, 2-3 3PT, -28
And with this performance, Rui has had his first game below 50% shooting and it felt every bit like it.
While he knocked down his long-range shots, his mid-range game was definitely off. He was short-rimming a lot of shots and it was one of those games where you really wanted him getting to the rim more if his jumper wasn’t falling.
Grade: D+
Jake LaRavia
23 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-5 FT, -23
I’m not sure there’s a more deceiving stat line than LaRavia’s. He found himself under the rim a couple of times for his misses, a too-common theme early in the year. Defensively, he was really exposed by those backcuts from the Hawks, though he definitely wasn’t alone in that.
Grade: D-
Jaxson Hayes
17 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 2-4 FG, -11
Much like Ayton, being pulled away from rim meant he wasn’t around to stop anyone at the rabbit. He really only had one notable offensive play, finishing a lob in the second half. Outside of that, a very quiet game.
Grade: C
Dalton Knecht
25 minutes, 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 5-11 FG, 2-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, +4
And thus begins the players who played in garbage time, so these stats come with the biggest asterisk. I’m basically throwing out anything about those stats.
When the game mattered, Knecht was among the worst about giving up looks at the rim. He’s still very far away from being a competent defender and tonight was a reminder.
Grade: D
Jarred Vanderbilt
28 minutes, 12 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-9 FG, 1-2 3PT, 3-3 FT, +2
You can’t discredit an 18-rebound performance too much, even if it came in garbage time. But 10 of his points and seven of his rebounds came in the fourth quarter. Still, an 11-rebound game is nice.
However, he was also someone who was trying to do way too much offensively, too. He had some wild plays and while you can appreciate him forcing the issue on a night when not much was going, you’d like it to be someone else with more of an offensive game.
Still, it’s a 12-point, 18-rebound game, so…
Grade: B+
Nick Smith Jr.
23 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-8 FG, 1-4 3PT, +8
For as much as Smith gave in that Portland win, you saw a lot of the bad that comes with that chucking playstyle. There were many possessions that ended with an ill-advised Smith jumper even before the game got out of reach.
This was a good reminder of why he was available to sign on a two-way deal, even if he also remains very talented.
Grade: D
Bronny James
18 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 4-6 FG, 1-2 3PT, +4
The majority of his production came in the fourth quarter, so there wasn’t much to write home about in this one.
Grade: C+
Maxi Kleber
14 minutes, 1 point, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, +3
If you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s that Kleber had a chance in a low-stakes game to shake off the rust. But that’s about all he did in this one.
Grade: C
JJ Redick
I can’t imagine JJ told the players to overlook the Hawks in this one. Judging by some of the postgame comments from players, it sure seems like he warned them of this. With six guys out, his hands are pretty limited in options to turn to off the bench. He played everyone he had available even before garbage time.
He gets some bonus points for the brevity of his press conference. Not many though. You don’t get a high grade as a coach when the team does that.
Grade: C-
Saturday’s inactives: Chris Mañon, LeBron James, Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves, Christian Koloko, Adou Thiero
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on BlueSky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
