Another game, another loss for the Los Angeles Lakers.
With Anthony Davis ruled out of their Friday contest versus the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a lower back ailment, the Lakers were up against it from the start going up against Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Los Angeles fought hard throughout, showing good energy and effort on the defensive end. But their anemic, disjointed offense was its downfall once again, 111-102.
Although its 3-point shooting, its major weakness, trickled up to 31.0 percent, it shot just 41.6% from the field, and its 22 turnovers led to 22 fast-break points for Minnesota.
In the end, the Lakers simply lacked enough size to contain the Timberwolves, as Gobert had 22 points and 21 rebounds and Towns put up 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
LeBron James: B-minus
James was a little more aggressive tonight than on Wednesday, but he shot 10-of-24 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3-point range. He finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Without Davis, the Lakers needed a big game from James, and he simply fell a bit short of that type of production.
Troy Brown Jr.: A-minus
Brown gave the Lakers a lift offensively by going 4-of-6 from downtown and scoring 12 points while adding eight rebounds. There were also times when he played effective defense on his man.
Damian Jones: B-plus
Jones started in place of Anthony Davis, and he showed fairly good energy and hustle. He grabbed eight rebounds and recorded one blocked shot in 24 minutes.
Unfortunately, when teammates looked to set him up offensively off a pass, those passes often resulted in turnovers.
Patrick Beverley: B
Beverley had his first decent game offensively; he finished with six points on 2-of-4 shooting and four assists, to go along with six rebounds.
Lonnie Walker IV: D
Walker struggled throughout this game, hitting just 3-of-10 from the field and missing all four of his 3-point attempts. But he helped out with three assists and one blocked shot.
This may be what Lakers fans can expect from him all season long: a couple of good games from him, followed by one or two bad shooting games.
Russell Westbrook: B-minus
After missing Wednesday’s game with a bad hamstring, Westbrook returned to action and came off the bench for head coach Darvin Ham.
In the first half and the third quarter, he played very well. He was efficient and under control offensively while helping to increase the tempo for L.A. He also showed solid effort on the defensive end, as he notched one steal and one block.
But Westbrook’s results evaporated in the fourth quarter. He finished just 6-of-17 from the field and 5-of-10 from the free-throw line for 18 points, to go along with eight rebounds and three assists while committing five turnovers.
Wenyen Gabriel: A
Gabriel’s energy was palpable throughout his 21 minutes, and he got plenty of results.
His active hands led to three steals and two blocks, while he gobbled up six rebounds and made 3-of-6 shots to finish with eight points.
Austin Reaves: A
Reaves was 4-of-5 overall and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, as he finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes. He showed good poise, as he turned down contested 3-pointers off the catch and instead elected to drive the ball to the basket and put pressure on Minnesota’s defense.
Kendrick Nunn: B-minus
After three bad games in a row, Nunn was adequate tonight, going 4-of-9 overall and 1-of-4 from downtown for nine points in 12 minutes while committing only one turnover.
As he continues to get back in game shape after missing all of last season with a bone bruise in his knee, perhaps his outside shot will start to heat up in the coming weeks.
