Lakers’ Uneven Season Continues In Loss To Shorthanded Mavs

The Los Angeles Lakers’ momentum came to a screeching halt on Tuesday night, falling 118-97 to the wildly shorthanded Dallas Mavericks, dropping LA to 0-2 on their Texas road trip.

After a heart-wrenching 119-115 loss to the Houston Rockets earlier in the week, the Lakers now sit at No. 6 in the Western Conference, down from No. 4 when they began the trip. They had been riding high with eight wins in their previous 11 games, but the recent struggles have exposed vulnerabilities, even after upgrading their roster.

“It sucks, obviously, especially knowing where we were and how well we’ve been playing,” LeBron James said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

The Lakers entered the trip with hopes of building on a recent stretch, having acquired Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-round picks.

But things are as uneven now as they were before the trade.

Against Houston, the Lakers trailed by as many as 22 points in the first half and were never able to fully recover, eventually losing to a Rockets team missing top young player, Jabari Smith Jr. The loss to the Mavericks on Tuesday was even more perplexing, considering the Mavs were without their two stars — Luka Doncic (calf strain) and Kyrie Irving (back injury).

Dallas, despite missing those key players, outscored the Lakers 63-47 in the second half, pulling away to secure the win.

“Obviously, they killed us with any iso stuff,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “They shot 52.3% from the field and nearly as well from 3-point range, going 18-for-38 (47.4%).”

The Lakers’ defense has been a concern for much of the season, and on Tuesday night, it was exposed once again. James, who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, credited Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd — a former Lakers assistant — for orchestrating a great game plan.

Specifically, Kidd directed his players to target Austin Reaves in isolation situations, and the results were evident.

“I felt like they just put people in pick-and-roll who they wanted in pick-and-roll and they tried to exploit matchups,” James said. “And when we got into rotations, we didn’t make enough second efforts.”

Reaves, who scored 15 points but shot just 5-for-14 from the field (4-for-11 from 3), took accountability for his poor performance.

“The first half was god-awful,” Reaves said. “The second half I thought was better. But I can’t allow that. I was just really, really bad on both sides of the ball tonight.”

Anthony Davis, who has been the Lakers’ most consistent performer this season, didn’t fare much better. He finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds but shot just 7-for-18 from the field and struggled to make an impact defensively.

Redick pointed to the missed layups and easy baskets at the rim as part of the problem. Dallas outscored the Lakers 52-40 in the paint, an area where the Lakers had hoped to dominate with Davis anchoring the defense.

Davis, clearly frustrated with his performance, declined to speak to the media after the game.

Finney-Smith, who had a solid game, suggested the Lakers could have used more vocal leadership, especially on defense. He pointed to the lack of communication and the need for better help defense, particularly when Reaves was getting targeted in the pick-and-roll.

“We got to do a better job of talking behind guys, giving them confidence so defenders can crawl up in ball handlers and force them to the rim,” Finney-Smith said. “And we got AD down there, so we got to use it.”

Basically, it’s clear the Lakers have work to do. While they’ve flashes of brilliance this season, the inconsistencies on defense and missed opportunities at the rim have been glaring issues. They’ll return to Los Angeles for their next eight games, starting with a home matchup against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.

James, who has been around long enough to know the grind of an NBA season, kept things in perspective.

“We got another game in, s—, less than 48 hours,” James said. “So, we can’t really dwell on it too much. That’s the name of the game in the NBA. You see what you could’ve done better, but you got to get ready for the next opponent.”

It’s a sentiment that the Lakers must carry with them as they try to regroup and get back on track.