I settled in and did something I haven't done enough lately: watch a Lakers game. They were playing the New Jersey Nets at home, a team that was floundering on the road. I thought it would or could be a game to build momentum off of for a .500 team.
I was wrong.
What I saw was deplorable effort for the entire second half. A team that doesn't like to play defense and aside from Anthony Davis and Lebron James, has no idea what it wants to do on offense.
Whether it was stale sets where no one was moving without the ball or just lazy, bad turnovers (14 of those), the Lakers deserved to be dog-walked right out of their own building by the Nets.
You could see the energy level dip after the 1st quarter. It was palpable. PG D'Angelo Russell scored 3 points in the second half. That's it.
The Nets shot over 50% from the field, over 40% from the 3-point line. Inexcusable.
My criticism of Lebron teams in the past is that it's always kind of been Lebron and the Lebron-ettes on offense. That was on full display last night, aside from Davis who has a true offensive game. None of the other Lakers seem to understand their role or, worse yet, how to execute it if they do know.
Ultimately the real deficiency Friday night was defensive effort and there's no magic button for a coach to push on that. You simply have to want to play defense.
It just adds up to bad basketball, and the Lakers have had their share this season. Last year they scooted into the playoffs and went on a tear all the way to Western Conference Finals. If they're banking on a switch being flipped in April, they will probably be disappointed.
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