The bar for the Lakers to look functional on Friday night was remarkably low, with a pair of unimaginably bad losses in Minnesota and Miami making “don’t be shy” the only hurdle the Lakers had to clear.
But the goals are higher even after two brutal performances.
The Lakers, while technically 70 points behind the Timberwolves and Heat, have shown that they can be a winning team, a team that can pass the ball around, can shoot, and on occasion can be a team that can reliably defend.
“Consistency is probably the frustrating part,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. “It’s consistency because the group has shown they can do it. The guys showed that they have what it takes. It’s just consistency for everything.”
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Against the suddenly hot Hawks, the Lakers showed that they can actually do the things necessary to win. And they did so many things that usually cause teams to lose.
But winning doesn’t require perfection—just advantage. And the Lakers couldn’t finish with either one.
Their 134-132 overtime loss was filled with things they did well and crucial mistakes that meant they would walk away with a loss.
With the Lakers up by one in overtime, Anthony Davis’ pass to LeBron James was too casual and Dyson Daniels lined up in front of it for a steal, with no defenders between him and the basket on the layup. But James, like so many times before, caught the game from behind, the game-saving shot tipping the rim back to the Lakers just a little bit.
But the Lakers couldn’t get the ball cleanly, and Atlanta forced a Davis draw and got the ball after the ball went wide of James’ goal.
On a play at the line, the one player on the court the Lakers didn’t want to get open, Trae Young, got open and hit a 3-pointer. James’ last chance to turn the game around once more and the Lakers lost for the seventh time in nine games.
“I don’t know what’s going to get us over the hump,” said a clearly frustrated James. “We just mustn’t drown. Don’t drown and we’ll be fine.”
In an effort to get more physicality on the court, Redick moved D’Angelo Russell back to the bench and started Gabe Vincent. Austin Reaves remained out, recovering from a back/pelvic injury that cost him four games in Los Angeles.
“I think we can be better. The energy, the effort, the physicality – I think we took a huge step tonight, but I think we’re capable of a lot more,” said Vincent. “We’re still not whole. We can definitely be better.”
Vincent responded with his best game as a Laker, scoring 12 points and playing the kind of defense the Lakers wanted. But he and Davis miscommunicated on a switch at the top of the key that led to Young’s open game-winner, crushing the Lakers on a night when they played mostly good basketball.
“Broken,” Redick said. “…I left it open.”
James scored 39 points to go with 10 rebounds and 11 assists while hitting six of 11 from three. Davis had 38 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, rebounding from a miserable game in Miami.
“If we continue to bring that mentality that we had tonight,” Davis said, “we’ll be fine.”
The Lakers, who have been in a mindless slump for most of the last two weeks after a heartbreaking loss to Orlando and a mental loss to familiar foe Denver, found a real rhythm early in the second half. They unleashed a 13-0 run on the Hawks, flying down the court, getting stops in turnovers on offense, James even hitting a one-footed 3-pointer, his shooting drought seemingly resolved.
But as soon as they did, they allowed Atlanta to make three straight 3-pointers, dashing any hope of going all the way.
And in the fourth quarter, the execution and decision-making of the team was good. Until it wasn’t.
It wasn’t until the final minutes that the Lakers tried to bleed the clock by running the ball, the shot clock not yet running. Daniels hustled for the ball and Davis jumped in front of him for a screen foul.
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Daniels scored on the next possession to put the Hawks up. The Lakers scored twice late to tie the game and Max Christie blocked Young’s potential game-winner to send the game into overtime.
On Friday, the Lakers did not let themselves be embarrassed. But they didn’t win either. The bar was undoubtedly lowered on this trip, with the Lakers forced to find silver linings after their opponent made more big plays than they did.
“I told the group that I appreciated their effort, their intent, their energy. And really, a lot of their executions,” Redick said. “We did enough to win the basketball game. Like in Orlando, like in Oklahoma City, I thought we did enough to win a basketball game. And I appreciate that very much.
“And you can build on that. You can edit and plan and maybe tweak some things, late game. Something to build on.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.