Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
The Lakers had their 10-game win snapped by Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP.)
The Los Angeles Lakers had a 10-game winning streak going into their home game match-up with the Dallas Mavericks.
For the last few games, I had mentioned that the Lakers suddenly had a “switch.” They feel like they can turn on the jets offensively and defensively whenever they feel like it. It just implies that they feel they’re better than the team that they’re playing against. And they have nearly lost many games this season playing that way.
It finally caught up to them. The Lakers were up by 3 at halftime. And then the Lakers had one of those quarters again in the third where they were just leaving guys open and just missing shots (and even forcing some one-on-one plays). Luka Doncic took advantage by scoring 16 points in that all-important quarter. They stopped being physical with him and let Luka do whatever he wanted.
And this has been a problem with the Lakers for the last few weeks. They relied on that “switch.” They needed a big comeback to beat Chicago. They let go of the throttle and held on against Memphis. They got off to a slow start against Sacramento and they had to come back and hold on for the victory. This time around, they got down by 21 in the second half and the switch didn’t work this time.
These are just bad habits by the Lakers. Yes, LeBron James has been through all the battles. But it doesn’t matter who they have on the roster if the team continues to have the lack of focus and complacency. They gotta get on the mindset of destroying teams and finishing them off. They’re obviously capable of doing that. They just can’t be like Randy Moss and go, “I play when I wanna play,”
If they have that mindset, the better teams will continue to jump on them while they’re not looking. There is no way a championship can be won that way.
At least, they have 62 more games to work on that this season. They’re still a league-leading 17-3. They’ll figure it out.
Bullet Passes
Not often do we focus on the team losing a game. But what about the Lakers’ opponents, the Mavericks? Like I said, it’s amazing how Luka Doncic (27-9-10 against L.A.) has made his team the #1 offense in the league. Like I said, casual watchers have no idea who is on the team outside of Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis (yeah, yeah, I know).
Doncic is averaging 30.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 9.6 assists per game. Ridiculous.
The Raptors continue to surprise people. They smacked the Utah Jazz around last night like it was a walk in the park. Toronto led Utah, 77-37, at halftime. Canada’s team means business.
Like the Raptors, the Heat continue to be surprising as well. They finished off the Nets with a 10-0 run by playing some tough defense and getting to the line. I definitely underestimated the Heat going into this season and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
The Lakers, Clippers, and Nuggets all lost in the last few days. The current longest winning streaks right now? The Bucks are at 11 and Toronto is at 7. What if this is the ECF again?!
Watch This Play
He’s affectionately known as The Time Lord. Robert Williams III throws it down in Madison Square Garden.
(VIDEO CREDIT: ERCC vids.)
That is one powerful jam.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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