The Lakers felt good about their beginning lineup Thursday when Luka Doncic and Rui Hachimura returned from damage to revive their regular beginning unit for under the seventh time this season.
However the good instances didn’t final lengthy. Popping out of halftime down 10 factors to the Houston Rockets, the Lakers introduced Austin Reaves wouldn’t play within the second half due to left calf soreness.
With one other obvious setback for Reaves including to the Lakers’ determined seek for continuity, the crew put up one other inconsistent efficiency on protection in a 119-96 loss to the Rockets at Crypto.com Enviornment.
The Lakers, who’ve misplaced three in a row for the primary time this season, allowed the Rockets to shoot 53% from the sector. Amen Thompson led the way in which with 26 factors and Kevin Durant scored 25 because the Rockets out-rebounded the Lakers 48-25.
Reaves missed three video games with a left calf pressure earlier than returning in opposition to Phoenix on Tuesday. He scored 17 factors off the bench within the Lakers’ loss to the Suns.
In opposition to the Rockets, Reaves began and performed quarter-hour within the first half, scoring 12 factors on five-for-eight taking pictures.
Reaves entered Thursday averaging 27.3 factors per sport, rating him eleventh in league scoring.
Doncic, who had been out with a decrease left leg contusion, had 25 factors and 7 assists and LeBron James had 18 factors. Hachimura (proper groin damage administration) didn’t rating in his 28 minutes.
With so many gamers rotating by the lineup due to accidents, the Lakers have struggled to seek out options to their defensive points.
They entered Thursday permitting 117.4 factors per sport, nineteenth most within the league. They had been permitting the twenty sixth highest field-goal proportion (48.4) and the best three-point taking pictures proportion (40.1). They had been next-to-last in rebounds, averaging 40.1 per sport.
That was an actual challenge in opposition to the Rockets crew that entered the sport first in offensive rebounds (16.1).
And on this sport, the Rockets received 17 offensive rebounds.
The Lakers didn’t have key position gamers Jaxson Hayes (left ankle soreness) and Gabe Vincent (lumbar again pressure), including to their woes.
“It’s the trendy NBA the place there’s accidents after which there’s not lots of time to apply,” Lakers coach JJ Redick stated. “So, when you’ve continuity, you’ll be able to type of seize what you’re making an attempt to do and you are feeling comfy and good about it.”
