One night after getting embarrassed against the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers were equally inept against the surging Toronto Raptors.
Toronto leaped to a 9-0 lead, and the Lakers were never able to even make things semi-competitive.
For L.A., it was a never-ending nightmare reel of badly missed shots, shots getting blocked, careless turnovers and defensive breakdowns as the Raptors made a total mockery of the Purple and Gold.
The Lakers did make one final run late in the fourth quarter to make things a little interesting, but it was futile, as there simply wasn’t enough time left for them to have any hope of winning.
Final score: Raptors 114, Lakers 103. It was never that close.
As bad as the Lakers’ season has already been, it continues to get worse, and it has the potential to become a lot worse still.
Stanley Johnson: D
Johnson seemed to have little impact tonight overall. He grabbed three rebounds in 15 minutes, but he missed his only field goal attempt of the game.
Malik Monk: C-
Monk did not play up to his standards tonight, shooting 3-of-8 from the field and 1-of-4 from 3-point range, scoring just eight points in 24 minutes while turning the ball over four times.
Austin Reaves: D
After some nice games offensively of late, Reaves could not throw a pea in the ocean on Monday. He missed all but one of his seven shot attempts and all four of his 3-point attempts in 17 minutes of play.
Russell Westbrook: C
Westbrook had some nice plays where he attacked the basket early in possessions and got some clean looks at layups. But there wasn’t enough of such action, as he scored just 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting with eight rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes.
If the Lakers as a team had shot better than the 31.0 percent they posted from downtown, perhaps Westbrook would’ve had more dimes tonight.
LeBron James: B+
Statistically, James seemed to play up to his standards with 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from downtown along with nine rebounds. But he also had five turnovers, some of which were careless and uncharacteristic for him.
Overall, James got his points, but it didn’t seem to put a real dent in the outcome.
Carmelo Anthony: D+
Anthony’s jump shot did not seem to make the trip back to Southern California. After shooting well on Sunday in Phoenix, the 19-year veteran was 3-of-10 from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Overall, he had 14 points in 28 minutes, as he did get to the line and make all five of his free throws. But this was the type of game where the Lakers needed him to get hot, and it just didn’t happen.
D.J. Augustin: D-
In five minutes of play, Augustin did next to nothing. He missed both of his shot attempts, and his only contribution on the stat sheet was one rebound.
Talen Horton-Tucker: A
The third-year guard was the lone bright spot for L.A. He was very efficient, scoring 20 points in 27 minutes on 8-of-13 field goal shooting and 3-of-5 from downtown. He also added five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
When the Lakers made their run late, Horton-Tucker contributed with seven points in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, no one else, other than James, could hit enough shots during that span.
Wenyen Gabriel: B-
Gabriel’s effort on the boards was palpable. He grabbed nine rebounds in 19 minutes and brought as much energy and aggression as any of his teammates.
He was more aggressive offensively than in any of his other games as a Laker to date, taking eight shots, but he made just one of them while missing all three of his 3-pointers. Three of his shots got blocked by Raptors defenders.
Avery Bradley: D
Bradley was almost invisible tonight, shooting 1-of-3 from the field and missing both of his 3-point attempts. He had zero rebounds, assists, steals or blocks.
Wayne Ellington: B
Ellington made a contribution by hitting 2-of-5 from downtown, dishing out three assists and getting two steals. Overall he had six points in 25 minutes.
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