The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a tough loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day after months of anticipation since Opening Night.
Even worse, it piled on to the team’s recent losing streak, bringing it to four games in a row. Danny Green is just one of the Lakers players who struggled to find rhythm, going 2-of-8 from the field and committing multiple critical fouls towards the end of the game.
There are a number of reasons the Lakers lost to the Clippers, but the number one reason is their offense simply crashed and burned in the last five minutes of the game. The Lakers scored just five points and made one field goal in the final 6:39, and Green may have a theory for why this happened. In addition, Green spoke about how to use Anthony Davis more effectively than they are.
“I think pace more so than anything. Not just force-feeding [Davis] in the post all the time, but obviously getting in pick-and-roll situations, moving it downhill, letting him play on the wings, pick-and-pops,” Green said of the team’s offense. “But us moving the ball faster, better, and just getting up the floor faster. It allows their defense not to be set and also for Davis to get more pick-and-roll situations where he’s downhill attacking the rim.”
When asked about whether the lack of pace was the cause for the breakdown against the Clippers, Green said it was possible.
“Possibly, for sure. I think that’s kind of why our rhythm is a little broken or shaken,” Green said. “By the fourth quarter, a lot of our guys were a little out of rhythm, missing some shots that we normally make because the ball hasn’t moved or the pace isn’t the same as it usually is to start the game.”
Green is giving a very good schematic look into what’s causing some offensive problems for the Lakers. And it’s possible that some of this has to do with the groin injury LeBron James sustained but for the most part, the Lakers simply have to be better at maintaining offensive rhythm.
The Lakers were the better team for 42 of the 48 minutes in that game, but they broke down in the six minutes that matter most.
If they can figure out what the remedy is to that, the Lakers should be able to get some more big wins down the stretch of games.