The Lakers were no match for the 76ers in their Monday night matchup, with Philly walking out with a 44-point win..
The Lakers have fallen to 10-8 to start the season after a one-sided loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, who were playing at home and dominated the Lakers from the tip-off. The game ended 94-138 in Philly’s favor, upsetting Laker fans as their team continues to stay outside of the top six in the West.
Fans called the game disgusting and were eager to move on to the team’s next matchup.
Everyone could see clearly that Lakers were being dragged down by their offense.
Laker fans went off on Darvin Ham’s subpar coaching. Many fans found it ironic that Patrick Beverley had a great game for the 76ers off the bench too.
Fans were mad at Anthony Davis for not being able to compete against Joel Embiid.
Laker fans have firmly decided to take Davis out of the conversation of elite centers in the league after Embiid dominated him.
One fan joked about how the Lakers are continuing the trend of LeBron teammates going from being good shooters to missing while playing next to him, something we saw play out today.
LeBron James led the Lakers in scoring with 18 points on strong efficiency, begging the question of why wasn’t he more aggressive in trying to get this win for LA. Anthony Davis couldn’t handle being matched up with Joel Embiid and left the game with just 17 points, while D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves had 12-point performances. It simply wasn’t enough offensively.
The 76ers had one of their best scoring games, shooting 47.8% on 46 attempted threes on the night. Joel Embiid looked like the reigning MVP as he dropped 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in just three quarters. Tyrese Maxey remains undefeated in his career against the Lakers with a 31-point night.
The Lakers Need To Find Answers
With every passing game of the season, it’s becoming clearer that the Lakers may not be in a position to contend this season. Tough losses in the regular season happen regularly, but such a one-sided loss against a team that’s also competing for a title is not something that’s normal, especially for a LeBron James-led team. There are clear problems in the roster and all of them showed up today.
The Lakers couldn’t shoot nor could they stop a nosebleed defensively. The 76ers were picking and choosing their shots and more often than not, getting the perfect scoring opportunities. Embiid had 11 assists for a reason, as most of his shooters made the most of swing passes from Embiid in open corners, or dishing it to someone who’s driving to the rim.
A third star wouldn’t change the Lakers’ fortunes in a game like this. Maybe they lose by 10 or 20 points if they had a third star, but this is not a problem talent can fix. The likeliest outcome is that AD is not a star-level talent on offense anymore and James can’t carry a team like he used to. The Lakers may just not be good enough to compete over an 82-game regular season due to the inconsistencies of their star duo.
The rotation is to blame, but LeBron and AD need to take accountability for what’s happening, especially Davis. Maybe a mid-season mentality reset can allow Davis to finally rise up to the role of the Lakers No. 1 option, but that process still looks extremely shaky.
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