Getty Images Talen Horton-Tucker of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots against Marcus Morris Sr.
The Los Angeles Lakers have not been able to get on track this season, their latest loss coming on Thursday to a Clippers team that played without their two biggest stars.
The victory against a LeBron-less Lakers squad had Marcus Morris feeling good after the game and took a shot at his squad’s LA rival as well as the 76ers — an Eastern Conference contender that the Clippers beat a few weeks ago.
“I mean s–t, both of them teams is pretty average from what I have seen. Like I don’t see them just being great teams,” Morris said.
Asked about beating Sixers with Embiid and Lakers with AD and Russ all while without Kawhi and PG, Marcus Morris said Clips work hard from coaches to players: “I mean shit, both of them teams is pretty average from what I have seen. Like I don’t see them just being great teams.”
While it’s a bold statement, he’s not completely wrong, at least from the Lakers’ perspective. The Lakers have dealt with injuries to key players all season and currently sit at 25-28 entering Saturday’s game against the Knicks. The Clippers have been without both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for the majority of the season but sit at 27-27.
Morris — the twin brother of former Lakers forward Markieff Morris — has done his part 15.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from deep.
The Clipper will have some additional swag in their step thanks to a recent trade that landed them Norman Powell and Robert Covington from Portland. The move positions the Clippers to make some additional noise in the West, despite Leonard and George being on the sideline.
Anthony Davis Admits He Was ‘Spoiled’
When the Lakers made the trade for Anthony Davis, they quickly went on to make a title run, capturing the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2020 inside the bubble. It was a nice change of pace for Davis, who spent some tough years in New Orleans before teaming up with LeBron James.
With the Lakers now struggling, Davis admitted he was a bit spoiled due to his early success in purple and gold.
“I just want to win. I’ve had seasons where I’ve lost a lot in New Orleans. And it weighed on me. And then I came here and I got spoiled with winning my first year,” Davis told told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times in an exclusive interview. “Second year, we go to the playoffs and I feel like we could’ve still been successful if I didn’t have the injury. And this year, everyone counted us out. Said we were old. The whole locker room, we’ve got guys who have chips on their shoulders.
“But for me personally, I just want to win. I don’t want to go back to having losing seasons.”
Davis has been banged up but has been great when he’s been on the court, especially of late with James out of the lineup. He’s averaging 23.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game and expects to get more chances to rack up All-Star nods in his career.
Lakers Having Issues Staying Consistent for Full Games
The Lakers have been good in spurts but their defensive lapses and lack of consistent energy have hurt them.
“We just got to stay together,” Lakers guard Malik Monk said after the loss to the Clippers. “We can’t get down like we did in the third. We can’t let the game slip away like that for us. It’s always hard for us to fight back. We all just put all our energy out there trying to do that. We got to keep the game under control.”
The Lakers have some work to do if they want to stay out of the play-in game or even make the postseason. The final stretch is rough before the All-Star Break, with games against the Warriors, Bucks and Heat.