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At 3-3, the Los Angeles Lakers already have more wins this season than they did after 12 games last season.
But their 120-101 loss to the Orlando Magic laid bare some of their bigger issues so far.
“It came from everybody, honestly,” Anthony Davis said after the game. “Bigs contest it’s on the guards. But then, when the guards could get a contest, the bigs gotta rebound. So it was a collective problem tonight.”
The Magic were plus-11 on the boards in this game. More than just against the Magic, though, the Lakers’ offensive rebounding has been an issue all season. They are tied for 13th in the NBA in total rebounding. But they are 29th on the offensive glass through at least five games for everyone in the league.
The Lakers were only minus-2 on the defensive glass. But the Magic nearly doubled them up on the offensive boards snagging 19 to the Lakers’ 10.
L.A. has been outrebounded in three of their games this season. This was their first loss.
“I mean, even though we kind of tightened up the screws a little bit [after the first quarter versus Orlando], it’s just the offensive rebounds,” Davis concluded. “Offensive rebounds killed it the entire game.”
Anthony Davis Not Shooting Threes
Davis finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven blocks, and three assists. He was 10-of-15 from the floor and went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe. The only thing he didn’t do was attempt a three-pointer. It was the second game in a row Davis failed to attempt a three-pointer.
Davis is attempting 1.2 threes per game. That is identical to his mark from last season despite teammate Austin Reaves encouraging him to shoot more during the preseason.
“AD’s shooting the ball really well right now,” Reaves said on “The Lowe Post” podcast on September 25. “It’s something that I’ve tried to get him to do more is shoot. Because if he does that you know at a very decent level – which he can because, in the bubble year, he shot it really well – literally you can’t guard him.”
Davis shot 46.2% on 2.6 attempts from deep in the preseason and is at 42.9% so far this year.
Lakers’ Injuries ‘No Excuse’
The Lakers were shorthanded in this one, missing five players total, four of whom figure to play a significant role on the floor this season. Jarred Vanderbilt has yet to play this season while Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince, and Gabe Vincent have all gone down since the opener.
Vincent is set to miss the next two weeks while recovering from a knee injury while Hachimura is in concussion protocol, making his timeline nebulous at best.
But Davis isn’t looking to that to explain away the Lakers’ inconsistency to start the season.
“We don’t have a choice,” Davis said. “We can’t use the excuse if guys are out, East Coast time change, all that. The guys who played have been in a league long enough to be ready, to go out and get a win. So, if we don’t want to stay on this side of the win-loss column, then we got to come out with a better first quarter on Monday.”
The Lakers will face the Miami Heat in the second tilt of their four-game road trip. They will then go on to face the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets before welcoming the Portland Trail Blazers to the Crypt on November 12.
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