Without LeBron James once again, the Los Angeles Lakers fought hard against the Utah Jazz, but they simply lacked the firepower and manpower to mount a serious challenge on Thursday.
At times, L.A. looked competitive, as it did some things somewhat well, but it never held a lead in 48 minutes at Vivant Arena in Salt Lake City and ended up losing 122-109.
Yet again, defense was where the Lakers fell short, as they allowed Utah to shoot 51.1 percent from the field and Donovan Mitchell to score 29 points with seven assists in 32 minutes.
Perhaps James and even Anthony Davis will return tomorrow when the Lakers play the New Orleans Pelicans at home, but each loss is extremely costly at this point.
Stanley Johnson: D
Johnson didn’t assert himself that much, taking just three shots in 23 minutes and missing them all. He only scored two points off free throws and got one assist and one steal.
Trevor Ariza: D+
Ariza is clearly past his expiration date, and tonight’s game was more evidence. He shot just 2-of-9 from the field and 0-of-4 from 3-point range, scoring just six points in 25 minutes.
He contributed somewhat by grabbing five rebounds and blocking two shots, but he clearly doesn’t have the ability anymore to stay in front of offensive players and prevent them from getting to their preferred spots.
Dwight Howard: A-
Howard did an admirable job of trying to keep the Lakers in it. He scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, as Russell Westbrook did a great job penetrating and setting him up for easy baskets.
The veteran center also grabbed 12 rebounds, but he was unable to keep Rudy Gobert off the boards, as he ended up with 17 rebounds.
Malik Monk: B-
Monk was aggressive at times, but his shot wasn’t falling with regularity. He went just 5-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-6 from 3-point land to finish with 14 points and four assists in 32 minutes.
Russell Westbrook: A-
Westbrook continued his impressive play of late, shooting 9-of-18 from the field to score 24 points in 34 minutes, to go along with six rebounds and seven assists against just three turnovers.
Yet again, he was aggressive in attacking early in the clock, but he made mostly good decisions and was efficient near the rim, something that was a weakness for him until recently.
His only two blemishes were that he was 0-of-2 from downtown and 6-of-10 from the free throw line.
But this is the Westbrook the Lakers thought they were getting, and the version of him they’ll need to have any chance of making the playoffs.
Carmelo Anthony: B-
Anthony contributed by scoring 12 points in 26 minutes, but it wasn’t a very efficient night for him. He shot 5-of-11 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts.
Without James, L.A. needed a lot more offense from Anthony.
Wenyen Gabriel: A-
After tweaking his ankle on Tuesday, Gabriel got just 11 minutes of playing time against the Jazz, but he made the most of it.
He shot 3-of-4 from the field, finishing well underneath the basket. He is starting to utilize pump fakes on such shots, something he didn’t really do in his earlier games with the Lakers.
The young forward also got three rebounds, but there was an encouraging sequence early in the second quarter.
Westbrook fed Gabriel, who posted up Danuel House Jr. and scored over him with a short bank shot. Moments later, after a Utah miss, it appeared Gobert had secured a rebound, but Gabriel snatched it away from him and made an outlet pass to Talen Horton-Tucker, who subsequently scored on a fast break.
Then on Utah’s next possession, Gobert got an offensive rebound, and Gabriel again tried to take it away from him, only to commit a foul by (inadvertently) hitting him in the mouth.
That type of aggression will do wonders for Gabriel’s chances of sticking around in the Purple and Gold.
Austin Reaves: D+
Aside from some moments of good hustle and effort on the defensive end, Reaves just didn’t have it tonight. He missed his only field goal attempt and scored just three points in 17 minutes with two rebounds and no assists.
Talen Horton-Tucker: A-
Horton-Tucker gave L.A. a lift off the bench with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field (he was also 1-of-2 from downtown), plus two rebounds, two steals, two assists and one blocked shot in 22 minutes.
D.J. Augustin: A
Augustin played his backup point guard role well, going 3-of-4 from the field (all of his shot attempts were 3-pointers) for nine points, along with two rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes.
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