Through two quarters and change on Saturday versus the Washington Wizards, it looked like the Los Angeles Lakers were cruising to a relatively easy win.
By late in the third quarter, it was as if L.A. had forgotten how to play defense.
The team allowed the Wizards to overcome a 14-point deficit and take the lead midway through the fourth quarter, a lead they did not give up.
After the Lakers’ 127-119 loss, head coach Frank Vogel didn’t hold much back about what his team needed to do better.
Via Lakersnation:
“This group needs to learn how to win,” Vogel said. “They have to learn how to win together and what that entails; we saw a snapshot of it last night with 48 minutes of next-man, selfless offense without forcing in the paint, which we got back to doing again tonight.
“For this team to take that step, fourth quarter is where you win games. You got to have a lockdown defense in the fourth, and we didn’t have that tonight.”
The snapshot Vogel referred to was the previous night’s win over the Toronto Raptors, a clutch win in overtime during which the Lakers actually managed to get enough key stops down the stretch.
That night, L.A. did a good job of sharing the ball, dishing 33 assists on 47 field goals.
Against the Wizards, that figure shrunk to 25 assists on 48 made field goals.
All season, the Lakers’ effort, intensity and urgency have been inconsistent. Ever since the All-Star break, those qualities have been in increasingly short supply, combined with what seems like an increasing lack of confidence and faith.
With the team tied for 10th place in the Western Conference, it has a real shot of not appearing in the play-in tournament unless it rectifies all those issues.
