The Los Angeles Lakers lost another close game Wednesday night as they continue to struggle on the road. Los Angeles is coming off a one-point defeat against the Charlotte Hornets and they once again failed to make timely plays in the final minutes. The Miami Heat were able to execute down the stretch and eventually finished off the Lakers with a 100-94 win.
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The Lakers had trouble containing Hassan Whiteside and the big man was able to dominate the paint on both ends of the court. Los Angeles’ big men struggled to grab rebounds around Whiteside and that gave the Heat a huge advantage. Coach Byron Scott spoke to the media after the game and talked about the impact Whiteside had on the game, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Byron Scott on physicality of his bigs: “Well, you got one guy (Whiteside, 25 rbs) that out-rebounded all our bigs…Think that says enough.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 5, 2015
There is no excuse for the Lakers’ inability to crash the glass as they collected just 35 rebounds as a team. The Lakers’ effort was certainly lacking and that allowed Whiteside to leave his imprint on the game. Although Los Angeles was on the second night of back-to-back, the coaching staff expected more sense of urgency from the squad.
With this recent loss, the Lakers have moved to 16-44 on the season with their next game coming Friday in Memphis. The Grizzlies are enjoying life as the second seed in the West and their physical front court will definitely challenge the Lakers.
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