The Los Angeles Lakers suffered an embarrassing loss Tuesday night at the hands of the Miami Heat. Although the Lakers did manage to keep the game within reach in the first half, they were completely dismantled in the final two quarters. The defense was lackluster and the Heat took advantage of that with a 101-88 victory.
— What will Julius Randle make this season? Find out here! —
As a team, the Lakers committed 18 costly turnovers and the Heat capitalize on their inability to take care of the basketball. No player in the Lakers starting five had a plus/minus above zero and there just seemed to be very little chemistry on the court. After the game, Julius Randle had a lot to say about the state of the team and what needs to be done moving forward, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Julius Randle: “We aren’t doing what we work on…we’re going to have to throw our egos out the way…we’re going to have to gel as a team.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 11, 2015
Randle continuing: “As a team collectively we talked, and we know what we have to do, eventually it’s just going to have to click.” (on TWC)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 11, 2015
The Lakers now stand at 1-6 on the season and are once again sitting in the bottom half of the Western Conference. Although this team is not expected to reach the postseason, fans would like to see better performances from a fairly talented roster.
Los Angeles will now complete its back-to-back Wednesday night when it travels to Orlando to play the Magic. The Magic have a great young nucleus and its frontcourt can present many problems for the Lakers big men. If Los Angeles wants to regain some confidence and momentum, it needs to capture a win in Orlando.
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