The Los Angeles Lakers dropped their sixth game in seven contests and blew another double-digit lead as they fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 104-99 on Friday night. Only three Lakers scored in double digits with Malik Monk joining LeBron James and Russell Westbrook with 15 points while making his fourth start of the season.
Unfortunately, the same Lakers’ issues cost the team yet again. The Lakers had 18 turnovers, allowed 13 Memphis offensive rebounds, and ultimately saw a 14-point second-half lead erased.
With the losses piling up and the Lakers far below expectations, some frustration among the team is understandable and Monk admitted as much after the game.
“Coming out in the third quarter, it got away from us right there in that little stretch,” Monk said after the loss.
“S*** is super frustrating, man. We’ve been doing this all year and we know what it takes that’s why it’s so frustrating for us. We just got to be locked in as a whole together and I think we’ll be alright.”
Indeed this has been the standard for the Lakers all season long. The team has had stretches where they look great, but they are usually undone by self-inflicted mistakes and defensive issues. The Lakers have blown so many leads at this point that no team ever feels out of the game as they will almost always come back.
As for what the Lakers can do to fix things, and particularly their turnover issues, Monk simply believes the team has to trust each other.
“Like I said, just being together and trusting the other guy and not trying to do everything by yourself,” Monk added. “I don’t like saying this s***, but we’re still a new team. Still figuring each other out. But yeah, we got to trust the next guy.”
While the Lakers undoubtedly have had a number of obstacles on their road to building necessary chemistry and improving as a team, it still does not justify how bad the team has been to this point. Monk has been one of the few bright spots for the Lakers this season, but many more will be needed if the Lakers want to turn things around.
David Fizdale praises ‘mature temperament’ of Malik Monk
Monk has been a true revelation for the Lakers this season and his ability to score the ball and create offense is something the Lakers have needed. Acting head coach David Fizdale recently heaped a ton of praise for how Monk plays the game.
“I think the thing that impresses me the most with Malik Monk is the pace that he plays the game at,” Fizdale said. “He plays with a real mature temperament, kind of Lou Williams-ish. I don’t like to get too deep into the comparison on it, but he just has that real nice tempo to his game and he knows the right play to make at the right time.
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