Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks they had no mercy on some Lakers LeBron James orphans and Anthony Davis and they took the opportunity to throw one more shovelful of dirt on a team that seems defenestrated and that ends the day outside the positions that give access to the ‘play-in’ after falling to the Texan team for 128-110.
Angelenos have been outranked by the San Antonio Spurs, who right now will be tenth and they will play the tie that gives access to the last two places in the playoffs. By contrast, the Mavericks consolidate themselves in fourth place of the West and stays one game away from the Golden State Warriors in the fight for the third position in the conference.
This new Angelina debacle began to take shape in a first part for oblivion in which the defense raised by Vogel made waters everywhere and highlighted the current difference between the two teams. With a Doncic unleashed (finished the first quarter with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists) those from Dallas sealed their victory in just 24 minutes, when the score already looked definitive 82-56.
You have to go back to the time when the Lakers didn’t even live in Los Angeles to find a first half with so many points received. Specifically until February 27, 1959when the Boston Celtics beat the Minneapolis Lakers 173-139 after scoring 83 points in the first half.
Without LeBron or Davis we have a clear talent deficit
“Without LeBron or Davis we have a clear talent deficit,” said Frank Vogel to try to explain the umpteenth Los Angeles disaster this season. “This is the last dose of adversity that this team has had to face this season. When you lose a player like LeBron you have to re-adjust the roster in a season where we’ve already had to make countless changes.”
The Lakers coach tried to add another twist to a roster lit by pins, but he couldn’t get the machinery to work against some Mavericks who didn’t even need Doncic during the last quarter. The former Real Madrid I had already done my homework beforehand and ended up signing the triple-double number 46 of his career after signing 34 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. The Slovenian also tied with Wilt Chamberlain for the fifth player with the most triple-doubles (21) above 30 points.
In the Mavericks, in addition to Doncic, six other players had more than 10 points against the Lakers but none reached the score. Reggie Bullock was the second best scorer for the Dallas team, with 17 points. For his part, in the Lakers, Malik Monk had 28 points, with six triples of 10 attempts, and Russell Westbrook 25 points., in addition to eight rebounds and six assists. Insufficient numbers to avoid a new bump from a team that has few lives left to hold on to. Especially taking into account a calendar that remains siete partidos (Jazz, Pelicans, Nuggets, Suns, Warriors, Thunder y Nuggets) and six of them are against rivals higher ranked than them