Clippers Win the Battle of LA Again
Coming into the last night’s duel, the Clippers were the clear favorites to win the battle of LA, as they beat the Lakers eight times in the last nine matches, and given the fact that Lebron’s team started the season colder than ice, all the signs were in favor of the Clips yet again.
Paul George took his team on his back from the beginning of the game and never looked back, as they didn’t trail not even for a minute in this contest. The Clippers were up by 17 after the first quarter and it seemed that it was over before it even started, but Lebron and the Lakers made an effort in the second and could erase the deficit, cutting the lead to only two points at halftime.
In the second half, though, they couldn’t maintain their rhythm, shooting only 37% of their field-goals (10-27) compared to the 59% (13-22) of the Clippers in the third. Even though Lebron James tried his best to keep his team in the game, his efforts just weren’t enough. The Lakers looked again that they are a little bit lost on the attack sometimes, with no clear visions or worked strategies on the offensive end, relying only on an almost 38-year old guy, who by the way, exited the game in the last period with an apparent left leg injury.
Speaking about Lebron leaving the court late in the game, he said that – “I feel good, besides the injury, We’ll get pictures on it tomorrow and go from there. Didn’t do anything strenuous on the play. When I landed, I felt a little spasm or strain in my groin. Immediately I asked to come out on the next play down.”
Another factor that might cause the disastrous start of the season for the LA Lakers, besides the very young and inexperienced core, is the coach, Darwin Ham. Often times, he looks that he is either lost or in disguise about what he sees on the floor, having no real attitude towards the issue, or at least that is what can be seen from the outside. After every stop of the game, going into a timeout last night, he had a blank stare, the type of look that people have when they’re out of ideas or when they are deeply reconsidering their decisions.
Yes, the Lakers looked very bad once again, and LA is still being runed by the Clippers, even though they, too, didn’t raise to the expectations yet, with all the Kawhi uncertainty and George inconsistency.
Four losses in a row for the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/WrzQtNUisC
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 10, 2022
