Lakers defensive woes and lackluster Christmas Day effort leads to…

Lakers defensive woes and lackluster Christmas Day effort leads to…

LOS ANGELES — The effort and general execution had been nonexistent for the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day, shedding to the Houston Rockets 119-96 for Los Angeles’ third straight loss, the highest shedding streak of the season.

The Lakers have now misplaced three straight games for the first time this season, two of the losses being by over 20 factors, as they drop to 19-10 with a fifth-place place standing in the West.

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Coach JJ Redick did not maintain again how he felt towards the team’s lack of execution in the 23-point loss, a defeat that noticed the Lakers hand over 17 offensive rebounds that resulted in 24 second-chance factors and not lead for a single second of the game.

“It’s because we do not care sufficient proper now. That’s the half that bothers me quite a bit. We do not care sufficient to do the issues that are vital. We do not care sufficient to be professionals,” Redick said.

“The two phrases of the day had been ‘effort’ and ‘execution.’ I really feel like once we’ve performed each of those issues at a high level, we have been a very good basketball team. When we haven’t, we’re a horrible basketball team and tonight we had been a horrible basketball team.”

The Lakers immediately were on their heels to start the game, down double-digits and committing five turnovers within the first five minutes.

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The Rockets’ offense was clicking against a Lakers defense that couldn’t find a stop in a stop-sign-making warehouse, with Houston hitting 10 of their first 16 shots and consistently crashing the paint for second-chance opportunities.

The Lakers got their closest within four points toward the end of the second quarter but Houston kept their push and closed the door shut the rest of the way (their biggest lead being 24) behind six Rockets finishing in double figures, with Kevin Durant (25 points) and Amen Thompson (26 points, seven rebounds, five assists) leading the way.

Luka Dončić, who finished the game with 25 points (seven assists, five rebounds), showed he was a shell of himself in his return after missing L.A.’s last game. His return was welcomed by the Rockets pressuring him and trying to speed him up constantly 94 feet, scoring all his points in the first three quarters and going scoreless in the fourth.

“I do not know what has to vary, however positively one thing wants to vary,” Dončić said surrounding the team. “We bought to determine it out; that’s the factor now we have [to do]. Everybody bought to speak about it. I do know JJ said it will be uncomfortable. As it must be.”

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To make matters worse, the Lakers lost Austin Reaves before they could reach halftime. A calf injury, the same one that’s been keeping him out of the rotation lately, led to an early exit for Reaves as he finished with 12 points in 14 minutes.

LeBron James finished with 18 points (five rebounds) on seven-of-13 shooting.

Before their next game, on Sunday at home against the Kings, the Lakers will have a practice on Saturday and Redick confirmed it will be a practice that is not going to be comfortable following their biggest home loss of the season.

“It’s a matter of constructing the selection and far too often we do not have guys who need to make that selection.” Redick said, “It’s fairly constant who those guys are.  Saturday’s follow goes to be uncomfortable. I’m not doing another 53 games like this.”

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