There is an old saying that when it rains, it pours, and right now, the Los Angeles Lakers are stuck in a major rainstorm. On Wednesday, it turned into a heavy tropical monsoon in South Florida.
They were there to take on a Miami Heat team that, on paper, looked eminently beatable with a 9-10 record. But it quickly became clear that L.A. wouldn't have a chance even if it were allowed to use six players on the court.
It fell behind 34-26 at the end of the first quarter, and that deficit swelled to over 20 points by the midway point of the second quarter. At times, it was a comedy of errors for the Purple and Gold, as a lot went wrong for them, while the Heat were in the zone.
Leading 69-52 at halftime, the Heat continued to pour it on. Guard Tyler Herro, who is having a career-best season, knocked down seven 3-pointers in the third quarter to prevent the Lakers from making any type of real rally. It only got worse for the Lakers, as they drowned in a 134-93 defeat that dropped their record to 12-10.
It was an all-around embarrassment for a team that held a promising 10-4 record just two weeks ago and has now lost six of its last eight contests. Miami tied a franchise record with 24 made 3-pointers while making 51.1% of its 3-point attempts and 57.8% of its overall shots. It outrebounded L.A. by 17 and got 18 second-chance points, and while it outscored the Lakers by just two in fast-break points, several of its fast-break buckets were of the uncontested variety off of turnovers. The Lakers had just 13 turnovers, but they turned into 18 points for the opposition.
Yes, the Lakers are undermanned right now due to injuries. But they're also getting beaten badly in the effort categories, and their overall attitude seems poor. That is a recipe for coming apart at the seams during an extended stretch, and with five of their next eight games on the road, there is a real chance they will be under .500 by Christmas Day.
Anthony Davis: F
For the second game in a row, Davis played poorly. It is hard to say how much of this is due to a possible lack of aggression and confidence and how much of it is simply the type of inevitable slump that even the greatest of players go through.
To be fair to Davis, he was going up against Bam Adebayo, the Heat center who is seemingly always a candidate for the Defensive Player of Year award. He shot just 3-of-14 from the field, and while he got a number of shot attempts deep in the paint, a number of them simply popped out of the hoop. But he also only had seven rebounds and didn't block a single shot, which seems to be a sign of a lack of effort and aggression.
Davis usually bounces back well after a poor game, but if the Lakers are to reserve this slump they're in, he will have to get back to his usual dominant level of play right away.
Rui Hachimura: B-plus
Hachimura was one of only a few Lakers players who performed well on Wednesday. He converted six of his seven field goal attempts to score 14 points in 26 minutes. However, he had just three rebounds, and that is a category in which the Lakers need him to produce more.
D'Angelo Russell: C
Russell is another player the Lakers needed more from. Getting his second straight start in place of the injured Austin Reaves, he shot just 5-of-13 from the field and 1-of-4 from 3-point range, giving him an anemic 12 points in 30 minutes.
Dalton Knecht: D
Knecht's recent heater is now starting to become merely a memory. For the fifth time in the last seven games, he failed to reach double digits in scoring, as he shot just 1-of-4 overall and 0-of-2 from downtown. While he hustled enough to come up with two steals and one block, the rest of his game simply wasn't good enough to make up for his lack of shot-making and point production.
LeBron James: A-minus
The only positive from Wednesday's game for the Lakers was James' play. He broke out of an extended nasty slump, at least for now, by going 12-of-18 from the field to score 29 points while dishing off eight assists and adding five rebounds. Turnovers were still a problem — he turned the basketball over five times against the Heat — but he showed decent energy and didn't appear to be fatigued.
However, it will take a lot more than James returning to form on a consistent basis for the Lakers to turn things around.
Gabe Vincent: C-plus
Playing against his former team, Vincent looked good early on both ends of the floor. He had active hands defensively and was more aggressive looking for his shot than usual. But he shot just 3-of-11 overall and 1-of-5 from 3-point range, giving him nine points, to go along with three steals, three assists and two rebounds.
Max Christie: A-minus
Christie was one Lakers player who displayed a solid level of energy and competitiveness. He made half of his eight shot attempts and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and one steal.
He has seemingly elevated his level of play a bit in recent games, and that is good news for a Lakers team that has had high hopes for him and badly needs its young players to rise to a higher level of production.
Cam Reddish: D-minus
Reddish played 15 ineffective minutes, during which he missed all three of his shot attempts and only contributed two assists and one block.
Christian Koloko: B-minus
Koloko may lack basketball skills, but he has, at least at times, shown a good amount of energy and effort when he has been on the court. Against Miami, he made two of his three shot attempts to score four points, and he grabbed four rebounds, three of them coming on the offensive boards, in 13 minutes.
Armel Traore: B-minus
Traore is another young Lakers player who lacks skills but plays hard and brings plenty of energy. In 13 minutes, he took down five rebounds and hustled enough on defense to come up with one steal and one block. He shot 1-of-5 from the field and 2-of-5 from the free throw line, but his effort and energy are the most important things as far as the team is concerned.
Maxwell Lewis: F
In nine minutes, Lewis missed both of his shot attempts and made no contribution on the stat sheet.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers player grades: L.A. gets eviscerated by the Heat
