The Lakers have little time to dwell on their first loss of the season — and a clear place to start making corrections.
After Tuesday’s 136-129 loss to the Trail Blazers, the Lakers (3-1) head to Intuit Dome on Wednesday for their second meeting with the Clippers (1-2) in less than a week. On the second night of a back-to-back, getting back into the win column will require more discipline defensively.
“Tonight we lost, but we got another opportunity tomorrow night to go get a win,” Austin Reaves said. “And we [will] watch film on this probably tomorrow before the game, get better, and try to go get a win tomorrow night.”
Defend without fouling
The Lakers committed 29 fouls against Portland, giving the Trail Blazers 41 attempts at the foul line. Portland converted just 26 of those free throws, but the volume of attempts left the Lakers with little margin for error.
“We got broken down a lot,” coach JJ Redick said. “The game plan discipline, KYP personnel discipline wasn't where it needs to be.”
Against the Clippers, the challenge is to stay in front of the ball, arrive earlier on help assignments and contest without reaching. Playing with tired legs makes that discipline especially important.
The Lakers have shown they can produce offensively. Wednesday offers an immediate opportunity to show they can pair that scoring with more dependable defense.
Keep Darius Garland in check
Darius Garland already showed the Lakers how dangerous he can be, scoring 26 points in the Clippers’ 125-117 loss in the first matchup. His ability to create offense makes containing him a priority in the rematch.
The Lakers need to make Garland work to get into the paint while staying connected to him on the perimeter. If he consistently gets past the initial defender, it puts their help defense in difficult positions — precisely the kind of situations they need to handle better after the loss to Portland.
Walker Kessler identified several areas where the Lakers need to improve against ball screens.
“I gotta be up a little higher on ball screens probably. Shifts gotta be a little better. Gotta fight through screens and not die on screens,” Kessler said. “All around just a lot of improvement for everybody.”
Those adjustments will matter against Garland. Keeping him from getting downhill would help Kessler protect the paint and reduce the need for other defenders to leave shooters open.
Capitalize against a depleted Clippers lineup
The Clippers enter the rematch with six players listed as out: Bradley Beal (right knee injury management), Rui Hachimura (left quadriceps soreness), Brandon Ingram (right heel surgery), Jordan Miller (left shoulder surgery), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (right Lisfranc surgery) and Max Strus (right plantar fascia tear).
Those absences give the Lakers an opportunity to test the Clippers’ depth. Taking advantage starts with setting the tone from tipoff and sustaining that effort throughout the game.
Familiarity gives both teams a starting point, but the quick turnaround leaves the Lakers little time to make their corrections.
“Yeah, quick turnaround. We saw them a week ago,” Redick said. “We [will] watch the tape tonight, watch the tape tomorrow and figure out how to beat them.”
For the Lakers, the fifth game of the season offers an immediate test of their response to adversity: Can they clean up the fouls and deliver enough stops to keep one loss from becoming two?