Lakers fall big to Rockets in short-handed but low-effort night.
HOUSTON—The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 3–5 on the season in a short-handed but low-effort night, losing to the Houston Rockets 128–94 on Wednesday.
At the end of the day, you know no one’s gonna feel sorry for you, especially when you’re a Los Angeles Laker,” head coach Darvin Ham said on the Lakers' injuries to start the year.
Anthony Davis was a game-time decision scratch from a lingering hip spasm and left adductor injury from Monday's loss to the Heat.
The loss of Davis put the Lakers in a tough bind at the center position, with center Jaxson Hayes also missing the matchup with a left ankle sprain.
The absence of their top two big men forced Christian Wood to start in the center position and rotate Rui Hachimura off the bench at center.
The Lakers got off to a rocky first-quarter margin, a trend that has happened in five of their eight games, getting outscored by a juiced Rockets team 32–19.
According to TeamRankings, the Lakers rank dead last (30th) in average 1st quarter margin at minus 9.3.
The Lakers lost every quarter to the Rockets, allowing a high-shooting night to Houston, who shot 42.4% from three on 14-of-33 attempts from deep and 54.8% (51-for-93) overall from the field.
With their top rebounds absent, the Lakers' trend of second-chance points off allowed offensive rebounds was noticeable, allowing 14 offensive rebounds and 24 second-chance points to Houston.
The Lakers are allowing 11.6 offensive rebounds to opponents per game, according to NBA advanced stats.
LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell and Hachimura were the only Lakers to score in double figures, showing the lackluster night they had all around.
In his return from a four-game absence, Hachimura finished with a team-high 24 points on 10-of-14 (71.4%) shooting from the field, with eight rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
In 27 minutes, Russell finished with 22 points, four assists, three blocks and two rebounds.
LeBron finished with 18 points on 7-for-13 (53.8%) from the field, adding six rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes.
“We can’t build cohesion if we don’t have our unit,” LeBron said. “We’re very depleted on the injury side.”
Early injuries for L.A. have raised concerns about the workload on 38-year-old LeBron early in the season. In eight games, LeBron is averaging 34.8 minutes per game.
The Lakers will face the Phenix Suns on the road at Footprint Center this Friday at 7 p.m. for their first in-season tournament matchup.
