On New Year’s Eve, the Los Angeles Lakers suited up in black attire.
From the opening tip, the Lakers looked good. To clarify, the Lakers looked good dressed in black wearing their “Hollywood Nights” jerseys. In terms of play, the Lakers looked worse than a leftover glass of champagne at 9:00 am on New Year’s Day.
LA started out 2/17 and scored four points in the first 9:30 of the game. LA spotted the Bucks 14 points and was scoreless for nearly seven minutes after the opening tip. In the depressingly poor first quarter, the Lakers trailed by as many as 17 points in the first quarter. The Lakers rallied late in the quarter to cut the game to an 11-point differential by the end of the quarter, but LA still struggled to close the gap further.
By halftime, the Lakers had narrowed the gap to 42-33.
As the second half started, the Lakers were expected to cut the lead, make a run and make a game of it. Only, they did not do that. Instead, Brandon Knight got hot and never cooled off. He had 33 points after three quarters and finished with 37 points for the game.
Jordan Farmar, who was scoreless from the field but still had seven assists, was shut down during the third quarter with tightness in his hamstring. Farmar talked about tightness before the game, and his sitting out was possibly more of a precaution than another injury. The Lakers cannot afford to lose another point guard--not that they could afford to lose this game.
For the Lakers, Pau Gasol and Nick Young led the way offensively. However, neither player was particularly efficient in his play. Young finished with 25 points on 8/21 shooting from the field. Gasol also finished with 25 points on 9/23 shooting from the field.
Ultimately, a horrific first quarter led to a nightmarish result. The Lakers have now lost six games in a row. The last three losses have come to the worst team in the Western Conference (Utah Jazz), the second worst team in the NBA (Philadelphia 76ers) and the absolute worst team in the league (Milwaukee Bucks).
It is official: the Los Angeles Lakers will enter 2014 playing the worst basketball in the NBA.
