There is no need to sugarcoat it, Lakers fans, LA was embarrassed by the Bulls once again, this time it was Vogel’s turn on Monday, after Chicago beat the Clippers the night before.
If anyone had doubts about how LeBron’s absence would affect the team, the 18-point loss to the visiting Bulls should help clear things up. James is still on the IR list and we have no idea when he’d be back on the court. Meanwhile we feel that Frank Vogel just don’t have the depth necessary to counter the effects of LeBron being out.
The first half of the game against the Bulls was somewhat competitive. Westbrook netted most of his 25 points then and while the Bulls were up by 9 on the half, there was a glimmer of hope. That didn’t last long pass halftime, however. Chicago quickly took control in the 3rd, adding another 12 points to the already large deficit and all the Lakers could do in the final quarter was shave three of those points for the 121-103 end score.
Westbrook was once again the top performer for LA, adding 6 rebounds and 8 assists to his 25-point tally, and Horton-Tucker did his best, netting 28 points in the Bulls basket. Anthony Davis had 20 points on the night, up until being ejected in the Q3, dealing a serious blow to the Lakers’ efforts to stage a comeback.
On the other side of the court, DeMar DeRozan continued scoring high with 38 points in this game, while Lonzo Ball netted 27 – season high for both players. Lavine added 26 to Chicago’s total and Jones Jr. scored 13 points.
Following the painful loss against the Bulls, the Lakers are now at #7 in the conference, slumping to a 8-7 record. They will travel to Milwaukee on Wednesday to face the Bucks for the start of their road-game stretch. The Bucks aren’t doing much better, currently on a 2-game losing streak and everyone would be looking to see how the Lakers would handle the loss at Staples Center. The sportsbooks, however, aren’t expecting much from the Lakers on Wednesday, the line favoring the Bucks and Milwaukee currently being listed as -8 points against the spread.
