Basketball - NBA - Pre-season: without LeBron, Lakers lacking benchmarks.
Third defeat of the pre-season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Opposed to the Clippers Saturday night, without LeBron James, Luke Walton's men cracked after the break (103-87). LeBron James left to rest, the opportunity was great for the Los Angeles Lakers to show what they are worth without their master to play. Saturday night, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Luke Walton's men held only one half against their rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, before letting go and conceding a third defeat in four matches (103-87). Falling from their clumsiness in shooting (38.5%, 3/18 three points), the Lakers were still in the shot at the break (50-51, 24th). Dominated by rebounds (58-48), they ended up cracking against the experienced players that are Tobias Harris (18 pts at 6/17, 8 rebounds), Marcin Gortat (10 pts, 9 rebounds) or Lou Williams, still effective out of the bench (19 pts, 3 rbds). On the purple and gold side, Kyle Kuzma was the most prominent (15 pts at 6/13, 4 rbds) while Brandon Ingram was clumsy (10 pts at 3/10). Rajon Rondo (3 pts, 6 rbds, 10 pds) has tried to organize his team, without effect. The Lakers have only two pre-season games to negotiate, both against the Golden State Warriors (October 11 and 13). The Clippers, undefeated in three friendlies (3v-0d), also have two games to play again, against Denver and against Maccabi Haifa.
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