And just like that, the Lakers\u2019 attempt to go 82-0 flies out the window.<\/p>\n
It was always going to be tough for LA to go undefeated this season, particularly with a defense as porous as the one they showed on Tuesday. In a game where they shot 56.3% from the field and 39.5% from three, the Lakers allowed Portland to hit 59% of its shots and half of their 36 threes.<\/p>\n
But, at the same time, not a surprise. Jokes aside, a loss was going to come and likely soon. The Lakers can learn from this. It\u2019s still just the fourth game for a mostly new roster. They still have plenty to figure out.<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s dive into the loss<\/a>. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A \u201cB\u201d grade represents the average performance for that player.<\/p>\n 21 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 3 turnovers, 2-5 FG, 1-4 3PT, -12<\/p>\n A pretty ho-hum game from Thybulle. For those wanting to argue taking him out of the starting lineup, a performance like that helps their case.<\/p>\n A common theme in these is to not overreact to one game. But Thybulle has to bounce back.<\/p>\n 28 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 4-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT, -3<\/p>\n On the flip side, this was a really good Williams game. He was active on both ends and had a couple of nifty moves on fastbreaks to set up teammates for easier finishes.<\/p>\n 32 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 6-9 FG, 1-4 FT, +3<\/p>\n It was a pretty underwhelming first half followed by a decent second half. There\u2019s going to be a greater emphasis placed on his production with Kevon Looney struggling so much, which isn\u2019t entirely fair to him.<\/p>\n But he also just has to be better.<\/p>\n 39 minutes, 26 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 fouls, 8-13 FG, 4-8 3PT, 6-7 FT, +0<\/p>\n Another consistent, strong game from Reaves, who has made a habit of that so far. It goes a bit under the radar because of Luka\u2019s recent explosions, but Austin is now averaging 26.5 points per game on 63.3% shooting.<\/p>\n The defense wasn\u2019t great, though, which will knock him a bit.<\/p>\n 36 minutes, 41 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers, 12-22 FG, 6-15 3PT, 11-13 FT, +7<\/p>\n Another fantastic Luka game that wasn\u2019t enough. His shotmaking remains unmatched in the league. The Blazers resorted to faceguarding him down the stretch the moment he crossed half court and it still didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n 18 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 1-4 FG, 0-3 3PT, -10<\/p>\n If there was a night for him to have a strong game, this would have been the one. With Thybulle struggling, a big Grimes showing would have increased the noise for him to start.<\/p>\n Instead, he struggled and was turning down open shots at the end of the game. Finding the best role for him off the bench will be one of the challenges in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n 24 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 6-9 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, +6<\/p>\n This was easily the best Mamu game of the season. He hit a pair of big threes at the end of the second and then was at the center of a big run in the second half. He justly closed the game in this one.<\/p>\n 19 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 steals, 4 fouls, 2-2 FG, 1-1 3PT, -10<\/p>\n As good as his season started, this was an outlier. Truly, this was a woeful game.<\/p>\n His four fouls were all of the frustrating variety. One was on a Deni Avdija drive to give him two free throws, one was 94 feet from the basket with the player falling out of bounds and with the Blazers in the bonus and the last two were on 3-pointers.<\/p>\n Ten free throws on four fouls. Efficiency, but in the worst possible way.<\/p>\n 13 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers, 4-11 FG, 0-5 3PT, 1-2 FT, -8<\/p>\n A weird stat line that doesn\u2019t really tell the whole story. A pair of backdoor cuts where Luka found him for layups saved his stat line from looking much worse.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not going to be too harsh on Sexton yet because he didn\u2019t have a preseason that everyone else had.<\/p>\n I originally wanted to give him credit for going to Mamu to close the game, but as I wrote out these grades, I realized everyone else on the bench had pretty rough nights.<\/p>\n He at least won his first challenge in this one, even if it was very obvious. But there wasn\u2019t much else to break down. He only played Looney five minutes, but maybe it\u2019s time to at least try something else.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s DNPs: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, Arthur Kaluma, Jarred Vanderbilt<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s inactives: Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero, AK Okereke, Chris Ma\u00f1on<\/p>\n You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude<\/a> or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/p>\n