shaquille o’neal The very Lakers legend said last year that Alperen Sengan reminded her of a younger version of another purple-and-gold myth: pau gasol. And while the incarnation of Pau gave Luka Doncic and LeBron James a Christmas night, they lost at home to the mighty Houston Rockets, who also danced to the music. kevin durant (96-119).

with Durant himself Amen Thompson They were the top scorers with 25 points and 26 points, but Sengun, as elegant and wonderful as center San Boi, even physically resembling “16,” directed the redshirts of the Lakers’ defense to bleed, nullifying Luka Doncic’s 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists and LeBron James’ 18 points.

Compared to Turkish Center, Nikola Jokiche recorded 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, and with his versatile movement repertoire and game vision, he outmaneuvered the center and exposed many cracks in the Los Angeles team’s weak defensive system. Deandre Ayton.

Sengan improved the Lakers’ defense, which didn’t even see the cut coming despite paying close attention to the Bahamian and Turkish players in every move. However, the center is not the only culprit in what can already be called a crisis for the team. JJ Reddick: The purple and gold team has lost three straight and four of its last five games, including a cup exit. Even worse, austin reeves He suffered a recurrence of his calf injury and did not return to action after the break, but Doncic and his team, already trailing 53-63, increased their advantage after the break, reaching 74-92 at the end of the third quarter.

Comparison of Alperen Sengun and Pau Gasol

There’s something going on with the Lakers beyond the questionable play-to-play that JJ Redick is making on both ends of the court. press conference And the indifference of a team on the hardwood, a team lacking in energy and without soul, which largely explains the pointlessness of the defense against Houston.

Second-year pitching coach places too much responsibility on players in absence of players become more self-critical And, crucially, he called two timeouts in just over a minute of the first quarter due to a series of defensive mistakes by his men. The team from Texas found a vein in the heart of the Lakers’ defense, but the Rockets also overwhelmed the team from Los Angeles. reboundthe number of captures is 48 compared to 25 for purple and gold. only the output of Jared Vanderbilt He sparked Redick’s team defensively in the second quarter, and was also the biggest contributor off the bench with 11 points, allowing the Lakers to cut the deficit to six points after starting the second quarter 25-37 in what was ultimately a complete mirage.

But if Los Angeles’ team has an attitude problem, Doncic’s defense is more a lack of aptitude than attitude. set of Imeudoka He often goes one-on-one with Durant and tries to attack the former Real Madrid player, scoring a few points, but the “77-year-old” remains reluctant to pay attention to cuts or cuts. quitting To make the shot. His defensive rating this season was 117.5 points, compared to 110.5 points last season.

In attack, he was exhausted by the opponent’s tough defense, Amen Thompsonthe point guard also had good results with 9/17 on shots and 3/8 on triples, but did not perform well with 7 assists and 6 losses. But the circumstances surrounding the former’s ex don’t help either. real madrid, The Lakers were guilty of a predictable offense and little movement, with or without the ball, aside from the individual play of Luka and LeBron. The Reddicks are a team that: fewer passes 5th fewest assists in the league, 16 losses last night with 20 assists.

Doncic, continuing to accumulate negative memories, won his eighth technique of the season in the final straw. christmas day After playing the last match dallas mavericks In the previous film, he was injured and then illegally transported. Houston has the Lakers It’s a problem.