The problem wasn’t scoring talent. It was how the scoring talent tried to score. Sunday’s loss didn’t look like a roster issue for the Lakers. Possessions stalled, players held the ball, and sets ended late in the clock even with two elite creators on the floor. The disconnect showed up before halftime and never disappeared.

Rui Hachimura explained what actually broke the offense after the loss to Boston. The diagnosis was simple. The ball stopped moving. Because against disciplined defenses, isolation stops working.

“I think it mostly depends on the team we play against.” “Against that, we have to be more of sharing the ball, trusting each other.” Hachimura’s comments came after a game where Boston’s pressure dictated the rhythm. The Lakers scored 89 points, their second-lowest total of the season, and shot 39 percent from the field while making just 30 percent from three.

More telling was the assist total. Only 18. Boston’s shifting help defense pushed Los Angeles into one-on-one attempts instead of reads. “They are a real handsy team… we don’t have enough ball movement.”

That pattern explains why the offense collapsed after halftime despite early competitiveness. The game was tied after the first quarter, yet Boston led by double digits at the break once the Lakers stopped creating advantages through passing.

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Austin Reaves described the same issue from a guard’s perspective. “When you do that, everything’s going to open up more for one-on-one basketball.” Instead, the opposite happened. The Lakers tried to start with isolation rather than end with it.

Lakers superstars drop alarming message after loss to the Celtics

The numbers reveal a larger pattern. Los Angeles is now 11-14 against teams above .500. Strong defenses force reads instead of talent, and that remains the adjustment phase for a roster built around creators.

After the loss, Luka Doncic acknowledged the timeline. “I think you see we’re not there yet. We’re working on it.” LeBron James gave the same assessment. “I don’t think we’re there right now… we’ve got to figure it out.”

Health plays a role in that process. James, Doncic and Reaves have only played 12 games together this season, limiting chemistry development inside live defenses instead of practice settings.

Because of that, Boston’s performance mattered beyond one night. The Lakers’ offense has ranked among their strengths this year, while their defense drew most criticism. This time, the script flipped. The issue was decision speed, not shot-making.

Hachimura’s explanation points toward a structural change rather than a tactical one. The offense works when actions create passes first and matchups second. Against aggressive teams, that order is reversed.

When passing stops, stars face loaded defenses. When movement starts, those same stars finish plays. Los Angeles still has time to build those habits before the postseason push. But the message from inside the locker room is clear. Talent alone won’t unlock the offense. Ball movement will.