‘They Beat Our A–‘: Lakers’ Forward Gives a Scary Account of Their Losing Streak

Published 02/25/2021, 2:40 AM EST

The Lakers are witnessing a twist in fate with everything falling apart for them. In the last six games, they have lost five, and three of those losses came against on-paper inferior teams. Their latest bruise came at the hands of Utah Jazz as they lost the Wednesday game 89-114.

After the Achilles injury of Anthony Davis, the Lakers have lost their sheen. Their dismal show against the Jazz began with a series of missed shots late in the first quarter. After that, it was a point of no return for the LA-based franchise and they saw the biggest loss of the season. But what is going so wrong with Frank Vogel’s team?

Lakers’ forward reveals the pain-point for the team

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In a post-game interview, Markieff Morris talked at length about the tiredness that has been bothering them. He detailed the way they’re struggling mentally to put up with back-to-back games in a squeezed season.

The 31-YO expressed, “This is the most basketball I’ve ever played in my life… Mentally, it gets draining, especially when you lose. We see the Jazz, we know they beat our ass tonight, but in the playoffs it’s a different story… You’ve got to fight when your back is against the wall.”

Markieff scored 12 points, 9 rebounds, and an assist in his 28 minutes of playtime. All-in-all, he has played 26 games and averaged 15.5 minutes per game. It is only in the absence of Anthony Davis that coach Vogel is stretching his game time. But his minutes are nothing when compared to LeBron’s who is stretching massively at an age of 36.

Morris, continued, on the Lakers' struggles:
"It's not going to happen overnight. It's almost a completely different team from last year… We had one week of training camp… But we need it. We need these challenging times to find who we really are."
— NBA Insider Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) February 25, 2021

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Everything is going south for the defending champions

Against the Jazz, only three players could score in double digits. They were a miserable unit from behind the three-point line, scoring at 24.2% against Jazz’s 45.8%. Plus, LeBron James’ -20 plus/minus was the worst in the team and there was no help from the bench either. Coach Frank Vogel surprised many by neither playing Montrezl Harrell nor Kyle Kuzma in the starting five.

The Lakers clearly looked tired against the red hot Utah Jazz. They endured a season-low 17-point Q3, and that depicted their misery that the Wizards had earlier exposed. The double-double from Donovan Mitchell and a great defensive play from Bojan Bogdanovic & Mike Conley left nothing for the ailing Lakers.

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This loss has raised concerns over their chances of finishing at the tabletop and later winning the conference title. Utah Jazz is simply too strong at this juncture. Do you think the Lakers can bounce back anytime soon? Help us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Sourabh Singh is an NBA sports analyst for EssentiallySports, who has been working with the site since May 2020. Prior to this, he functioned as Managing Editor at WittyFeed, followed by a stint at Decathlon. The Sports Management graduate leads an active lifestyle, veering to the mountains for off-trail adventures.

‘They Beat Our A–‘: Lakers’ Forward Gives a Scary Account of Their Losing Streak

Lakers’ forward reveals the pain-point for the team

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Everything is going south for the defending champions