The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their first loss of the season, defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Portland Trail Blazers fully deserved their 136-129 win at the LA Lakers, keeping up their own unbeaten record at 3-0.
Even though Luka Doncic was the highest-scoring player on the court with 41 points, the game once-again exposed the Lakers’ developing problem behind Walker Kessler.
Walker Kessler has been a huge addition for the Lakers, but there is a lack of depth behind him. Kevon Looney has been unable to fill the void.
The Lakers signed Looney to a one-year $3.9 million deal, hoping that the former Golden State Warriors star could provide the team with quality fill-in minutes, in addition to his useful veteran presence.
Through the opening four games of the season, Looney has been ineffective. He registered a 0-0-0 in his five minutes against Portland, and across his four games, he is a -29 during his minutes.
Lakers fans worried about Looney role
LA Lakers fans fear that Kevon Looney’s negative impact is a problem for the team, and are worried about how JJ Redick will manage to overcome the problem.
One fan described Looney as ‘unplayable’, while another wrote ‘please get Kevon Looney off my basketball court’.
With Looney so ineffective, Redick has reverted to using Sandro Mamukelashvili as the backup center, where he is far less impactful than playing on the wing.
While the Lakers are 3-1 for the season, this is a position that may require a trade to find a player who can make an impact behind Kessler.
One of the reasons Portland won the game was because they could call on Robert Williams to fill-in for Donovan Clingan. He even outscored his starter with 14 points from the bench.
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