NBA 2018-19: 3 Positives that Lakers can draw from the loss against Magic

The four-game winning streak was officially over when Lakers were blown out 130-117 by a team that has not made the playoffs since 2012. Orlando Magic was in for a purpose last night and never gave the Lakers a chance.

Lakers were coming off an impressive performance against the Portland Trail Blazers, and their fans expected the exact opposite from what they saw. The Lakers were lazy on the defensive end and lacked energy. They gave them easy baskets throughout the game and were outscored by double digits in the second and third quarters. They were also missing the services of Rojan Rondo who is out due to an injury.

Their trip to the east coast started off with a loss but they would love to get even by winning the game against Miami today. I am listing three positives which Lakers can carry forward from this loss and beat Miami today.

#3 The Lakers' bench looked good

Three players from the bench reached double digits, Lance Stephenson (19 points), Josh Hart (13 points) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (10 points). The late comeback attempt by Stephenson and Mykhailiuk showed signs of teamwork.

Pope's form, especially his 3-point shot is very crucial for the Lakers as Rondo will not be with them for a few weeks. Brandon Ingram dished out seven assists and looked comfortable running the second unit. The rotation strategy which Luke Walton implemented due to the absence of Rondo, worked fine.

Lakers are not a one-man show and Lebron alone, can't make them win a championship, or even come close to it. Lakers team is like a set of jumbled pieces which have to come together and form a winning combination.

The bench showing signs of good performance will be a silver lining for the team going ahead against Miami today.

#2 Lonzo Ball is working defensively

Everyone on the team except Lebron struggled offensively. Lonzo Ball scored 0 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds. He had a total of four turnovers in the game.

It was the night without Rondo and much was expected from the young Ball. But Ball had a scoreless night and it was the second of his career. He had a bad night offensively but defensively was the only moving leg on the Lakers team.

He had two steals and a block. In one of the plays below, he switched to four players in a single possession, stole the ball from Vucevic and dished it to LeBron for a point.

Check out the video below:

How about Lonzo Ball switching onto 4 players in a single possession?Doesn't stop attacking until he rips it away from Vucevic, leads the break and drops it off to LeBron for the bucket. pic.twitter.com/02JEOTXJOt
— Joey Ramirez (@JoeyARamirez) November 18, 2018

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Lakers need this type of defensive movement not only in the game today against Miami but also in the rest of the tournament.

Lonzo is improving on the defensive end but needs to work his way up on the offense, though.

#1 LeBron James scored 22 points

LeBron James began where he left off against Portland. He had 44 points and nearly had a triple-double to his name against the game against Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

He had a hot shooting hand yesterday too, scoring 22 points with 4 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists. He played only three quarters and was forced to sit out the fourth one as they never cut the lead below double digits. LeBron is in a great form right now but needs the support of his teammates on both the ends of the floor, especially defence.

LeBon's statement post-game:

"After the first quarter, we were pretty bad defensively. We had a lot of breakdowns, uncharacteristic of us as of late."

Lakers will face Miami today, where LeBron will meet his old friend Dwayne Wade. It should be an easy contest for them, but after this loss against Magic, we can't say anything.