A poor start from the Lakers in their Sunday matinee against the Suns put them in a hole they never dug out of.
On Sunday, a poor opening start sealed the Lakers' fate against the Phoenix Suns.
All statistical data illustrates this game got out of hand early. In the first quarter, the Lakers allowed the Suns to go on an 18-1 run, gave up 45 points and failed to grab an offensive rebound until the third quarter.
They stayed within striking distance throughout the game, even getting within one possession in the third, but they ultimately lost to Phoenix 123-113.
When looking at the loss, it's hard not to imagine what would happen if the Lakers just played a little better to start the game.
LeBron James discussed the slow start and the consequences of it after the game.
"Super slow start for us, offensively and defensively," James said. "You give a team 45 points in a quarter, you're playing an uphill battle, especially if you're not scoring 45 as well. I thought from that point on, we played some really good basketball but their role players did a great job of shooting the ball. Royce O'Neale, Grayson Allen, those boys, they shot the heck out of the ball tonight and (Nurkic) had a monster 20-20 game, pretty much."
"We did a pretty good job on their superstars, but that's what good teams do. They have other guys step up sometimes when your stars, I wouldn't say struggling because those guys ain't struggle, but it wasn't the monster games we're accustomed to seeing from KD and Book."
The Lakers were outscored 18-1 in a 3:25 span in the first quarter.
— Jacob Rude (@JacobRude) February 25, 2024
Over the other 44:35 of the game, they outscored Phoenix 112-105.
Can't lose focus like that against good teams and expect to win
The Phoenix Suns may not be the super team the NBA world feared they could become when Bradley Beal joined, but they are still a force to be reckoned with within the West. You can't have such a bad start and expect to overcome it. Now, in the Lakers' defense, they almost did comeback and win, but almost isn't good enough when you need to start racking up wins.
The Lakers have struggled with poor opening quarters early on this season but have been much better now that they have solidified their starting lineup. Hopefully, Sunday was just an anomaly against a good team and not a precursor of what's to come for the purple and gold.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
