Rui Hachimura says Lakers didn’t bring the right energy in loss to Warriors
Short-handed and in a key matchup against their state rivals, Rui Hachimura discussed what the Lakers could’ve done better verus the Warriors.
A victory versus the Warriors on Tuesday would've given the Lakers the tiebreaker against Golden State and all but secured, at minimum, the ninth seed.
Instead, they lost 134-120, allowing the Warriors to have one of the greatest 3-point shooting games in NBA history.
The Lakers were shorthanded with Davis out and LeBron still sick, but the effort and focus weren't sharp enough. Rui Hachimura pointed this out during his postgame presser.
"It was a tough game for us," Hachimura said. "We were trying to figure out who was going to play or not tonight. I think, as a team, we didn't have the energy tonight starting from the start of the game. I think we, as a team, just didn't bring it the way we played a couple games ago. We were rolling, we were playing together but we didn't do that tonight, I feel."
Fans can find it frustrating when players don't bring the energy needed. However, with Davis out, there was bound to be some drop-off, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
The Lakers need to win their final two games and get Davis healthy and back in the lineup if they want the best chance to move up in the standings. Los Angeles was playing relatively well before this two-game skid, and it's not a coincidence that the losing started once Lebron and Davis began to miss games.
With how tight the Western Conference is, it's possible multiple teams will end with the same record. The Lakers own the tiebreaker over the Phoenix Suns and could earn it over the Pelicans if they beat them in the last game of the season on Sunday.
The bad news is that they no longer control their destiny and need help improving their play-in positioning. The good news is that multiple teams can lose games and help the Lakers as long as they take care of business.
No matter how things shake out, though, the Lakers need to ensure the bring the right energy to those final games of the season.
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