They have no killer instinct. No urgency. No desperation.
They stood around and watched each other miss shots. They struggled to get stops. They were sloppy. Discombobulated. Unfocused.
They sleepwalked through Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Rockets, falling 99-93.
When they jumped to a 3-0 series lead without their two leading scorers, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, they were the “Cinderella story” of the playoffs.
But after their last two stinkers, their season is beginning to degenerate into the genre of horror instead of a feel-good classic.
Could you imagine if a LeBron James-led team was the first squad to blow a 3-0 series lead in NBA playoff history? One hundred and fifty-nine teams have avoided that fate.
But after watching Game 5, it doesn’t seem outlandish.
The Lakers committed 15 turnovers. They allowed all of the Rockets’ starters to score in double figures. They didn’t show any fight until the fourth quarter when James tried to erase a 13-point deficit by putting the team on his shoulders.
The Lakers cut their deficit to three points twice, but each time the Rockets roared back.
Now their comfortable series lead has slipped through their fingers like grains of sand. They’re only up, 3-2. They have to win Game 6 on Friday in Houston or they’ll face elimination.
“Listen, it’s one game,” he said. “You give credit where credit is due. They’ve played well the last two games. Exceptionally well. And we got to answer the call.”
The Lakers have a three-hour flight ahead of them. They only have one day between Games 5 and 6. That does not favor a team currently led by the 41-year-old James against a slew of 20-something-year-olds.
The Lakers are exhausted. The Rockets are just waking up.
Houston has found its rhythm without Kevin Durant, who only played in Game 2 of this series because of a bone bruise and a sprained ankle.
At first, the Rockets were lost without him. Now, they’re confident.
Ahead of Game 5, Jabari Smith Jr. boasted that the Rockets are “obviously the better team.”
When James was prodded for his thoughts on that comment after Thursday’s loss, he all-but-rolled his eyes.
“I don’t care about s— like that, bro,” he said. “The game is won in between the four lines. I don’t give a damn. Who cares? Of course you say it. What would you say, ‘Oh, we’re not the better team.’ Ask one of them young guys that question. I’m too old for that sh—.”
But right now, the Rockets are superior. They’ve won two games in a row. Durant could return.
Austin Reaves returned after being sidelined a month because of an oblique injury. This game was supposed to be a cause for celebration.
Instead, the Lakers were phlegmatic. They were careless. They were disengaged.
Luke Kennard, who averaged 25 points in Games 1 and 2, shot 0-for-4 from the field. Marcus Smart, who looked like the Defensive Player of the Year in Games 2 and 3, disappeared in Game 5, other than making his mark with six turnovers.
James had only eight points in the first half before trying to right the ship with 17 points to close the game. As for Reaves, he finished with 22 points, four rebounds and six assists, but he shot 1-for-8 from the field in the fourth quarter.
“I wish I could get a little bit more of a rhythm before jumping into the fire like that,” Reaves said.
There’s no time for Reaves to ease into things. There’s no room for his teammates’ complacency. There’s no excuse for the Lakers’ performance in Game 5.
Instead of putting their heels on the Rockets’ jugular, the Lakers seemingly joined the nearly 19,000 fans around them in watching Houston put on a show.
Instead of being aggressors, they were bystanders.
They squandered a golden opportunity to advance to the second round of the playoffs against a Thunder team that swept its series and is resting at home.
Instead of preparing for the reigning champions, the Lakers are traveling to enemy territory against a Rockets team that now believes it can win.
Now they just need to focus on this season not ending in an epic disaster.
