Jake LaRavia called Saturday night’s 122–102 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks a tough lesson for the Lakers. “We kind of came out and got punched in our mouth and didn’t really have an answer for it,” he said, noting the team struggled to set the tone from the opening tip.
The Lakers’ defensive issues and turnovers fueled Atlanta’s dominance. LaRavia explained, “We struggled defensively. We had some turnovers that were not very good and they were scoring off the turnovers.” He emphasized the responsibility of the starting group to establish energy early in games.
LaRavia highlighted the Hawks’ cutting and off-ball movement as a key factor. “This is just a team that cuts a lot off-ball and tries to get to the paint…they had a really good shooting night,” he said, noting that the Lakers’ team defense and individual execution fell short.
Despite knowing Atlanta had key players out, LaRavia insisted the team did not underestimate their opponent. “We knew they were going to come out and play hard…we just didn’t come out and execute what we were supposed to,” he said, pointing to a disconnect between the Lakers’ game plan and on-court execution.
Communication remained a focus, even during struggles. LaRavia said the team kept repeating, “We just got to string together a couple stops…we didn’t execute on what we were supposed to do,” stressing the importance of defensive stops in trying to regain momentum.
Comparing the loss to a previous game in Portland, LaRavia noted a contrast in effort. “They played harder than us…outside of Vando, who had 12 points and 18 rebounds, he was pretty much the only one out there hustling,” he said, highlighting Atlanta’s superior energy.
Regarding coach JJ Redick’s halftime adjustments, LaRavia recalled, “We had that halftime locker room talk…just go out there, get some stops, punch them in the mouth in the third quarter,” but the Lakers were unable to match the Hawks’ intensity.
LaRavia concluded with a focus on moving forward. “This isn’t the identity of this team…just to stay together and let this be an outlier game,” he said, emphasizing learning from the setback and preparing for the next matchup against Charlotte on Monday.
