Lakers weekly reset: The hits just keep coming

Editor’s note: This is the Monday Dec. 20 variation of the Purple & Bold Lakers newsletter from newsman Kyle Goon. To person the newsletter successful your inbox, sign up here.

I’m penning to you from Chicago, wherever astatine slightest 2 of the Lakers’ unit are stuck successful quarantine. One of the astir challenging things astir the squad losing six players and aggregate unit members is that they’ve been dispersed each implicit the country, with immoderate successful Dallas, immoderate successful Minneapolis and immoderate inactive successful Los Angeles.

When you recognize the axenic region that the Lakers are dispersed out, and however hard it is to fig retired however to get them location without coming into interaction with anyone, past the scope of the team’s situation starts to go much apparent. It’s not conscionable hard to play a game; it’s a logistical nightmare that’s going to instrumentality clip to untangle.

Looking backmost connected a beauteous atrocious week for the Lakers:

WEEK IN REVIEW

Wednesday, W, Lakers 107, Dallas Mavericks 104 (OT)

Friday, L, Minnesota Timberwolves 110, Lakers 92

Sunday, L, Chicago Bulls 115, Lakers 110

The Lakers (16-15) are No. 7 successful the Western Conference standings, 9 games down the Phoenix Suns (24-5).

HIGH POINT: It seems similar a cardinal years agone now, but the Lakers relished their feel-good triumph of the play when rookie Austin Reaves topped the Mavericks successful overtime with a game-winning 3-pointer. The Lakers rushed him connected the court, dumped a h2o cooler connected him and mostly sang his praises. Already the squad had a fig of contributors successful COVID-19 protocols, truthful winning a choky crippled connected the roadworthy was a immense affectional lift.

LOW POINT: Just 2 days later, the Lakers were breaking down, adding adjacent much players into protocols up of their crippled against the Timberwolves, including Reaves. Their jubilant vigor was gone, and it got adjacent worse successful the 2nd fractional erstwhile Jaden McDaniels rolled into Anthony Davis’ knee, taking him retired of the game. It’s present wide he’ll miss a batch much time. LeBron James looked lethargic; Russell Westbrook looked timid. The Lakers fell to 0-2 against Minnesota connected the season, and some games person been blowouts.

TRENDING TOPIC: What else? Positive coronavirus tests are ravaging the league, the sports satellite and the satellite successful general. The omicron variant seems to beryllium overmuch much contagious, allowing teams similar the Lakers who are afloat vaccinated to registry affirmative tests. Team sources person told Southern California News Group that galore of the cases are asymptomatic, creating vexation and hostility wrong teams that seemingly steadfast players aren’t capable to suit up. Bulls manager Billy Donovan touched connected this successful a diplomatic way: “I conscionable admit the mode our guys person handled themselves done this, adjacent the guys that had tested and were nether the feeling that I tin play, this is not that bad, I tin play, with them knowing that they can’t and them keeping their caput connected what they control.”

But intelligibly the NBA’s attack is untenable with the sheer fig of cases. There person been much than 70 players participate protocols astatine immoderate constituent this month, and nuance astir circumstantial cases is evasive. Perhaps the astir confusing occurrence is the Lakers’ acquisition with Malik Monk, who was cleared to alert with the squad from Dallas to Minnesota, but past ne'er near the protocols. Some players person gotten done quickly. Others are stuck adjacent without symptoms. The league has already postponed 5 games arsenic of Monday morning, but is resisting canceling much aft dealing with 2 pandemic-stricken seasons already. The answer, for now, is to propulsion other players astatine the problem: ESPN and The Athletic reported caller rules astir adding 10-day declaration players connected hardship waivers, which seems similar a band-aid astatine best.

READ OF THE WEEK: Even if these hardship waivers won’t lick the NBA’s crisis, they’ll connection a fewer feel-good stories. Isaiah Thomas is 1 of those, backmost successful the NBA and steadfast aft a long, troubled descent from his All-Star days successful Boston.

HEATING UP: The specified information that Trevor Ariza is connected the tribunal again feels similar an tremendous victory. From the archetypal time of grooming camp, he felt a symptom successful his ankle that led to surgery. The Lakers primitively hoped helium could instrumentality connected this roadworthy trip, but with signifier canceled amid the outbreak and a road-heavy schedule, they weren’t definite astir throwing him into unrecorded reps. Then Sunday greeting happened, the roster was down to 10 steadfast players, and Ariza was called into duty. His 15 minutes, 3 points and 2 assists weren’t thing to constitute location about, but it was a gigantic accomplishment for Ariza aft an highly disappointing commencement to the season. Said Ariza: “Obviously being retired for truthful long, it takes a spot of clip to drawback up to the velocity of the game. But for the astir part, I felt truly good. My upwind felt beauteous good. Unfortunately we didn’t win, but I felt similar we got amended today.”

COOLING DOWN: Given the authorities of the roster and however galore players person been successful and out, it doesn’t truly look similar a sporting task to constituent retired an idiosyncratic subordinate who has struggled this week. Everybody has struggled successful this situation, to 1 grade oregon another.

INJURY REPORT: *Taking a heavy breath* – this is present overmuch worse. The headliner is that Anthony Davis is retired for astir apt astatine slightest a period with an MCL strain successful his near knee. His ascendant takeaway was gratitude that it wasn’t a worse injury. Now, you adhd the six players missing clip due to the fact that of the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols: Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, Malik Monk, Avery Bradley, Austin Reaves and Kent Bazemore. It’s intolerable to accidental with certainty erstwhile they’re getting out, due to the fact that immoderate Lakers (Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn) person tested retired quickly. You besides person to adhd Frank Vogel and adjunct Phil Handy to that mix, not that they tin play, but their absences weaken the team. Nunn’s speedy exit from the protocols is somewhat muted due to the fact that helium inactive can’t play with his close genu bony bruise. The precise flimsy metallic lining is that Ariza, for the archetypal clip this season, is retired of the injured list.

QUOTABLE: Assistant manager David Fizdale, thrust into Vogel’s spot connected Sunday, said what we each were reasoning of the concern that the NBA is in: “I mean, it’s Hunger Games. You conscionable adapt. You just, literally, you conscionable accommodate man. You don’t get into the complaining and the moaning and groaning of it, it is what it is. This is our satellite close now. And we conscionable person to accommodate close present and enactment astir it.”

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: What bash these upcoming games adjacent look like? And tin the Lakers flight immoderate of them with a win? Phoenix hasn’t slowed down for anybody, and Devin Booker is backmost aft dealing with an injury. The Suns are besides comparatively unaffected by COVID-19 truthful acold this year. San Antonio has been feisty lately and should not beryllium overlooked. Then there’s the Brooklyn game, which was supposedto beryllium a Christmas headliner, but mightiness beryllium without astir of the stars. At the moment, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving are each successful protocols. On the upside, it mightiness beryllium casual pickings if the Lakers tin get backmost connected way themselves.

COMING UP (All times PT)

Tuesday, Phoenix, 7 p.m.

Thursday, San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday (Merry Christmas!), Brooklyn, 5 p.m.

– Kyle Goon

Editor’s note: Thanks for speechmaking the Purple & Bold Lakers newsletter from newsman Kyle Goon. To person the newsletter successful your inbox, sign up here.