After their worst defensive performance of the season, the visiting Los Angeles Lakers will try to stop Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic on Monday.
Over his last 12 games, Banchero has averaged 30.6 points for Orlando (33-38), the most of any player in the Eastern Conference and second-most in the NBA over that span.
“I think it’s his poise and his demeanor,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Friday after his team’s 120-105 road win over the Wizards. “The way the game just continues to slow down for him, the things he’s seeing on the floor, the things he’s communicating, how he understands what we need in these moments.”
“I think I am just under control,” Banchero said. “I’m feeling better physically and I think I’m just really confident, going out there, trying to play the right way and take what the defense gives me. Any shot I shoot, shoot it with 100 percent confidence.”
The Lakers (43-27) allowed a season-high 146 points in a loss to the Bulls on Saturday. It was a dud of a performance, especially since the contest marked the return of LeBron James to the lineup after a six-game absence with a left groin strain. James had 17 points and six rebounds, but the Lakers couldn’t keep up with the Bulls.
The Lakers have lost six of their last nine games, but no one is panicking.
“The thing we have talked about all season long is grace, and so the group inherently gets some grace for what this last three weeks looked like,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “It’s not an excuse, it’s just the nature of — where a group felt very connected and then you lose some games on the road, you have some injuries, all that stuff, you gotta get reconnected.
“We, however, don’t have a lot of time to do that. It’s gotta be now.”
Since coming over in a blockbuster trade with the Mavericks, superstar Luka Doncic has averaged 26.9 points in the Lakers’ purple and gold. He’s scored more than 30 points in four of his last five games.
Los Angeles sits fourth in the Western Conference, 2 1/2 games behind the second-place Houston Rockets.
“We got 12 games to position ourselves in the postseason,” James said after the blowout loss against the Bulls. “We pretty much can control our own destiny if we win ball games and not have to be in the play-in.”
Orlando is eighth in the East, with a magic number of four to clinch, at minimum, a berth in the play-in tournament.
Despite their losing record, there’s no stress on the Magic to make the playoffs. They’re six games behind Detroit for the No. 6 spot in the East, but they are in a great position to earn at least the 10th seed.
Orlando has alternated wins and losses over its last eight games. They are still feeling the sting of losing lead guard Jalen Suggs (trochlea) and center Moritz Wagner (torn ACL) for the season.
“It’s only 10 games left now so we’ve got to be locked in,” Banchero said. “We’re going to be in the postseason so we want to be playing our best basketball.”
Orlando beat the host Lakers 119-118 on Nov. 21, clinched by a 3-pointer from Franz Wagner with 2.5 seconds to play.
The Magic have the No. 1 defense in the NBA, allowing 106.1 points per game, but they have the league’s worst offense, scoring 104.8.
–Field Level Media
