And just like that, the Lakers’ attempt to get to 82-0 goes out the window. It was always going to be difficult for Los Angeles to go undefeated this season, particularly with a defense as porous as the one they displayed on Tuesday. In a game in which they shot 56.3% from the field and 39.5% from three, the Lakers allowed Portland to make 59% of their shots and half of their 36 three-pointers. But at the same time, it wasn’t a surprise. Joking aside, a loss would occur and probably soon. The Lakers can learn from this. It’s still just the fourth game for a largely new roster. They still have a lot to solve. So let’s delve into the loss. As always, ratings are based on each player’s expectations. A “B” grade represents that player’s average performance. 21 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 3 turnovers, 2-5 field goals, 1-4 3PT, -12 A pretty boring game from Thybulle. For those who want to argue whether he was removed from the starting lineup, a performance like that helps his case. A common theme in these is not to overreact to a game. But Thybulle has to recover. 28 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 4-5 field goals, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT, -3 On the other hand, this was a really good Williams game. He was active on both ends and had a couple of clever moves on the counterattacks to set up his teammates for easier finishes. 32 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 6-9 field goals, 1-4 feet, +3 It was a pretty disappointing first half followed by a decent second half. There will be more emphasis on his production with Kevon Looney struggling so much, which isn’t entirely fair to him, but he also has to be better. 39 minutes, 26 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 fouls, 8-13 FG, 4-8 3PT, 6-7 FT, +0Another consistent, strong game from Reaves, who has gotten used to that by now. He flies a little under the radar due to Luka’s recent explosions, but Austin is now averaging 26.5 points per game on 63.3% shooting. However, the defense wasn’t very good, which will hit him a bit. 36 minutes, 41 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 block, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers, 12-22 field goals, 6-15 3PT, 11-13 FT, +7Another fantastic game from Luka that wasn’t enough. His shot remains unmatched in the league. The Blazers resorted to guarding him down the stretch the moment he crossed half court and it still didn’t matter. 18 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 1-4 field goals, 0-3 3PT, -10. If there was a night for him to have a strong game, this would have been the one. With Thybulle struggling, a big performance from Grimes would have turned up the noise to get him started. Instead, he struggled and turned away open shots late in the game. Finding the best role for him from the bench will be one of the challenges of the coming weeks. 24 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 6-9 field goals, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, +6This was easily Mamu’s best game of the season. He hit a pair of big 3-pointers late in the second and then was at the center of a big run in the second half. He just closed the game in this one. 19 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 steals, 4 fouls, 2-2 field goals, 1-1 3PT, -10 As good as his season started, this was an outlier. Truly, this was a sorry game. His four fouls were all of the frustrating type. One was on an attempt by Deni Avdija to give him two free throws, another was 94 feet from the basket with the player falling out of bounds and with the Blazers in the bonus and the last two were on three-pointers. Ten free throws with four fouls. Efficiency, but in the worst possible way. 13 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers, 4-11 field goals, 0-5 3PT, 1-2 FT, -8A strange stat that doesn’t tell the whole story. A couple backdoor cuts where Luka found him for layups saved his stat line from looking much worse. I’m not going to be too hard on Sexton just yet because he didn’t have a preseason like everyone else. I originally wanted to give him credit for going to Mamu to close out the game, but as I was writing these ratings, I realized that everyone else on the bench had some pretty rough nights. At least he won his first challenge on this one, even if it was very obvious. But there wasn’t much more to break down. He only played with Looney for five minutes, but maybe it’s time to at least try something else. Tuesday’s DNP: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, Arthur Kaluma, Jarred Vanderbilt Tuesday’s Inactives: Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero, AK Okereke, Chris Mañon You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
