Grades for LeBron James, Anthony Davis in Lakers loss vs. Magic

After a six-game winning streak, we are back to the frustrating loss of the season.

The Lakers led by four with 25 seconds left on Thursday, but still lost the game after LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined to go 2-6 at the line in the final 38 seconds.

While it will get the lion’s share of attention, the Lakers weren’t good enough in a number of areas. They allowed 15 offensive rebounds and held the Magic to 47.3% shooting from the field with 15 3-pointers.

There is a lot to unpack in this one. So let’s dive into the loss. As always, ratings are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance of that player.

Anthony Davis

38 minutes, 39 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 14-22 FG, 1-1 3PT, 10-13 FT, +0

How do you balance both being a primary reason the Lakers were in the game while also being a primary reason they lost the game as well.

Through 47:20, AD was the dominant player he has been this year. There were too many offensive rebounds for Magic on the night, but I put that at the feet of most of the other non-AD players.

But in the final 40 seconds, he missed three free throws, shut down Franz Wagner a little too easily and then wildly missed the final shot.

A really big ugh.

Grade: B+

LeBron James

37 minutes, 31 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 12-22 FG, 5-9 3PT, 2-4 FT, -8

I don’t think LeBron deserves that much docking because he missed free throws late because he only missed one, but he wasn’t that good throughout the game either.

At the same time, he was incredible in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of his 31 points in the final frame. He had a couple of big rebounds and a perfect long pass to AD for what looked like a bucket that would help seal the game.

Before that, though, it felt like a pretty meh game from LeBron. He had a huge poster dunk, but it also felt like he was drifting a bit.

All in all, this is just a weird game to judge for these guys.

Grade: B+

Cam Reddish

21 minutes, 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3-4 FG, 2-2 3PT, +1

I can’t imagine expecting much more from Reddish in a game in 2024. He knocked down both of his 3-pointers, he grabbed eight rebounds, and he wasn’t actively bad on the floor.

He felt like one of the few Lakers role players who actually showed up Thursday.

Grade: A

Austin Reaves

33 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3-12 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-5 FT, -8

After a strong first half against the Jazz, Reaves has put together six incredibly stinky quarters in a row. Today was perhaps his worst game of the season. Usually when he has bad shooting nights, he can at least contribute at a medium to high level as a rebounder or passer. He did neither of those things on Thursday.

Grade: F

Dalton Knecht

39 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 7-14 FG, 3-7 3PT, +5

Knecht’s game almost felt disappointing, if only because it was a merely mortal performance from him. If this is anything close to a baseline from him going forward — which, to be fair, is just speculation on my part — then he’ll be beyond great.

Max Christie

25 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, -2

I think Christie may be a victim of his own expectations, which is not necessarily his fault. I’m not sure many fans would have thought this would be considered a good Christie game if you had shown them this stat line in the preseason.

But this felt like a decent game from him. If nothing else, he’s learned to take off on one foot when attacking the rim, a big development.

Grade: B

D’Angelo Russell

23 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3-10 FG, 1-7 3PT, +2

While I think D’Lo has been really good as a floor general this season, there is one floor he still needs to produce on as a shooter. And Thursday was somewhere about six feet below that floor.

Grade: D-

Gabe Vincent

14 minutes, +6

I just….there is nothing to put in his stat line. He committed two fouls in 14 minutes. How many more times can you keep trotting him out.

Grade: F

Christian Koloko

10 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 2-2 FT, -1

The fact that Koloko can come in and give you adequate minutes has been such a big win for the Lakers. He has his flaws, but it’s hard to judge him much given how recently he just hasn’t been playing basketball.

Grade: B-

Thursday’s DNPs: Maxwell Lewis, Armel Traore

Thursday’s inactive: Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Bronny James, Quincy Olivari, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.