Grades for LeBron James, Anthony Davis in Lakers loss to Suns

With an absent defense and an offense that couldn’t convert on a 3-pointer, the Lakers lost their third straight game on Tuesday, falling to the Suns 127-100.

It was their first ever loss in NBA Cup action, putting their chances of going to Las Vegas and repeating in serious jeopardy.

More importantly, they looked a run or two below the Suns, just like they did against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

At 10-7, they’re dropping games against teams above .500 at an alarming rate, and if things don’t change soon, they’ll be back near the bottom of the Western Conference standings soon enough.

Okay, that’s enough doom for now.

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.

Rui Hachimura

23 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3-8 FG, 1-4 3PT, -10

This was not a great Rui game. He was consistently beaten defensively, struggled from 3-point range and contributed almost nothing on the glass. Now, most of the players on the Lakers struggled in these areas of the game as well, but Hachimura was more part of the problem than the solution in Phoenix.

If he is to remain a starter on this team, he needs to produce more.

Grade: C

LeBron James

35 minutes, 18 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 7-16 FG, 2-7 3PT, 2-2 FT, -30

It turns out that Father Time can’t stop LeBron James, but indifference just can. This was another lackluster, disinterested game from LeBron. He was careless with the basketball, committing five turnovers and seemed interested in fighting back when the Suns went on a run in the third quarter.

There’s pacing yourself and there’s keeping up, LeBron flirting way too much with the latter.

Grade: C-

Anthony Davis

35 minutes, 25 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 10-19 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-7 FT, -24

This game was a good bounceback for AD. He was a monster on the glass and scored well in the paint. He was one of the few, if not the only, Lakers player with a good defensive game, recording six blocks.

This team needs to solve a lot of problems, but fortunately Davis is not one of them.

Grade: B+

Cam Reddish

23 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 0-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, +1

Reddish missed some good looks that could have helped the Lakers’ stalling offense, but overall he played his part. His job on this team is to be a solid defender and do the dirty work, and he did that at a respectable level.

Grade: C-

Austin Reaves

31 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 6-12 FG, 2-6 3PT, 1-1 FT, -16

Reaves had a good first half, scoring 12 points and going 5-6 from the field. He then fell apart and missed jumper after jumper in the second half and made no impact on the game.

It’s been a while since Reaves has put together a full night of good basketball, and the Lakers need him like a fish needs water.

Grade: D+

D’Angelo Russell

29 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 5-13 FG, 1-6 3PT, 5-8 FT, -23

On the plus side, Russell was able to contribute offensively, scoring 16 points off the bench. But he’s still passing up good looks from three, and he’s shooting poorly on the shots he does take.

One of his biggest strengths last season was his 3-point shooting, but he’s averaging 28% from deep this year and went 1-6 against the Suns from beyond the arc.

Obviously, this offense isn’t built around his ability to run a unit and work off pick-and-rolls, but he needs to figure out how to get his shot back or it’s going to be harder and harder to justify playing him that many minutes.

Grade: C

Dalton Knecht

20 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2-7 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-3 FT, -20

While fans are clamoring for Knecht to stay with the starters, this performance in Phoenix was a mixed bag. He struggled to get looks at the basket and hit just one 3-pointer and scored his second field goal on a wonderful lob from LeBron.

This was a mediocre Knecht game during an ugly loss. Redick has to balance giving the rookie enough time while not overwhelming him, but it certainly seems like his best moments are when he’s paired with the other starters.

Grade: C

Max Christie

14 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist, 1 block, 1-1 FG, -9

Considering how much the reserves have struggled, it’s nice to see Christie back in the rotation. It would be even better if he impacted the game more. He took just one shot, grabbed no rebounds and essentially got in some nice cardio during his 14 minutes of play.

During his pregame media availability, Redick mentioned that Christie and Gabe Vincent are battling for the ninth and final rotation spot. Based on this performance, Christie hasn’t done quite enough to earn that position without a doubt.

Grade: C-

Jackson Hayes

17 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 2-2 FG, 3-4 FT, -8

Hayes during his first game back from an ankle injury. He missed a few passes, couldn’t grab a rebound and looked clumsy and lost, just like he did all too often last season.

The horrible cherry on top of this disgusting sundae was that Hayes hurt his ankle in the final minutes of this blowout loss. He had to be helped off the field because he couldn’t put weight on the same ankle he just recovered from.

Something tells me it won’t get any better in time for a game that starts in less than 24 hours against Spurs.

Grade: D

Gabe Vincent

14 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block +4

Considering what a bad Vincent game looks like, this wasn’t terrible. That’s not nearly enough to justify 14 minutes of play, but hey, Vincent is low on the priority list of things that went wrong for the Lakers in this loss.

Grade: C-

Christian Koloko

No grade for Koloko due to playing only the last minute of this match due to Hayes going down.

JJ Redick

How much blame do you put on a coach when the staff can’t execute a game plan? It’s hard to blame Redick for these losses, but he’s in charge, and accountability starts at the top.

So far, he won’t be bothered much, but if this team continues to be one of the worst defenses in the NBA, he’s going to have to eat it.

Grade: C-

Tuesday’s inactive: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Bronny James, Quincy Olivari, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood, Maxwell Lewis, Armel Traore

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.