The Nuggets continue to be the Lakers’ kryptonite. Despite making a head coaching change, it looks like the Purple and Gold franchise has not found a solution to the problem that has been haunting them in recent years. Heading into yesterday’s game, the Lakers had lost in twelve of their last thirteen encounters with Nikola Jokic and Co. They faced defeat once again as the Nuggets blew them out by 25 points. However, JJ Redick claimed their previous record had no part to play in the outcome as he blamed last night’s loss due to two major reasons.

Addressing the loss, the head coach said, “Whatever it was, it was not because we were haunted by the ghosts of the past or something like that.” Instead, JJ remarked, “Clearly the spirit to compete just wasn’t there… It was kind of obvious what happened there. Just not the right spirit.” Yes, the head coach believes his squad lacked competitive spirit, especially in the second half. However, Lakers’ own announcer Stu Lantz sparked accusations on Live TV that they don’t believe they can beat the Nuggets.

Well, the LA team started the game strongly and even finished the first half with a six-point lead. But things changed in the third quarter as they got outscored by 22 points and lost their momentum. And JJ blamed a lot of it on their shooting struggles, “We missed a lot of shots and they didn’t… We would like to get more offensive rebounds on an off-shooting night like we had but potentially just not a lot of opportunities there to rebound because they shot 61%.” Yes, the Nuggets shot 61% from the field while the Lakers only made 44.3% of their attempts.

Moreover, JJ pointed out that transition points on turnovers were also a big concern. He said, “Those put us in some tough spots.” LeBron James and Co. committed fifteen turnovers, which more often than not led to points for the opponents.

JJ Redick says Anthony Davis “was fine” despite disappointing shooting night

Well, one of the major reasons the Lakers lost was that Anthony Davis could not play the way he has been this season. Shooting six of nineteen from the field, he finished the night with only 14 points. Although he was great on defense with three steals and two blocks, the Lakers could not compensate for his lack of scoring. Their highest scorer last night was Austin Reaves with only 19 points. But despite AD’s struggles, JJ did not seem too worried about his performance and said, “I thought in terms of the offensive process for him, I thought overall it was fine.”

But that does not change the outcome of the game. And even though JJ claimed that the Lakers were not haunted by their past, Austin Reaves remarked that yesterday’s loss was equally embarrassing, “Last year was last year… Tonight they beat the s–t out of us.” If the Lakers want to contend for the title, it is likely that they will cross paths with the Nuggets once again. And JJ will need to find a way to break the pattern and get past them to nullify the accusations.