Lakers Lose Record Tenth Straight Game

With this loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the LA Lakers tied a franchise record with their tenth straight defeat.

Despite Kobe Bryant‘s best efforts and 23 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, Los Angeles couldn’t manage to get a win and now could hit a new rock bottom.

With their next loss, this Lakers team would take sole possession of the worst losing streak the franchise has ever seen — that’s not at all how Kobe Bryant & Co. want to be remembered for this season.

In all of the latest trade noise surrounding the team, everyone that’s reportedly on the trade block besides Lou Williams looked ugly.

Williams dropped 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists in a start, while Roy Hibbert was silent all night.

Hibbert’s only notable actions were one assist and one turnover, as he went 0-4 on the night and could get a single bucket to fall.

As for the others in hot water, Brandon Bass and Nick Young came off the bench to combine for an egregious four points, five rebounds, and a single assist.

Yes, you read that right — combined.

They will have to do a more effective job on the floor if they want to all keep their Los Angeles gig.

Because if not, rest assured that this front office won’t hesitate to show them the door — whether it’s what the fans want or not.

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Of good report for the Lakers, both Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson had solid performances.

Randle pitched in ten points, 11 rebounds, and two dimes while Clarkson contributed 13 points and a single assist.

D’Angelo Russell got some good game time off the bench, clocking in the second highest minutes on the team  with 30, second only to the 31 of Julius Randle.

In that half an hour, though, Russell’s bark was better than his bite.

Russell only had ten points, four of which came from free throws.

He also had six rebounds and an assist, but to be the point guard of the future for the Lakers, he’s going to have to outplay Jordan Clarkson and earn it outright.

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Therein, if you haven’t noticed yet, is where the Lakers find themselves in quite the quagmire.

As of right now, the spot belongs to Clarkson, but for good reason. Until maturity and mastery both start to show up in Russell’s game, there isn’t a good enough argument to go and hand him the keys to the team.

To put D’Angelo Russell’s current struggle into a better perspective, you don’t have to look further than Michael Kidd-Gilchrist‘s night for Charlotte.

In 28 minutes, a good two less than what Russell got, Kidd-Gilchrist had 19 points — just shy of doubling Russell’s numbers.

Even worse, Marvin Williams scored 19 points for the Hornets as well, but he only needed 25 minutes to do his damage.

D’Angelo Russell was brought to the team for a bigger role than Kidd-Gilchrist or Williams should ever have on their respective teams, but Russell is the one not playing like he deserves it.

Byron Scott’s move to put bring Russell into games from the bench paid it’s dividends early, but leaving him too long in that kind of rotation might hurt his confidence just enough to have a lasting impact for the worse.

Next: Lakers Could Land Durant & Westbrook By 2017

A move off the bench and into a starting role as an experiment may be in the cards somewhere in the near future.