Ringo H.W. Chiu/Associated Press
Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton called out two of his young stars after a 108-86 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
While there was plenty of blame to go around after the team’s second-largest defeat of the season, the coach specifically called out Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram for their lack of effort.
“They’re trying, but they’re young,” Walton said of Ball and Ingram, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “At some point, we need more passion. We need more fight. And that’s not scoring more. That’s more diving for loose balls, communicating loudly, grabbing [rebounds].”
Ingram finished with 13 points on just 5-of-16 shooting, while Ball was shut out for the second time this season. The guard was 0-of-4 from the field while only adding four assists.
Both players were minus-21 on the court.
The Lakers have struggled mightily without LeBron James, who has been out with a strained groin. The team is just 1-5 in the six games without him, falling into the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
Kyle Kuzma also missed Sunday’s game with a back injury, leaving Los Angeles extremely limited offensively against Minnesota. The squad shot just 36.8 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from three-point range in the blowout.
However, Walton believed hustle is a bigger issue than the lack of talent or depth.
“It’s hard to win in this league when you are healthy,” he explained. “So you need to double that effort when guys are down.”
Ball and Ingram were both No. 2 overall draft picks, but they are seemingly struggling to advance beyond being role players on their current team.
from Update News Topic http://bit.ly/2Ri5lXa
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