The Los Angeles Lakers “need more passion” from Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, according to head coach Luke Walton.
Walton says the two youngsters are trying, but they need show “more fight.”
New story: After another rough loss, Luke Walton challenged his young core to bring more fire to the fight for the Lakers https://t.co/lgJd1S2o41
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 7, 2019
The Lakers lost on the road 108-86 Sunday night to the Minnesota Timberwolves, falling to 1-5 without the injured LeBron James this season.
Per ESPN:
“They’re trying, but they’re young,” Walton said of Ball and Ingram, both just 21 years old. “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].
“Brandon had some really nice crack-back rebounds tonight that we can get out and run [from]. We need that all the time from him. So, it’s not just them, but until we get healthy again, you got to play in this league with some passion and fire. It’s hard to win in this league when you are healthy. So you need to double that effort when guys are down.”
It was Ball’s second scoreless game of the season and his first since a 130-117 loss to the Orlando Magic.
“We’re down a lot of scorers right now,” he said. “I’ve got to pick up that load. Obviously I didn’t do it tonight. I got to pick it up tomorrow.”
The Lakers finish off the second night of a back-to-back on the road against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. Again, they will be without James and [Rajon] Rondo, while [Kyle] Kuzma’s availability is considered to be a game-time decision.
“I always feel like I can do so more, so if that is my frustration then I’m frustrated,” Ingram said. “But I’ll just go back and watch film and get prepared for the next game.”
