Grammy Road Trip Begins Poorly For Lakers

The Lakers’ leading-scorer, Nick Young, was ejected early in Wednesday’s loss to the Suns.

Facing the first of seven straight games on the road, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Phoenix Suns Wednesday in a drama-filled game in the desert.

The Lakers arrived in Phoenix looking to snap a five-game losing skid, but with five key players – Kobe Bryant (knee), Steve Nash (back), Steve Blake (elbow), Jordan Farmar (hamstring), Xavier Henry (knee) – unavailable, Mike D’Antoni faced a tough task from the off.

It got a lot tougher in the second quarter.

Driving to the basket for a layup, Nick Young, the Lakers’ leading scorer this season, was fouled hard by Suns’ rookie center, Alex Len. The ensuing fracas saw Young seemingly throwing a punch in the direction of Goran Dragic. Officials reacted by tossing both Young and Len.

Still the Lakers, who used just eight players on the evening, marched on and even opened up a 13-point lead in the second quarter.

The Suns’ high-tempo offensive style would prove too much for D’Antoni’s side to handle though. The Suns outscored the Lakers 34-24 in the third quarter before fending off the Californian side in the fourth to earn a 121-114 victory.

Gerald Green led all scorers with 28 points. Markieef Morris added 24 off the bench to go alongside 20 from Channing Frye. Dragic tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

Pau Gasol paced the short-handed Lakers with 24 points while Wesley Johnson contributed 22. Former-Sun Kendall Marshall scored 10 points and dished out 13 assists.

The Lakers at least made a game of it, besting the Suns in some areas of the game, but the Suns’ 53-43 advantage on the boards and 12-5 edge in steals proved big.

The defeat marked a sixth straight loss for the Lakers (14-25) and a 12th loss in the last 13 games.

This run of poor form has seen the side go from a respectable 13-13 to 14-25, a mark that has D’Antoni’s side 14th in the Western Conference. Only the Utah Jazz (13-27) has been more futile out west.

Things aren’t going to get any easier for the purple and gold side of Los Angeles either.

While Staples Center is readied for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards and the likes of Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Metallica, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the Lakers will continue heading east for an extended road trip that will keep the side away from home until January 28.

Games against the Boston Celtics (Fri), Toronto Raptors (Sun), Chicago Bulls (Jan. 20), Miami Heat (Jan. 23), Orlando Magic (Jan. 24), and New York Knicks (Jan. 26) lay in wait for a side that needs to visit an infirmary, not a basketball arena.

Right now, you wouldn’t be ridiculed for putting your money on the Lakers going 0-7 on this grueling road trip.

But once the awards have been handed out and the Lakers return home, the team could have something to smile about.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that D’Antoni is hoping for both Bryant and Nash to make their returns when the team arrives home. Henry should also be back on the court by then which would mean the Lakers would at least start resembling a team.

But D’Antoni will know not to pin all his hopes on the two former MVPs returning. There’s been a sting in the tail each time both have been expected to return this season.

For now the coach will need to keep his mind on the task at hand: getting something out of this road trip, starting in Boston.

Losers of 12 of the last 14, the Celtics (14-26) are in a similar predicament to the Lakers. They too are awaiting a boost from a returning star, but their boost may come a lot sooner.

Out of action since January 25, 2013, Rajon Rondo trained with the D-League’s Maine Red Claws on Tuesday before suiting up for the Celtics against the Raptors Wednesday night.

The four-time All-Star didn’t see action against the Raptors but could be on the floor when the Celtics host the Lakers Friday night. That’s bad news for the guard-light Lakers.

BettingSports.com will have all the odds and trends for Friday’s Lakers-Celtics game as they become available.

After almost a year on the sidelines, Rajon Rondo looks set to return for the Celtics Friday against the Lakers.

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