Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has interesting explanation for Lakers’ flat Game 1 outing

The Los Angeles Lakers looked like they were sleepwalking at times in their playoff opener. Now Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is taking that more literally.

Caldwell-Pope had an interesting explanation this week for the Lakers’ flat performance in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.

“It was an early noon game,” he said, per Lakers writer Harrison Faigen. “Guys were just waking up, maybe… I feel like the energy wasn’t there… We’ve got to come prepared.”

The Lakers lost by a 99-90 final on Sunday in a game that Phoenix largely controlled comfortably throughout. Of course, the Suns also had to deal with the exact same circumstances with the early start time. Travel and time zone considerations did not really matter for the Lakers either. Phoenix is less than two hours away from LA. The two cities also currently have no time difference since Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time.

With Game 2 scheduled for a 7 PM local tip-off time, the Lakers will be hoping for a more energetic performance. But this is not the first time this season that the Lakers have hinted that they do not like early tip-offs.