Luke Walton was disappointed with his team’s effort in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, specifically saying that they got punked.
The Lakers, who were without Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, fell to the Grizzlies 123-114 as they shot below 40 percent for the game. Walton said after the contest that the Lakers were not physical enough in the game.
“I think the biggest (problem) is we weren’t physically, mentally ready to match what Memphis brought tonight,” Walton said. “And that’s disappointing. That has nothing to do with anything but the toughness to engage in a fight. We’ve been good at that, but for whatever reason, tonight we let them punk us all over the floor.”
Walton said he wasn’t sure if playing without Ball and Ingram impacted the team, but he hoped it didn’t. Walton expressed disappointment that they allowed Memphis to dominate the game and get to the line so much.
“We let them move the ball wherever they wanted,” he said. Walton also noted that they didn’t follow their scouting report, which said not to let the Grizzlies get to the free throw line too much. Memphis attempted 34 free throws, while the Lakers had 31.
The Lakers are now 15-28 after the loss, while the Grizzlies are 14-28.
