Lakers player grades: L.A. blown out by Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers had a night to forget after getting blown out by the Denver Nuggets, 133-96.

Denver finished the first quarter with a five-point lead at 34-29, but that’s when it started going south for Los Angeles. The Lakers just couldn’t stop the Nuggets at any point on the defensive end. If Denver had a 3-point look, it went in. If Denver wanted to attack the rim, it was an open layup line.

Denver’s rookie Bones Hyland popped off in the first half and Nikola Jokic turned in a 17-point, 13-assist, 12-rebound triple-double, but everyone on the Nuggets had the hot hand. The Nuggets shot a whopping 57.5% from deep on 40 attempts, while the Lakers hit just 10-of-30 (30%).

The Lakers, on the other hand, got a solid game from Dwight Howard, but that was it.

Here is how the Lakers, now 21-22 on the season, graded individually from the loss:

Russell Westbrook: D-minus

Russell Westbrook played 26 minutes — the game was over by the fourth quarter — and finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists. His shot improved (7-of-15 FG, 1-of-2 3P, 4-of-4 FT), but his defense was simply nonexistent. He ball-watched on numerous possessions, which led to easy buckets for the Nuggets. The Lakers need much more for him than what he’s contributing.

Malik Monk: D-plus

Malik Monk started strong, but it didn’t last long. He finished with four points on 2-of-5 shooting overall and missed his only 3-point attempt. However, he added six dimes to his stat line that helped his grade. The Lakers needed him to produce around the 15-to-20 point range as he’s done lately, but that didn’t happen tonight.

Avery Bradley: D

Not much to take away from Avery Bradley’s game. He made 1-of-2 shots from deep for a total of three points, but he didn’t have the two-way impact necessary to pull off a win.

LeBron James: C-minus

LeBron James posted 25 points, but it took him 23 shots to get there. He finished 9-of-23 overall with a 2-of-8 clip from downtown to go with nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks. The biggest highlight was Davon Reed stopping him on defense on more than one occasion, so James will need to bounce back because this was not his night.

Dwight Howard: B

Dwight Howard gets the best grade for the Lakers. He practically mirrored Jokic’s minutes and came away with 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal on 6-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes. He wasn’t perfect on Jokic, which isn’t a fair task to ask of him, but he was a reliable source of offense during the first quarter.

Trevor Ariza: C

Trevor Ariza provided nine points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench on 3-of-5 3-point shooting. He made rotations defensively and gave effort, but even he looked around confused when the Nuggets had open looks after no one rotated.

Austin Reaves, Wayne Ellington, DeAndre Jordan, Stanley Johnson, Talen Horton-Tucker: F

These remaining players played minutes before the fourth quarter, but there was nothing to takeaway. The defense was still missing, and the shots didn’t fall all night. Stanley Johnson is someone who should’ve gotten minutes earlier in the game because of the defensive presence he brings, but he played just 13. Carmelo Anthony missed his second straight game with lower back tightness.

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