Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Weeks ago, the Lakers built a plan that mapped out exactly how Anthony Davis would be used once he came back from injury. It prescribed no back-to-backs, something the Lakers have stuck with even as the stakes have gone up with time running out in the season.

And that's what they should do. Can't risk a guy's health, if that's what the doctors believe is at stake, here.

But even without Davis, even without LeBron, even on the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers needed to win Wednesday's game against a terrible Houston Rockets squad. They needed a better game plan. They needed a little more foresight. They needed better performances from guys like D'Angelo Russell (5-17) and Malik Beasley (6-17).

The Lakers didn't get any of that stuff, and they lost. And this one stings, not just because it cost the Lakers a chance to move into a tie for 7th in the West. There just isn't enough season left to set games like this aside.

So why, in a game where margins could be tight, did Darvin Ham choose to start Rui Hachimura instead of Wenyen Gabrial, the closest thing to a true center (undersized though he may be) available on roster? It certainly didn't pay off, as the Rockets got off to a red hot start in part because the Lakers offered zero resistance defensively. And why was Gabriel the only C on a night the Lakers KNEW they'd be without Davis, because they came up with the plan weeks ago?

Would a big body on a 10-day have made a big difference? We'll never know, will we?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers lose a painful game to the Rockets in Houston.

SEGMENT 2: Why did Darvin choose to start Hachimura over Gabriel?

SEGMENT 3: What the loss means in the standings, and why didn't the Lakers sign someone on a 10-day deal, just.to have the option of size?

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