Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: March 17 at Los Angeles Lakers

Major Key For Milwaukee: Show Up And Play Hard

Usually this is an article that includes some fairly comprehensive analysis. I’ve got to keep it real though–the Lakers are pretty blatantly trying to lose basketball games. In addition to Mozgov and Deng being deactivated, Nick Young might see less minutes going forward so the Lakers can play David Nwaba more.

No, really. The following quotes from Lakers coach Luke Walton come from the L.A. Times.

"“Nick has been one of our best two players all year long,” Walton said. No, the move is more about the Lakers’ mind-set as they enter the season’s final month, where Young chasing the franchise’s 3-point record is a distant second priority to getting starts for undrafted free agent David Nwaba. “Again, Nick’s been absolutely great for us all year,” Walton said. “but with giving (Young) so many minutes and wanting to see more of David and see Tyler (Ennis) a little bit before the season end, it’s not really fair to him to keep playing four or five minutes per half. We’re thinking about making that move and committing even more so to the youth.”"

Nwaba, if you’re wondering, played college ball at Cal Polytechnic and is 24 years old. He averaged 12.5 points per game in his last year of college, then 14.1 points per game with the Los Angeles D-Fenders this season in the D-League.

Nick Young is within striking distance of the Lakers’ three-pointers made in a season record and leads all Lakers in three-point percentage, offensive rating, wins added and offensive box plus-minus.

So yeah, Los Angeles doesn’t seem overly concerned with winning games this season. The Lakers players are likely tired of losing, but the Bucks are simply better than the dismantled Lakers, who weren’t all that good to begin with.