Lakers Collapse vs. Suns: Turnovers, Transition Defense, and a 'Monstars' Meltdown
The Los Angeles Lakers had been rolling-seven straight wins, confidence building, and a team starting to find its identity. But Monday night in Phoenix? That was a complete unraveling.
The second quarter told the story. What began as a competitive, back-and-forth contest quickly spiraled into chaos for the Lakers.
A barrage of turnovers-10 in the second quarter alone-opened the floodgates for the Suns, who wasted no time turning mistakes into momentum. By halftime, the Lakers found themselves down 66-52, and the hole only got deeper from there.
Phoenix turned defense into offense with ruthless efficiency, outscoring the Lakers 28-2 in fast-break points. That number jumps off the page, and it played out just as brutally on the court. The Lakers simply couldn’t get back in transition, and the Suns made them pay.
Head coach JJ Redick didn’t sugarcoat it afterward. He pointed to a lack of effort, a failure to match Phoenix’s physicality, and a surreal sense that his team just wasn’t itself.
“If you don’t play hard against that team, you’re gonna get exposed,” Redick said postgame. “Multiple times in the first half, we had a numbers advantage in transition defense-and guys just ran by us.”
Redick even went full Space Jam to describe the bizarre nature of the performance, likening it to the “Monstars” taking over his players. “They’re not doing anything they normally do,” he said. “It’s weird.”
Weird is one word for it. Disconnected might be another. The Lakers looked a step slow and mentally out of sync, and the numbers back that up: 22 total turnovers, a 25-point deficit at one point, and a 125-108 final score that felt even more lopsided than it looks on paper.
LeBron James, who’s been central to the Lakers’ recent surge, struggled mightily. Just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, and very little of the usual command we’ve come to expect from him in big moments. Meanwhile, Dillon Brooks poured in 33 for the Suns and didn’t hold back postgame, throwing shade in LeBron’s direction.
Now, the Lakers have to regroup quickly. They’re heading out for a tough three-game road trip, starting Thursday in Toronto.
The Raptors are young, fast, and leading the league in fast-break scoring-exactly the kind of team that punishes sluggish transition defense. After that, it’s a brutal East Coast swing through Boston and Philadelphia before returning home for the quarterfinal round of the Emirates NBA Cup against the Spurs.
Monday night was a reminder: in today’s NBA, effort and focus are non-negotiables-especially against teams that thrive on pace and pressure. The Lakers have shown they can be one of the hottest teams in the league. But if they want to stay in that conversation, they’ll need to leave the “Monstars” performance behind-and fast.