Lakers’ Bulletin Board Material Was Worthless vs. 76ers

The Los Angeles Lakers were gift-wrapped a ton of motivation on Monday night, as Philadelphia 76ers center Paul Reed made a statement that went viral shortly after the Sixers’ shootaround session.

“Best of luck,” said Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, who acknowledged the backup center's comments regarding Lakers superstar Anthony Davis.

The comments spiced up the late November matchup on a Monday, but the performance from the visitors was much more deflated than anyone would expect.

Paul Reed Can't be 'Too Aggressive' vs. Lakers Star

“Teams are going to come out and swing with their hardest punch,” Ham stated after the game. “Especially when they are playing against the Lakers.”

The Sixers were standing on business early on Monday. Through the first half of action, they garnered a 68-53 lead. Davis, who was given every right to come out and throw cold water on Reed’s hot take, had a quiet 12-point half as the Lakers trailed by 15 points.

“I felt like we let some in-game adversity, whether if it was some calls that didn’t go our way, some shots we normally make, we got some great looks in that first quarter that didn’t go down,” Ham added. “We said it before the game, this team puts you in a position where you have to give multiple efforts, and you have to have a next-play mentality. They have championship aspirations, and so do we, but in the short term, your competitive spirit has to be at a high level. It almost has to be bulletproof to a certain degree because things are going to happen in an NBA game.”

The Lakers couldn’t get out of their own way on Monday, and the Sixers made them pay. In the second half, the Lakers still lacked the juice to make it a competitive matchup. Davis shot just 1-4 from the field, scoring five points in 12 minutes. He finished the night with 17 points and 11 rebounds, much quieter than normal.

AD, LeBron James, and the rest of the LA squad were outscored 70-41 in the final 24 minutes of action. The Sixers dominated in every area of the game, winning the turnover battle 17-7 and knocking down 15 more three-pointers.

The bulletin board material proved to be worthless for the Lakers in the end. They suffered their worst loss of the 2023-2024 NBA season, losing 138-94. Paul Reed’s pregame comments made a ton of noise, but the backup center and his team walked the walk on Monday with a notable win.