Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw fell ill before Wednesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns and was unable to make it to the bench in Talking Stick Resort Arena.
He might have been the lucky one. At least the former Lakers star did not have to witness a 137-101 drubbing at the hands of the Suns in person.
Their bodies fatigued on the second night of a back-to-back and their hearts and minds seemingly in All-Star break mode, the Lakers fell behind by 22 points in the first quarter, 30 points in the third, and they never challenged the Suns, one of only two teams with a worse record than the Lakers.