An unexpected development before the slump Lakers loses minutes when their two stars are on the field together, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. On Tuesday night, LA was outscored by 5.5 points per 100 possessions in the 365 minutes Le Bron James And Anthony Davis were both in play.

There are several glaring problems with the James-Davis lineups, Price adds. No matter who else is paired with them, the groups haven’t rebounded well or forced enough turnovers, and they’re allowing opponents to shoot at high percentages.

The inability to gain an advantage when their best players share the court has contributed to the Lakers’ recent slowdown after a 10-4 start, but coach JJ Redick does not consider this a cause for concern.

‘Not worried, not worried at all’ Redick said. “It’s more about diving into the why and trying to correct that yourself.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

• Return from Tuesday Kevin Durant And Bradley Beal has the Sunbathing looks like an elite team again, notes The Athletic’s Doug Haller. Durant and Beal pulled off a 27-point loss to the Lakers in an NBA Cup game and reminded us how good the team looked during its 8-1 start to the season. ‘I just wanted to be with the boys’ said Durant, who missed seven games with a left calf strain. “I wanted to travel. If you’re injured, you’re still part of the team, you’re still on the roster, but there’s a certain amount of separation (with guys playing). I just wanted to be part of the group again.”
• Defense has become a problem for the Warriors in their last two games, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. They let a 17-point second-half lead slip in Saturday’s loss to San Antonio, but squandered an 18-point lead against Brooklyn on Monday. The Warriors ranked 25th in team defense in those two games and allowed an atrocious 154.2 points per 100 possessions in the combined fourth quarters. Defensive issues were the focus of Tuesday’s practice. “Our communication was not good and we did not rotate and secure the box as we normally would,” Kevon Looney said about Monday’s game. “(Assistant coach and defensive coordinator Jerry Stackhouse) says we were too early, we were aggressive and I think we were half a second late on everything.
• After being classified as doubtful on Tuesday, Warriors guard Stefan Curry will sit out tonight’s game against Oklahoma City with bilateral knee soreness, Gordon added in a separate story. This will be Curry’s fourth missed game of the season, and Golden State has won the first three.