Five takeaways from the Lakers’ 125-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves

Lakers Coach Luke Walton does have a good poker face, but it’s still possible to glean information from his post-game demeanor. For example, Walton was annoyed by the Lakers’ slow start in Sacramento last week, and the fact that they put themselves in a 19-point hole. So even though the Lakers won that game, he had some harsh words post-game.

That wasn’t the case Sunday night. Let’s start there for our five takeaways from the Lakers’ road-trip-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

1. On Sunday night we saw a more understanding Walton. Even though the Lakers went down early, he wasn’t overly critical of their effort. Likely, part of him understands that part of the learning process for a young team is to learn how to maintain energy at the end of road trips. Walton talked post-game of striking a balance between not letting players use the three games in four nights as an excuse, but also not ripping them too much for their play.

2. It was apparent in the locker room that although the players appreciated Walton’s understanding, they weren’t interested in taking the ready excuse. Larry Nance Jr. talked about the Lakers needing to develop into a team that could bring as much energy on the last night of a road trip as the first. Julius Randle said they needed to realize this wasn’t acceptable. Luol Deng noted that every team goes through a taxing schedule and it isn’t a good idea to use that as an excuse. The players criticized themselves in a way their coach wouldn’t. That kind of ownership and accountability is a good thing, and Walton’s demeanor here likely helped foster that.

3. A big part of the Lakers’ success rate is how well they share the ball. It’s a stat that can be predictive for the Lakers this season. In their wins they have 7.3 more assists per game than they do in their losses. The Lakers had only 16 assists in a 26-point loss to the Timberwolves after 36 assists in their 27-point win over the Pelicans.

4. The Lakers were a second-half team during this three-game road trip when examining their stats per 48 minutes. They shot better (48.4% to 54.2%), protected the ball better (18 turnovers to 14), shared better (19.3 assists to 27.3) and rebounded better (38.7 to 46.7) in the second half of every game. Twice that resulted in comeback wins, then they ran out of gas.

5. The Lakers still have a way to go to be considered a good defensive team, but they’re making progress. They finished last season last in defensive rating (points per 100 possessions), but now they’re 18th.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Twitter: @taniaganguli