The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most peculiar teams in the NBA. The early-season struggles seemed to get a pass as the team adjusted to the gravitational pull of Lebron James. Then the inability to land Anthony Davis meant there would be no major upgrades coming this season. Now, they are on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture looking in.
After dropping a road game to the New Orleans Pelicans, who were without Anthony Davis, more questions appeared for the Lakers. Coming off a nice win over the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles looked to be on the upswing. The latest loss, however, undid all that momentum. And James is at the point of calling out the rest of the team in general.
“The last few years, everyone’s so accustomed to the losses that I’m just not accustomed to,” James said to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I’m not accustomed to it. I will never get comfortable with losing. So losing Game 1 (earlier this season) to Houston, it feels the same way as losing Game 59 in New Orleans to me. It’s just how I’m built. That’s who I am.”
“I knew it was going to be very challenging,” James continued to McMenamin. “Just because of the experience the roster had at that point and time. I knew it was going to be challenging from that sense, but I felt like we could still play better basketball. And we were doing that and obviously it sucks that my injury happened and (Lonzo Ball’s) injury happened and so many of our injuries happened.”
The injuries have certainly been a challenge for the Lakers to overcome. The team is banking on guys like Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Ball to have their high-ceiling potential timeline sped up by playing with James. At times, that has happened. But more times than not, more questions that answers have been the result.
To say this season has been up and down for the Lakers is a big understatement. At times, it has felt like a complete soap opera. From the “spitgate” incident early in the season, to James’ injury that resulted in the longest layoff of his career, to the Anthony Davis trade saga, there has been no shortage of distractions. Perhaps the latest Lebron James public callout will steer the ship in the right direction.
