It’s never easy beating the same team twice in three days on their home court but the Los Angeles Lakers somehow just managed to pull it off in their back-to-back set against the Sacramento Kings. In a chat with the media after the final buzzer, James shared the secret to their recent success, and how they can sustain this level of play going forward.
“These two wins have been about us doing the little things,” said James. “Because we’ve been unable to shoot the ball into the ocean. But we’ve been able to win these two games in this hostile environment because we’ve done the little things and defensively, we’ve been on point.”
James was on another level tonight with 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in the win. He led the way for a Lakers team that’s looked drastically different over the past few games.
When LeBron says the Lakers have been doing the “little things” he means things like communicating with teammates, making effort plays, and constantly moving without the ball. For a Lakers team that lacks the same kind of talent as the upper elites, these are the things that the Lakers can do to even the playing field and give themselves a chance against the best in the league.
Of course, James also mentioned their efforts on defense, which have been particularly effective of late. Guys like Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura have set the tone on that end of the floor and they were key to limiting the Kings’ offense in the past two games (100 points and 99).
In the locker room after Saturday’s game, James got into more detail about the Lakers’ defense and how they need to lean more into it if they want to be competitive in every game.
“In order for us to compete in every game and for us to win games, we can’t rely on offense all the time we have to buckle down on defense,” said James. “6-7 games ago, our defense was not so good but from that moment we started sharpening our defense. I think our offense is gonna come but you can win games in this league when you defend at a high level and we’ve been doing that at a high level over the past couple of weeks.”
Defense isn’t everything for the Lakers but it’s certainly necessary for their success. Back in 2020, their defense led the way on a championship run and they’ve been trying to re-create it ever since.
Over the years, the Lakers have seen some major slippage on both sides of the court and this season looked to be more the same after a rough patch back in November humbled the franchise.
Now, after winning three straight, the Lakers are right back in the picture for a top-six seed and if they can maintain their current level of play, it might move them even further up the standings. After back-to-back wins against the Kings, LA is now four games above .500 at 16-12 and they are feeling good about their chances in the West.
But to keep the momentum going, all of the players will need to lock in and continue their commitment to “the little things.” If they do that and follow LeBron’s lead, wins will surely follow and it might just put them in play for a higher seed in the West.
Next up for the Lakers is a game at Crypto.com arena, where they will battle the Detroit Pistons at 10:30 PM EST on December 23rd. On Christmas, they play the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center at 8:00 PM EST. Finally, the Lakers will face off against the Kings again on December 28th at Crypto.com arena at 10:30 PM EST.
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