The Los Angeles Lakers dropped to 24-24 on the season following a 135-119 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday night. After the game, LeBron James called out his teammates for not being clear on what they were supposed to be doing on the court.
Reporter: “Rui (Hachimura) said the defense, some of the issues as of late has come down in communication amongst teammates. How can that improve?”
LeBron James: “Guys gotta communicate. You got to know what we’re doing out on the floor, first of all. And then when you make adjustments throughout the game, you gotta know when the adjustments is made, so everybody is on the same page. So, everybody need to be in tune of what we’re doing so there’s no mishaps. And then sometimes there will be mishaps, you got to cover for one another. So, the game is not just X’s and O’s, it’s also being able to do things on the fly as well when things break down or the game presents different challenges.”
(starts at 29:15 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yYOVVfX-iI
That word communication has just up time and time again from Lakers players this season. Earlier this month, D’Angelo Russell said miscommunication on defense hurt the Lakers against the Brooklyn Nets. The fact that such issues are persisting when we’re this deep into this 2023-24 campaign is quite concerning.
Over the last 15 games, the Lakers rank 23rd in the NBA in defensive rating at 118.7, which is not good enough. Here, they allowed the Rockets to shoot 53.1% from the field, and you won’t win too many games when that happens.
You’d hope to see a better showing on defense when they take on the Atlanta Hawks tonight on the second night of a back-to-back. There was some doubt about whether LeBron would play against the Hawks, as he had 23 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block here in 37 minutes, but the 39-year-old stated the plan is for him to play.
Can LeBron James Get The Lakers To The Playoffs?
This loss means the battle for the final play-in spots has just gotten tighter. The Lakers are currently the ninth seed, only ahead of the 24-24 Utah Jazz on tiebreaker. They are also now just a game ahead of the 22-24 Rockets, while the 19-24 Golden State Warriors are somewhat within touching distance of them as well.
It is hard to see how the Lakers can create a ton of separation from this group as whenever they seemingly take a step forward, they take one back too. They came into this contest with five wins in their last seven games and then laid an egg.
I think LeBron, who is averaging 25.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game this season, and Anthony Davis will ensure the Lakers don’t fall out of even the play-in spots. These two are too good for their team to drop out of the top 10, and you’d back them to advance to the playoffs through the tournament.
If they are to avoid the tournament altogether by finishing in the top six, I think the Lakers need to make some moves before the February 8 trade deadline. Their 2022-23 season turned around with the mid-season trades they made, and a repeat will be needed for a turnaround in 2023-24.
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