The Los Angeles Lakers suffered an embarrassing defeat on Monday night, as the Philadelphia 76ers blew them out 138-94. While there was a lot to not like about the performance, a fan highlighted a stretch of three straight possessions in the third quarter that infuriated him.
Three straight plays in the 3rd quarter
Look at LeBron’s reactions 🤦♂️🤦♂️
1. Prince falls asleep, gives up an open 3
2. D’Lo falls asleep, gives up an open 3
3 Prince falls asleep, gives up a dunk
LeBron on what needs to change after a night like tonight – “A lot” pic.twitter.com/7mhEo5tAlw
— 🌟Fake (@LALeBron23) November 28, 2023
I don’t think Taurean Prince and D’Angelo Russell necessarily went to sleep in the first two instances. It seems pretty clear that head coach Darvin Ham either wanted the double to come Joel Embiid’s way at the top of the key or that he wanted to show a double.
If the latter was the game plan, then Prince and Russell can be criticized for overcommitting, which meant they weren’t in a position to contest the three-pointer. As for the final clip, Prince did fall asleep, which led to Nicolas Batum getting an easy layup.
You can understand LeBron James being frustrated over those three plays. He might also not have been a fan of this type of help defense being played against Embiid. You could see James looking over to the bench after those first two shots went in, but we won’t know for sure whether his frustration was directed at his teammates or the coaches.
LeBron James’ Stern Message After The Blowout Loss
LeBron is in his 21st season in the NBA and when you’ve been playing for that long, you’re going to have your fair share of big losses. This one to the 76ers, though, was actually the biggest of the lot for his career, with the margin of defeat being 44 points. When asked what needs to change for the Lakers after this loss, James sent a scary message.
“I asked LeBron James what needs to change after a night like tonight – ‘A lot,’ he said. Declined to elaborate.”
James was clearly very upset and when asked later about how the team should respond to this huge defeat, stated he didn’t know and could only speak for himself. It’s safe to say this season hasn’t gone quite according to plan for LeBron so far, but the Lakers obviously won’t be making wholesale changes to their roster.
Some schematic changes might be in order, though, which means the onus is then on Ham and his staff to figure out the best way forward.
The Lakers Have Failed To Live Up To Expectations
Considering how the Lakers made it to the Western Conference Finals last season and then followed it up by having a fine offseason, expectations were sky-high for 2023-24. It was thought they might challenge for the top spot in the West, but from what we have seen so far, that won’t be the case.
This loss to the 76ers dropped them to 10-8 on the season and they are now eighth in the conference. Injuries to the likes of Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura have certainly played a part in this slow start, but you’d still have expected better than what we have seen so far.
While LeBron is performing well with averages of 25.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game, the same can’t be said about too many of his teammates. We have seen a significant dip in scoring from Anthony Davis, in particular, who is averaging just 21.8 points per game.
Davis has only averaged fewer points than that in two other seasons of his career, and one of them was when he was a rookie. You appreciate everything that the 30-year-old does on the defensive end, but he has to start being a lot more productive on offense if this team is to eventually get over the line and win a title.
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