After falling to 3-3 on the season, a dejected LeBron James spoke to the media to reflect on where things are going wrong. While LeBron had all sorts of interesting things to say tonight, perhaps the most telling of all his quotes was on the concerning trend the Lakers have picked up this season.
“We got to try to figure it out, because it’s definitely been a trend,” said James. “Offensive rebounds and points off turnovers.”
The Lakers got absolutely wiped in Orlando on Saturday, suffering a 120-101 defeat due in part to huge performances from Paolo Panchero and Franz Wagner, who combined for 51 points. As LeBron indicated, the Lakers got heavily outworked on the glass, grabbing only 40 rebounds compared to the Magic’s 51. While certainly not as bad as last year’s 2-10 start, this is hardly the opening the Lakers were hoping for in this new campaign. Clearly, LeBron is already growing frustrated with some of the things he’s been seeing and that’s not a good sign for the trajectory of the team.
A Flat Start For The Lakers
After making the Western Conference Finals last season, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka was convinced that his team was only a few pieces away from winning the title. By signing Christian Wood, Gabe Vincent, and Taurean Prince in free agency, the hope was that they’d have enough depth to compete with the best but it remains to be seen how they stack up compared to last year’s Lakers team.
From what we’ve seen so far, the bench hasn’t gotten any better and LeBron is already having to play heavy minutes just to keep the team at .500. The worst thing for Lakers fans this weekend was watching the team lose despite a good game from both Lebron and Anthony Davis, who played a combined 67 minutes. Needless to say, for a team in win-now mode, this is a concerning stretch of basketball and LeBron isn’t going to let it slide.
The Last Dance For LeBron?
After teasing at retirement this past summer, LeBron James made it clear that he’s closing in on the end of his basketball story. After 20 years, he’s accomplished everything for a player to do and has nothing left to prove at this stage of the game. But until LeBron is ready to walk away from the NBA life, he’s going to be in it to win and the Lakers are under pressure to not fall behind.
This season, as long as the King is still playing like a star, the Lakers are going to be competitive in some fashion and if Anthony Davis can find some semblance of consistency, they might even finish within the top four in the standings. But regardless of their record, expectations will always be high for this team and LeBron’s presence will always demand a high standard for winning. After all he’s done for the game, the Lakers owe it to LeBron to give him a chance at another ring and we already know that this team can win it all when they’re at their best. The question is, have their best days already passed, or is there still more to come for this era of the Lakers?
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