The Los Angeles Lakers had hit a bit of a bump in the road in the lead-up to their clash with the Detroit Pistons. After winning 8 out of 10 games, the Lakers proceeded to lose three in a row to fall to 10-15 on the season.
The last of those losses came at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime, and for a short bit, it seemed like the Pistons might take them to overtime as well. The Lakers went up 119-111 with just over two minutes remaining to seemingly end the game as a contest, but the Pistons went on a 6-0 run to make it a one-possession game with 35.1 seconds remaining.
The Lakers desperately needed to score, and LeBron James drove to the basket and kicked it out to Austin Reaves, who drained it from beyond the arc to give the Lakers some breathing space. They went on to win 124-117, but James’ critics pointed out that he once again opted against taking a big shot. Reaves defended LeBron’s decision to pass as he said he made the right basketball play.
Austin Reaves on getting the ball from LeBron for the final shot: "Bron's been criticized his whole career for making the right basketball play late in games instead of forcing a shot. … You know when you play with him, you know he's gonna make the right basketball play."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) December 12, 2022
Austin Reaves on getting the ball from LeBron for the final shot: “Bron’s been criticized his whole career for making the right basketball play late in games instead of forcing a shot. … You know when you play with him, you know he’s gonna make the right basketball play.”
When you make the right play, you live with whatever happens next. It is crazy how LeBron keeps getting criticized for doing the right thing, as opposed to trying to play hero ball. The Lakers have shown clear improvements from earlier on in the season, but they don’t really look like contenders at this point. Draymond Green, however, doesn’t see it that way.
Draymond Green Isn’t Counting Out The Lakers
Draymond and the Golden State Warriors had a rough start of their own but now have a 14-13 record and are coming off a big win over the Boston Celtics. After that big win, Draymond refused to count out the Lakers, saying that they have LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook.
While that is true, they still need to make some moves if they are to challenge teams like the Warriors. Here are 3 trades that the Lakers should make to become title contenders, as they need to make the most of this season when AD is on such a tear.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
