The Los Angeles Lakers battled hard against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, but with LeBron James missing the contest due to injury, they ended up losing 127-116. Their head coach, Darvin Ham, was disappointed with the loss but was proud of his players for how they competed.
“The lesson tonight was just how we competed together,” Ham said. “Again, guys taking accountability for mistakes and not making them twice. Trying to get better defensively as the game was ticking away. Disappointing the loss, but I’m proud of (how) our guys competed minus LeBron.”
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The only notable absentee here for the Clippers was Ivica Zubac and you thought there was a chance they might blow the Lakers away with LeBron being out. Instead, the Lakers actually managed to hang in the contest and even got within two points on a couple of occasions in the fourth quarter.
It was then that they really started to feel LeBron’s absence, though. With Anthony Davis constantly being double-teamed, the Lakers only managed to score 19 points in total in the quarter. With James not on the court, the Clippers could key in on Davis, who only ended up attempting one field goal in the final period.
The rest of the team just was not able to take advantage of all the attention on Davis, who ended with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists on the night. Had LeBron, who is averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game this season, been playing, the Clippers wouldn’t have gotten away with it, because he would have made them pay.
The Lakers Have Now Lost Their Last Three Games Without LeBron In The Lineup
When you think back to the incredible second half of last season for the Lakers, the point to remember is that James missed a fair bit of that stretch. He was out for 13 games from the end of February to the end of March and the Lakers went 8-5 in them.
In the past, LeBron’s teams had always struggled when he was out, and that stretch last season gave hope that this group was different. Well, they did win the first two games that he missed this season against the lowly Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs but have lost their last three when LeBron is out.
Prior to this defeat, they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz in his absence. The 39-year-old is probably going to miss some more games here and there in his 21st season and while you applaud the Lakers for competing hard when he’s out, they need to start winning those games.
LeBron is day-to-day with his left ankle sprain as of now and it remains to be seen if he will be back for the game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
The Lakers Seem Set To Make A Trade
This loss to the Clippers dropped the Lakers to 22-23 on the season. It has been a very underwhelming campaign for a team that was aspiring to be among the top seeds in the Western Conference. They no longer have much of a chance at that, but just like last season, the Lakers could turn things around with the right trades.
There are two players whom they seem to have eyes on at the moment, Dejounte Murray and Bruce Brown. Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Lakers are focused on acquiring Brown, who would certainly be a good addition to this roster.
The Lakers also reportedly offered D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and draft picks for Murray. Talks have stalled on that front, but are expected to pick up as we get closer to the February 8 trade deadline.
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