The Lakers saw the first-ever In-Season Tournament Championship banner lifted to the rafters in the Crypto.com Arena and followed it up with one of the toughest losses of the season. The Knicks walked out of LA with a 114-109 win over the Lakers, as fans were devastated to see their home team lose on such a night.
Final tally pic.twitter.com/stlVQtFkzI
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 19, 2023
Laker fans were incredibly heartbroken over how the team played in this loss.
Don’t do this to me Lakers pic.twitter.com/ljHo72CXyR
— The Pettiest Laker Fan 🤫 (@ThePettiestLA) December 19, 2023
Laker fans are accepting their reality as a middle-of-the-pack West team without role-players stepping up to help their two stars.
Lakers are a 6th seed. That is their reality. Win or lose. This accounts for coaching, role players like stars energy, Bron and AD load/inability to carry, etc.
— QueensGambit00 (@QGambit00) December 19, 2023
Laker fans were stunned at how sloppily their team played in a winnable game.
what in the world is wrong w the lakers today
just so sloppy all game
— Coach Rome (@Rome_Beast) December 19, 2023
Fans joked about LeBron’s poor play for the first three quarters.
Lebron Tonight
— G.Multani (@geemultani24) December 19, 2023
Many fans thought Julius Randle outplayed both LeBron and AD.
Julius outplaying LeBron and AD pic.twitter.com/RCFidBf9Ft
— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) December 19, 2023
Fans appreciated the high level of two-way play Anthony Davis showed despite the loss.
https://twitter.com/josh2saint/status/1736968873981948071
The disastrous shooting from the Lakers was mocked by fans.
Lakers shooting wide open 3s in the 4th Qpic.twitter.com/vjH149s9wY
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) December 19, 2023
The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis dropping 32 points with 14 rebounds, emerging as the primary option throughout the game. LeBron James had a slow start but came alive in the fourth to end the game with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists on 43.5% shooting. Austin Reaves may be in trade rumors but he’s proving his value to the Lakers right now, enjoying another 20-point game off the bench.
The Knicks also had three players score above 20 points, as Julius Randle led the team for most of the game and ended with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Jalen Brunson shrugged off a slow start to the end the game as the team’s highest scorer with 29 points, while Immanuel Quickley dropped 20 off the bench.
The Lakers Lack Energy
One of the biggest problems with the Lakers, since they started this season, has been a fluctuation in energy. When the squad is motivated, they’re arguably the best defensive team in the NBA and can execute offense at a high level. The In-Season Tournament was proof of that, but the team just doesn’t have that same approach to normal regular-season games.
Even though AD spent most of the game engaged in helping the team win, LeBron had a clear slow start with airball threes and lax defensive rotations. That set a poor tone for everyone else, as even high-motor players such as Cam Reddish looked disengaged on the court. This is a big worry for a team that came into the season with championship expectations.
A trade could inject some new life into the team, but the inconsistency across role-players on the team means the Lakers can’t even make a trade right now without a larger sample size. Austin Reaves may interest the Bulls in a trade, but the Lakers will hope to retain the 25-year-old guard who’s been hooping since moving to the bench.
D’Angelo Russell had another poor game, making his status as starting point guard questionable once again. Gabe Vincent’s return may help the Lakers tide themselves over to the trade deadline, where they may be the biggest buyers on the market.
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