This season has been a grind for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. After a 2-10 start, they have been playing some good basketball of late to salvage their season and avoid falling into a hole too deep to climb out of.
Unfortunately, despite showing some signs of life, the Lakers are down to 11-16 on the season and just 12th in the west. Last night, against the Celtics, the Lakers lost a double-digit lead that could have resulted in their biggest win of the year.
In the aftermath of the defeat (in which Anthony Davis missed some free throws that could have iced the game), AD spoke up and took accountability for the missed opportunity.
Anthony Davis, who had 37 points, 12 boards and 3 assists, said it’s hard for him to think about anything other than the missed free throws in the final minute: “I know there’s more to it … but for me, you go back to the free throws (at Philly and vs. Boston) … it’s on me.”
It was a show of leadership for Davis, who was clearly reeling after the loss. Not long after, LeBron James came to his teammate’s defense and pointed out his passion for the game.
“If you go out and miss two big free throws like that and then come to the locker room and guys laughing and joking, you’d be questioning what kind of tema you have. It means he loves the game,” James said. “If it were the other way around, & he was running around there smiling you’d be questioning what type of teammate you got. I know who I’m rocking and rolling with every night.”
Lebron James on Anthony Davis taking the loss extremely hard:
“It means he loves the game. If it were the other way around, & he was running around there smiling you’d be questioning what type of teammate you got. I know who I’m rocking and rolling with every night.” #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/0fZvlQf0QR
— Nick Hamilton (@NickHamilton213) December 14, 2022
Lakers Need To Act Fast If They Want To Save Their Season
At this point, LeBron and Davis know all the right things to say, and they’ve been saying them all season long. How much they actually believe in the potential of their team, however, is debatable. To maximize chances of success, it will be up to Rob Pelinka to make a deal and add some depth to the roster.
But if James and Davis can just stay healthy, that will be a good start to turning things around.
“LeBron James is just phenomenal in terms of how he’s playing at this stage and point in his career,” said Stephen A. Smith. “I can’t say enough good things about him. Russell Westbrook… what this dude is doing coming off the bench, I give him a lot of credit for. I didn’t think he could do it. I had questions as to whether or not his attitude would be right. He’s been a spark plug, he’s been in attack mode and I give him a lot of credit.”
Only time will tell what the future has in store for the Lakeshow, but they have an uphill battle ahead if they want a ticket to the play-in.
Once they get there, anything is possible and you can bet that no team in the league will want to face LeBron James when it matters the most.
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