LeBron James isn’t quite enjoying his basketball at the moment, the Lakers have been struggling mightily this season so far. Even though he’s been stellar individually, LBJ’s team has failed to put up a good effort in their quest for the playoffs, which is now leading to some frustration on his part. In their loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, James ended up throwing the ball hard at Scottie Barnes in an attempt to save it from going out, quite an example of his current state of mind.
James had another moment of anger during the game when the Lakers were trailing by 23 in the first quarter, letting his teammates know that the amount of effort they were putting in wasn’t good enough. James went up for a rebound off of a missed shot but the Raptors managed to secure the ball and score instead, leading to an outburst from LeBron.
“Get the f**k in here and get a f**king rebound, god damn it. Come on man, everybody get the f**k in here.”
LeBron is usually not this openly frustrated on the court but being down by more than 20 points in the first quarter would lead to just about anyone losing their cool. A loss is acceptable during a game but rebounding is all about hustle and effort, so not seeing that happen is an indicator of the team’s mentality not being where it needs to be.
The Lakers were unable to dig themselves out of the hole they dug for themselves early in the game and the loss marked their 2nd in as many nights. with the New Orleans Pelicans breathing down their necks, they cannot afford many more slipups, and LeBron James will need to motivate his team a lot better if they want to have any shot of making the playoffs.
