It is now fair to say that the Los Angeles Lakers have so far not been able to live up to the expectations that the fans had from the team. The purple and gold were utterly embarrassed by the Chicago Bulls in their recent fixture.
The Bulls comfortably registered another victory and the Lakers never looked like they had a chance to win. Following this humiliating loss, NBA fans tore apart the Lakers on Twitter.
It seems like the absence of LeBron James is causing the team more trouble than they would have anticipated. Speaking of James, the King was present courtside to support his team. But there is only so much he can do while not being able to play. Well, one thing that he did was to enjoy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while watching the game.
https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1460488835385626630
Although James was supporting the team throughout the game, he couldn’t take it anymore around the 5-minute mark in the last quarter of the match. As pointed out by NBA writer Mark Medina, James had seen enough. Medina tweeted:
“LeBron James has seen enough. He heads to the locker room while the Bulls have a 114-88 lead over the Lakers with 5:18 left.”
https://twitter.com/MarkG_Medina/status/1460484538455392257
James, who is currently sidelined due to an injury, seemed pretty disappointed with the team’s performance. You can check out LBJ leaving the game in the video below taken by a fan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kuulUwIp2A
While there is no set date for James to return from an abdominal injury, he might return to the team regardless of his full recovery as this is a crucial time for the team. With many teams from both conferences having amazing years, as of now, the Lakers do not look on par with them.
After taking back-to-back huge losses, it might finally be time for the team to find out what is not working in favor of them. To make sure they properly execute the improved strategies, they need LeBron to be fit and be the center of everything.
After all, the entire team is built around him and him being out for a long time will hurt the Lakers in their quest to win the 2022 NBA Championship.
The Lakers face off against the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks next. Maybe we will see James return to the starting five for this match.
