It was a case of so close yet so far for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks as they lost in double overtime. As if that wasn’t enough of a gut punch, they suffered yet another agonizing 113-112 defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.
In what has unfortunately been a bit of a theme in big games for the Lakers this season, they put up a good fight but eventually ended up on the losing side. This result meant that they dropped to 19-24 on the season to fall 3 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers, who currently sit at 6th.
We have seen LeBron James being visibly annoyed at various points this season, but his frustrations were at an all-time high after this one, especially after that disastrous final play where Russell Westbrook wasn’t even able to get a proper shot off against Joel Embiid. In his postgame interview, James didn’t even seem to be in the mood to answer any questions.
"We got the stop, gave ourselves a chance to win and didn't execute." @KingJames on tonight's loss. pic.twitter.com/urLyDsq7ck
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 16, 2023
NBA Reporter: “Take us through the final offensive possession.”
LeBron James: “We got a stop, gave ourselves a chance to win the game (and) we didn’t.”
NBA Reporter: “A lot of focus will be on that final possession but as you know, you can see the game in its entirety, coach mentioned moments ago too, just being better whether it’s finishing or not, how do you assess the game as a whole?”
LeBron James: “Just frustrating, getting those positions and not being able to come up with the victory.”
NBA Reporter: “LeBron, it’s always kind of tough to know maybe in the moment whether or not there should be a time out there. When you weigh the factors, what does that kind of look like on that last possession?”
LeBron James: “We got the stop, gave ourselves a chance to win, we didn’t execute.”
NBA Reporter: “That failure to execute or something goes the wrong way, how does that add to the overall picture in getting that experience in these late-game situations?”
LeBron James: “What is the overall picture?”
NBA Reporter: “I guess the hope would be that you get through so many different situations that at some point no matter who is involved.”
LeBron James: “We’re playing good basketball, we’re just not winning games.
NBA Reporter: “LeBron I know at the end of the day for you, it’s win-loss that’s all that matters but at this point, you passed 38,000 career points. Do you let yourself clock those moments or is it just sort of the ultimate moment in the end?”
LeBron James: “Nah (shakes head).”
NBA Reporter: “Are there things in these moments that you need your team to hold on to, I mean as you guys have to find ways to win and understand that urgency.”
LeBron James: “The best thing about this league is you get an opportunity to redeem yourself very fast… still get an opportunity to be better the next day. We got another one tomorrow, we gotta be ready to play against the young, fast, energetic Houston Rockets team.”
NBA Reporter: “You guys won a bunch of close games before the last two, do you feel like overall the team is moving in the right direction here or is there any kind of bigger picture to that.”
LeBron James: “We’re better than (we were at) the start of the season.”
NBA Reporter: “I know losing is incredibly frustrating for you, in the context of what this franchise is, do you think much about what it means for the franchise that the start of this season went and last season.”
LeBron James: “Nah.”
It is clear that he just wanted to get out of there, but they kept asking questions despite him being so visibly frustrated. That was also an interesting last question, to say the least, in this situation. If the franchise doesn’t want to find itself in this position where they’re losing games, the top brass needs to make some moves. LeBron had 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, so it isn’t like this loss falls on him by any means. He needs more help, and he will be getting some in the form of Anthony Davis, at least.
There Was A Positive Injury Update On Anthony Davis
Davis has been on the sidelines for almost a month now with that foot injury, but a return doesn’t seem too far away. Prior to the game against the Sixers, it came out that he managed to get on the floor and do some half-court work during practice, which is a big positive.
If AD plays the way he was playing before his injury and LeBron keeps this up, the Lakers will fancy their chances at going on a run. Even Westbrook, for his brutal mistake at the end, had 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, as he continues to do well off the bench.
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