All is not well in Lakerland at the moment, as the Los Angeles has dropped back to back games against non-playoff teams in New Orleans and Memphis.
The 110-105 loss drops L.A. to 11th in the Western Conference, tied with the Timberwolves at 29-31, three full games behind the Spurs in the eighth spot in the standings. LeBron James filled the stat sheet per usual with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, but it still wasn’t one of his best performances as he had a bit of a rough close to the game, missing a pair of deep threes and getting called for a charge running through Joakim Noah in the closing seconds.
For the second straight game, LeBron appeared at the end of his rope with regards to his team’s performance in the locker room after a loss. In New Orleans, James questioned his team’s focus and whether basketball was the most important thing to them. This time, he made a very simple declaration: if you can’t handle distractions and a playoff push, the Lakers are the wrong place to be.
Lakers’ LeBron James after loss to Grizzlies (via @SpectrumSN): “If you’re still allowing distractions to affect the way you play, this is the wrong franchise to be a part of and you should just come in and be like, ‘Listen, I can’t do this.’” pic.twitter.com/s3gHiuhODx
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 26, 2019
It’s certainly an interesting quote, given everything that’s gone on with the Lakers since Anthony Davis’ trade request through now with no major trades happening but just about everyone finding themselves aside from James thrust into rumors. At times, the team has looked fine, like in their post-All Star break opener against the Rockets in which they won, but that LeBron keeps harping on a lack of focus from his teammates indicates that things aren’t going well internally even when they have a brief respite from losses.
It will be fascinating to see how things go the rest of the season for the Lakers, but they’re only 1-2 since James proclaimed he was “flipping the switch” to playoff mode early and that doesn’t bode especially well for their chances of reaching the postseason. If LeBron’s 13-year playoff streak comes to an end this year, it will make for a very interesting summer in Los Angeles.
