Getty Images The Los Angeles Lakers took a beating to the Toronto Raptors early on.
It looks like it’s going to take a lot more than just “The King” LeBron James for the Los Angeles Lakers to win games this season. The great debate over the offseason was whether LeBron was finding a better supporting cast with the Lakers or not. Coming from the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron had to put not only the young guys but the veterans on his back in order for the team to win the Eastern Conference.
Many expected LeBron’s move to make a difference for the always intriguing Los Angeles Lakers. There were talks about the Lakers taking on the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals all throughout the offseason, but the Lakers aren’t exactly looking like a playoff team right now, let alone a conference contender.
Heading into Sunday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors, the Lakers were coming off of a solid win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Their 4-5 record wasn’t appealing, but the Lakers were hoping to start a run after their two-game win streak. And what better way to do it against the Kawhi Leonard-less Raptors?
You know the Raptors, a team that LeBron has owned in the past. Unfortunately, the script was flipped on Sunday as the Raptors were playing no games with the Lakers. In fact, the Lakers made history for all of the wrong reasons. Check out this ridiculous stat from ESPN after the first quarter.
The Lakers Make History
The Lakers trailed the Raptors by as many as 31 points in the 1st quarter.
They’re the 1st team in the last 20 seasons to trail by 30+ in a 1st quarter at home.
Before Sunday’s game, the Lakers surprisingly didn’t have a game where they didn’t trail by over 20 points. But the Raptors made sure to change that statistic as they completely worked the Lakers from the moment the ball tipped off. It was just one of those games where everything that could possibly go right for the Raptors went right. And everything that could potentially go wrong for the Lakers went wrong.
Don’t worry, Lakers fans, it’s not time to panic just yet. As LeBron and company stated at the beginning of the season, it’s going to take time to form some on-court chemistry. Seeing as though the Lakers still have a lot of youth to match with the new veterans, it’s no surprise that there are growing pains in 2018. But one thing is for sure, though.
The Lakers took a beating this bad to a decent team without their best player on the court is quite concerning. Even if the Lakers began to climb back, the chances of making a full comeback are slim to none. According to ESPN, the Raptors win probability was at 98-percent as early as the first quarter. Since it peaked, it never dropped below 90-percent. That’s very concerning for Los Angles.