Getty Images LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are having an incredible season so far as they currently boast a 24-5 record and sit atop the Western Conference. The recently just hit a road block though and have lost their last two consecutive games. They first took a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday and then to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
The Lakers’ loss to the Bucks, 111-104, was a devastating one as both teams shared the top spot in the league with the best record, 24-4. This game ultimately determined which team would solely lead the league in the young season. The Lakers could not outperform reigning NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and ultimately lost their top seed.
Though the Bucks’ record shows that they are the best team in the league right now, sports analyst, Nick Wright thinks otherwise.
“I still think that the Lakers are the best suited team to win the championship. I thought it going into the season, I thought it at every moment. I also still think, as I thought before the season, the Bucks are the best suited team to have the best record, to have the best regular season and Giannis was the preseason pick and at this point in the season is the regular-season pick thus for MVP,” Wright said on an episode of FOX’s First Things First.
Lakers vs. Bucks
The Lakers took a hard loss to the Bucks as they failed to find momentum during their game on Thursday night. Though this loss crowned Bucks the league’s best team so far, the season is still young. Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledged this in a post-game interview
“It’s great we are the No. 1 team in the NBA right now, but at the end of the day, we might see them at the end of the season. So no one is making a big deal about a regular season. Our focus is to take it step by step, game by game and get better,” Antetokounmpo said.
Though the Lakers have now taken two consecutive losses, Wright doesn’t believe that makes them a ‘bad’ team.
“The Lakers are obviously not a flawless team, now two losses in a row does not make them a flawed team. What is happening in these two games is that one game they didn’t have Anthony Davis and LeBron played poorly. Last night, they’re going up against a dominant team, a team that can win the title and I would argue that LeBron played a C+,” Wright said.
James closed out the game with 21 points which is below his average this season which is 25.8 points a game. The Lakers were also in need of more size on the perimeter as the team was missing a key bench play in Kyle Kuzma who was out with a sprained ankle.
Per Spectrum Sports Net, Lakers’ head coach Frank Vogel acknowledged how the team was affected by the lack of Kuzma’s presence.
“No doubt. We definitely missed Kyle tonight, and really on this whole trip,” Vogel said.
The entire Lakers’ second string couldn’t perform as the team only had four points coming off of their bench. While the Lakers struggled to perform, the Greek Freak was on fire. He drained a career-high of five three’s and closed out the game with 34 points, seven assists and 11 boards.
The Lakers will have to step it up tomorrow night when they play against the Denver Nuggets at 6:30 p.m. The Nuggets are also having a good start to the season as they currently place second in the Western Conference with a 19-8 record.