Getty LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers finally snapped their losing streak, picking up their third win of the season in a 116-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on November 13.
Speaking to the media following the game, Patrick Beverley credited LeBron James’ leadership in a November 12 practice session as a defining factor in how Los Angeles approached their game against Brooklyn.
Pat Beverley credits LeBron’s leadership and a good practice session after win over the Nets.
“We had a phenomenal practice, probably one of my best practices yesterday. You gotta give a lot of credit to LeBron. He started to get on guys the right way, and guys in the locker room responded. So, credit his leadership. Obviously, there are things that you guys don’t see in the locker room, but he was a big voice in practice yesterday, which kinda led over to our energy, and game planning, and focus for this game today,” Beverley said.
The fact that LeBron’s impact was felt despite his being unable to participate in the contest against Brooklyn is a testament to the leadership and winning attitude he can bring to the table when locked into the task at hand. However, the Lakers are still miles away from being seen as a competitive roster, and one victory will do little to appease a disillusioned fanbase.
Kevin Durant Rues Missed Chance
Without LeBron in their rotation, Kevin Durant was hoping the Lakers would be an easier proposition to deal with, but given Anthony Davis’ stellar performance, that didn’t turn out to be the case.
Speaking in his post-game press conference, Durant noted how the Nets were hoping that LeBron’s absence was going to give Brooklyn an easier path to victory.
“Tonight, they played great without him (LeBron), but usually he’s a load to deal with. We’ve needed wins lately, so to have him off the floor was supposed to be an easier game, but they played great tonight,” Durant said.
Unfortunately for Brooklyn, Davis was in All-Star form, leading the Lakers to victory on the back of his 37 points, 18 rebounds, and two assist night where he shot 15-of-25 from the field, giving him a 60% conversion rate on his shooting attempts.
Davis’ Message Got Through to His Teammates
Following Los Angeles’ 120-114 loss to the Sacramento Kings on November 11, Anthony Davis used his post-game press conference to send a message to his teammates, noting how the roster needed to start stringing wins together, and fast.
Hear from Anthony Davis after scoring 24 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the loss to the Kings.
“We actually had a pretty decent third quarter, you know, for the first time, just got to be better overall…We just gotta get some wins, especially in the West. You know, every team is good. We’ve got a lot of basketball left, but we’ve dug ourselves a hole. So we gotta put some wins together, we’ve gotta start winning, ASAP…The energy around our locker room feels like 2-and-10, as it should. But we gotta start putting wins together, immediately,” Davis said.
It would appear that Davis’ comments were heard and understood in the Lakers locker room, as the team came in into their contest against the Nets with a renewed energy and commitment to the game plan – helping them snap their losing streak and return to winning ways. Los Angeles will be back in action again on Friday, November 18, when they will face off against the Detroit Pistons, with hopes of securing another victory to help build some momentum.