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The Los Angeles Lakers are on a four-game losing streak and superstar LeBron James got very candid following his team falling to the San Antonio Spurs 138-110 on Thursday.
The Lakers fell to 16-17 with the loss to the Spurs but are playing without five key members of the rotation in Austin Reaves, Malik Monk, Avery Bradley, Kent Bazemore and Trevor Ariza, who are all in the league’s health and safety protocols. On top of that, Anthony Davis and Kendrick Nunn are also out with injuries.
“We have no chemistry with any lineup from the simple fact that we haven’t logged any minutes,” James said on Thursday, December 23. “All of our defensive guys are in health and safety protocols. … We don’t need a full roster. We just need some of our guys back.”
Lakers Defense Getting Gashed
James and Westbrook did the heavy lifting for the Lakers against the Spurs, combining for 66 points. But the main problem for the Lakers was on the defensive end, where they had been so good in previous years under coach Frank Vogel, who is currently isolating due to a positive test.
“There is a reality of a complex defensive system and injecting new people into it on the fly is a disconnect,” Lakers acting head coach David Fizdale said following the loss.
Teams around the league are dealing with issues stemming from COVID-19 and James said the uncertainty has made it tough.
“Well this is the unknown, obviously, you don’t know. This is like I said, I say every year has its own challenges and this is another year where you can literally have one guy one night and the next night you won’t. You really don’t know, it’s up in the air,” said James.
“It’s literally a crapshoot every single time you take a test at this point on who is negative and who is positive. You just gotta see who is available and go from there.”
Kendrick Perkins: ‘Lakers Are Pathetic’
Not everyone is buying that the Lakers losing streak is simply because they’re shorthanded. Former NBAer turned talking head Kendrick Perkins ripped into the team, saying having two former MVPs in Westbrook and James should be enough.
“When you look at the Lakers, they are pathetic,” Perkins said on Get Up. “On the court and in their interviews. Last night you go into a game against a San Antonio Spurs team, and no knock on them but they have a bunch of young guys trying to find their way. You just got smoked two nights ago by the Phoenix Suns. You have Russell Westbrook and LeBron James available. You think the Lakers would come out with some kind of fight. What’s bad is when the Lakers come out in these interviews and say, “you know what, we haven’t had guys, our team hasn’t been there.” It’s happening all across the league.”
The Lakers face the Nets on Christmas Day. Brooklyn will be shorthanded, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving not playing. The Lakers are a one-point home underdog.
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