The Los Angeles Lakers are in Serious Trouble and the Fingers are pointing at LeBron James [Every News]
The Los Angeles Lakers are in Serious Trouble and the Fingers are pointing at LeBron James [Every News]
LeBron James is the greatest player of his generation and arguably the greatest player of all time, but things in Los Angeles haven’t gone according to script.
Early in the 2018/19 season, the Lakers with the addition of James looked like serious contenders for the NBA championship.
Then James went down during his teams win over the reigning champion Golden State Warriors on Boxing Day and subsequently missed 18 out of the next 19 games.
Without “The King” in the line-up, the Lakers squad won only six out of 18 games and plummeted down the Western Conference standings.
But as the on court struggles continued, James was making matters worse with his courting of New Orleans Pelicans superstar Anthony Davis.
James didn’t hide from the fact he wanted the big man as a teammate as he joked about it during the NBA All-Star live draft.
But as the Trade Deadline approached and the reports began to filter of the players being involved in talks, the Lakers’ chemistry began to fracture and ever since it looks like they’re a long way from ever being repaired.
A second straight loss makes it six out of their past eight and they now find themselves squarely standing on the outside of the playoffs looking in.
And at the centre of the breakdown is LeBron James, according to one anonymous NBA executive who spoke to Bleacher Report.
“He killed the (Lakers’) chemistry,” he said. “He shouldn’t have been so public about it. Even during the All-Star draft, he laughed about (wanting Davis to be his teammate).”
As the playoff push heats up, James proclaimed only a week ago he had “activated” his playoff mode earlier than anticipated.
But as the losses continue to pile up and James’ displays become magnified, he continues to point the finger at his teammates.
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.’”
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James hasn’t missed the postseason for 13 straight seasons and has also made the past eight NBA finals, a historic streak.
After trying to land one of the NBA’s big fish in Anthony Davis, James said he’d be turning things around to keep his playoff streak alive.
But since making his comments, James hasn’t shown the tenacity you’d expect from a genuine superstar throughout the entirety of games, like what you receive in the playoffs.
Against the 14th placed Grizzlies there were several instances of James coasting on the defensive end, but none were more glaring than in the fourth quarter.
With under three minutes to go and the Lakers down by only four points, James inexplicably sagged off Bruno Caboclo and left him wide open beyond the three point arc.
Caboclo took full advantage of the lazy defence and buried the shot to hand the Grizzlies the seven point edge.
LeBron with that lockdown defense @MickstapeShow
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I just wanna know what LeBron James was thinking on defense during this Lakers / Grizzlies game
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James has continually been hyper critical of his teammates over their past two losses, but efforts like above make it a genuine ‘pot calling kettle black’ moment.
His comments following the loss to the Grizzlies come after he questioned the teams sense of urgency after going down to the Anthony Davis-less Pelicans.
But once again James talks the talk but continues to let himself down with his own actions. Questioning your teammates isn’t something new, but if you’re going to do it you have to make sure you’re backing it up.
James’ lack of effort on the defensive end was overshadowed yesterday when one tweet from Complex Music was sent out to the masses and magnified the hypocrisy in James’ recent rants.
It showed the Lakers star in the studio with 2 Chainz on February 1 at 11:43pm, why is this so scandalous? James missed the Lakers’ next game against the Warriors due to “load management”.
LeBron James, who recently told his young teammates to focus on basketball, was working on 2Chainz' new album late into the night on February 1.
The next day, he sat out against the Golden State Warriors due to "load management".
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LeBron James should look in the mirror before blasting his teammates. My god.
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The Lakers have 22 games remaining in the 2018/19 season and currently sit three games outside of the eighth seed.
Plenty of time for them to get their act together and make a push into the postseason, but it all rests of the shoulders of James.
James needs to back up his words and activate his playoff mode instead of calling out and lambasting his teammates after each and every loss.
The playoffs simply wouldn’t feel right without James being a part of the action, but the way things are looking it may soon become a reality.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in Serious Trouble and the Fingers are pointing at LeBron James [Every News]
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Reviewed by Every News
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February 26, 2019
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Reviewed by Every News
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February 26, 2019
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