Though some believed the Los Angeles Lakers could be championship contenders this season, celebrity LeBron James says the workforce is merely a piece in progress.
Friday’s loss to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder was the Lakers ninth lack of the season. Earlier within the week, James suffered the worst defeat in his NBA career because the workforce suffered a 44-point misplaced to the Philadelphia 76ers.
After the sport, James pointed to the workforce’s current string of accidents as one of many causes for the newest disappointing loss. However, the four-time NBA champion additionally praised the workforce’s potential to beat adversity within the midst of its present set of challenges.
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Lebron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers brings the ball down the ground in the course of the first half in opposition to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder at Paycom Heart on November 30, 2023 in Oklahoma Metropolis, Oklahoma. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Pictures)
“You could start seeing the [three games in four nights], the back-to-back, the bodies that we don’t have start to wear on us, especially vs. a young team like OKC.”
“I have no idea what we are. How? We don’t have our group yet. I know what some of us individually are, but as far a team, we don’t have our group yet. We haven’t logged enough minutes with our group where we know we got the starting group, the guys coming in, we got a good rhythm. We’re over .500, we’re 11-9 with literally not ever having our same group. That’s pretty impressive.”
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Lakers coach Darvin Ham additionally expressed confidence in regards to the workforce’s potential to compete at a excessive degree as soon as they “get whole”
“At the end of the day, I know what we’re going to be. I know once we do get whole, how complete and balanced our attack will be. We just have to deal with it in the present and just try to, again put your best foot forward as best as possible.”
Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James sits on the bench throughout extra time within the workforce’s NBA basketball sport in opposition to the Boston Celtics, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, in Boston. (AP Picture/Michael Dwyer)
The Lakers are actually lacking their justifiable share of gamers they might usually depend on, however it is not clear that this roster could be a clear-cut championship contender if it was at full power.
Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent didn’t play in Thursday’s sport.
Los Angeles Lakers ahead LeBron James talks to teammates in the course of the first half of an NBA basketball sport in opposition to the Houston Rockets, Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, in Houston. (AP Picture/Eric Christian Smith)
One key space the Lakers might want to enhance on, in the event that they wish to compete with the likes of the defending champion Denver Nuggets, is three-point capturing. Los Angeles’ 29.7% three-point accuracy ranks eventually within the league.
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The Lakers managed to make sufficient corrections and roster strikes down the stretch of final season to make a run to the Western Conference Finals. There’s nonetheless greater than 75% of the common season remaining, giving the Lakers a major quantity of runway to get on observe.
