LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are not heading in the right direction.
After barely escaping Salt Lake City with a one-point win over the Utah Jazz last Sunday, the Lakers suffered back-to-back blowout losses on the road to the Minnesota Timberwolves (109-80) on Monday and at the hands of the Miami Heat (134-93) on Wednesday.
The 41-point defeat in South Beach was unacceptable for James and the Lakers, to say the least.
Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick had a lot to say after the loss to Miami.
“Has to be some ownership,” Redick said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “You can splinter, and it’s easy to not want the ownership, particularly when it’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed. We’re all embarrassed. It’s not a game that I thought we had the right fight, the right professionalism.”
James shares the same sentiment.
Via Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet:
LeBron said he agrees with everything JJ Redick said postgame, and it’s clear what they should be doing. Said it’s on the players.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a horrid night against the Miami Heat
The Lakers barely resembled a team with championship aspirations in the Heat game, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. Miami shot 57.8 percent from the floor and hit 24 threes on 47 attempts from deep.
The Heat outrebounded LA by a huge margin, 52-36. James had 29 points on 12-for-18 shooting from the field but was minus-21 and also turned the ball over five times.
With six losses in their last eight games, the Lakers have issues to address sooner than later. They can get back on the right path as soon as this Friday when they end a three-game road trip with a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.
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