The 2023-24 NBA regular season has been rough, to say the least, for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, with the team failing to live up to expectations after having a stellar offseason in terms of their efforts to upgrade their roster.
Even though the Lakers got a lot of buzz over the offseason after making the moves they made in the summer and bringing back players like Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura, the regular season hasn’t been kind to the 17-time NBA champions, as the team has struggled to stay in playoff contention.
On a nightly basis, there’s no telling what Lakers team will be playing, as at times, this team can beat any opponent in the league, and at other times, they can lose to anyone.
As a result of this up-and-down season, the Lakers are sitting in the 10th spot in the Western Conference and are on the verge of being out of contention for the Play-In Tournament if they drop any further.
With the Lakers recently losing to the Golden State Warriors, who sit above them at 9th, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN blasted the team for their defensive effort since the NBA All-Star break, via “First Take.”
“They’re atrocious defensively,” Smith said. “Since the All-Star break, they rank 28th out of 30 teams defensively. That is just awful.”
.@stephenasmith is worried about the Lakers’ “atrocious” defense 👀 pic.twitter.com/OOEfQFKS84
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 18, 2024
With 14 regular-season games left to play, the Lakers need to win as many games as possible to stay in the Play-In Tournament and keep their hopes of making the NBA playoffs alive.
Only time will tell if James and company can pull this off as the team continues to struggle with its consistency.
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