The Los Angeles Lakers' struggles in the first half of the 2021-22 NBA season cannot seem to go away. Battling injuries and chemistry issues, the new look Lakers with Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook seems to match every good performance with a bad one.
Following their clutch victory in Indiana over the Pacers earlier this week, the Lakers fell to their in-state rival Sacramento Kings in triple overtime last night (Nov. 26). After having a 13-point lead in regulation, and blowing leads in the first overtime and the second overtime, the squad could not seal the deal, losing 141-137.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 30 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds, but was not pleased with the loss of his poor performance from 3-point range, as he shot 2-of-13: "I felt like I played a horrible game individually, and I hold myself to a higher standard than that. I've got to do better for this team, especially when we're going through what we're going through on the floor. It's always a miss or a make situation. Obviously, people see the highlights and say, 'Oh, he missed that.' But I thought the looks that I got, I wasn't pressured. Wasn't sped up. Got great looks. The looks that I got tonight were actually better looks than the ones that I got in Indy. I just made them."
Anthony Davis' shooting struggles also contributed to the less, as his early season slump is well-documented. After shooting 41% from FG and 0% from 3-point last night, Davis was optimistic in the Lakers' ability to turn it around soon, as they now sit at a 10-11 record in 7th place in the West: "A game that we had control of in the fourth and let it get away. And then overtimes. Did enough and then once again, they made some tough shots, made some big plays. But I feel like we had control of the game. You know, 10-11, I mean, we could go on a 10-game winning streak, 12-game winning streak, now the narrative is different. You know, 10-game winning streak, we're 20-11. Now we'll shut everybody up. But it's on us. We're going to have to do it. It's not just going to be easy."
The Lakers' next games comes against Detroit on Sunday (Nov. 28), as a rematch of their controversial game from last week.
How worried should Los Angeles be about their recent woes?
