LeBron James is frustrated.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar offered a frank assessment of his team following a 138-122 loss against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday evening:
“What’s our record?” he continued. “Under .500? Yeah, we’re 24-25? That’s… where we are.”
James did his part against the Hawks, scoring 20 points while adding nine rebounds, eight assists, a steal and a block. He was the only starter who didn’t finish minus-10 or worse on the night (minus-six), and only Austin Reaves (28 points, six assists) offered much assistance in that starting group.
Granted, the Lakers were without star center Anthony Davis, leaving them shorthanded. And they were on the second leg of a road back-to-back, another factor to consider.
But giving up over 130 or more points for the fourth straight game—against a Hawks team that is now just 20-27 on the season themselves—is hard to justify, and the Lakers know it.
“Having a back-to-back, no AD… it’s different circumstances that you can use as excuses or you can say, ‘Hey, the whole league goes through it. We gotta look ourselves in the mirror and man the hell up,'” Ham told reporters after the game. “It’ll be more of that, but also looking at it with clear eyes on how we can turn this thing around.”
It doesn’t get much easier for the Lakers, with matchups against the Boston Celtics on Thursday and the New York Knicks on Saturday, both on the road. It’s part of a six-game road trip, and the Lakers are currently 1-2 halfway through that stretch.
If the Lakers don’t turn things around, and fast, big changes may be coming. The Feb. 8 trade deadline is approaching quickly, and it’s hard to wonder if Ham’s job is completely secure as the Lakers continue to surprisingly struggle despite James and Davis playing excellent basketball this season.
There aren’t many years left in the tank for James at his current level, if any—wasting one of his final shots at a title would be borderline criminal.
