Coming back from the All-Star break, the rested Los Angeles Lakers expected to breeze to a win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. But what happened at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday is exactly why NBA games are not played on paper.
LeBron James and the Lakers stumbled to a 100-97 defeat against the rebuilding Hornets, despite James‘ 26 points and 11 assists. After sitting out the All-Star Game to nurse his sore ankle, the 40-year-old James played 38 minutes against Charlotte and will have been disappointed that Luka Doncic, his new running mate, did not have a greater role in influencing the result.
LeBron laments Luka’s lack of familiarity with Lakers’ system
The Lakers have lost two of the three games they have played since they acquired Doncic in a blockbuster earlier this month; Wednesday’s game against the Hornets was Luka‘s “low point” since he swapped Dallas for Los Angeles.
Doncic shot 5-of-18 from the field and made only one of his nine 3-point attempts. He scored only 14 points and picked up five fouls in 33 minutes, though he also notched 11 rebounds and eight assists. But at the end of the day, the Lakers lost, and James — legendary for his competitiveness — was a bit frustrated that Doncic was not yet up to speed with head coach J.J. Redick’s system.
“He still doesn’t know all the plays, all the defensive coverages, and all the signals we’ve built since September,” James told reporters after the game. “Obviously, we’re trying to fast-track it on the fly.”
The loss to the Hornets damaged the Lakers’ chances of moving up in the standings as they attempt to catch the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference. But it also played into fans’ concerns that James and Doncic may not play well together, given how ball-dominant both players are. It remains to be seen if Redick can strengthen this fragile balance before season’s end…or whether Doncic will need James to leave to find the best version of himself in Lakerland.
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