The Los Angeles Lakers were dominated in the second half of their Christmas Day game against the Dallas Mavericks, and LeBron James is concerned that his team may have dug itself too deep.
LeBron James, the Lakers’ star, sends a cryptic message following the Christmas Eve collapse
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The Lakers have shown resilience at times this season after falling behind, but their record fell to 13-20 after a 124-115 loss to the Mavericks in the Christmas Day showcase.
The Lakers led by double digits at halftime, but Dallas quickly erased that lead, outscoring LA 51-21 in the third quarter.
The Lakers are trying to hold down the fort with Anthony Davis out of the lineup but James has found it difficult to stay optimistic amid his team’s struggles.
“I think I look at it that way,” James said when asked if the Lakers’ resiliency gives him faith that they can turn it around. “I look at it the other way too, like, how many times are you going to try to dig yourselves out until it’s too much dirt on you?”
The Lakers are currently the Western Conference’s No. 13 seed, 4.5 games behind the No. 8 seed, Dallas.
Despite losing, James still enjoys playing
Individually, James has been on a tear, scoring 30 or more points in seven of his last eight games. James scored 38 points on 13-of-23 shooting against the Mavericks, adding six rebounds and five assists.
James admitted to feeling frustrated, but the 37-year-old legend is grateful to still be on the court.
“At the end of the day, I love to play the game of basketball,” James said. “I’m still enjoying going out there and playing in front of fans, either at home or on the road. And I’m just trying to control what I can control. I show up, try to lead these guys and try to lead to victories and obviously there’s been times when it’s been frustrating. There’s been times that I’ve been happy. There’s been times where I’ve been like, ‘OK, we can do better here,’ or whatever the case may be. But I always try to stay even keeled.”
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The Lakers are unable to replicate Anthony Davis’ contributions
The Lakers are not a team built for depth or length, and without Davis, they are at a significant disadvantage.
This season, the former first-round pick averaged 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds while also being an intimidating presence on defense. When it came to the Lakers’ struggles to replace him, James didn’t hold back.
“Reality is, without AD, we lose a lot of length which we don’t have already,” James said. “So we have to make up in ways that, without AD, is very difficult, very challenging. So, I think at one point we had a lineup of I think [Austin Reaves] was the tallest guy on the court.
“So, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out [that Davis is sorely missed].”
Davis is dealing with a stress injury in his foot, and his return date is still unknown. He may return in January after more rest, but he will be reevaluated in early January.
