Things were good for the Los Angeles Lakers back on December 9th. They had a 14-9 record and had just been crowned the champions of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, and were tied for 4th place in the Western Conference after the first six weeks of the season. But they’ve won just three times in nearly a month since then, and were pushed out of the early playoff picture entirely on Friday.
Lakers Drop Out Of Playoff Picture With Loss To Grizzlies
The Lakers are currently out of the play-in picture and have fallen to the No. 11 seed in West 😳
What adjustments should they make? pic.twitter.com/s2TVySDmpv
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 6, 2024
Since defeating the Indiana Pacers in the IST, the Lakers are just 3-10. They entered Friday’s action riding a three-game losing streak and in danger of falling two games below .500, but had a home matchup against the 11-23 Memphis Grizzlies, which appeared to be a game that Los Angeles could use to get back in the win column.
The Grizzlies had other ideas. Behind 31 points from Jaren Jackson Jr. and 29 points on eight 3-pointers from Marcus Smart, Memphis was able to come out on top in the nationally televised contest. They downed the Lakers by a score of 127-113, as they were able to outscore Los Angeles by 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Due to their loss coupled with the victory by the Golden State on Friday, the Warriors have now surpassed the Lakers in the West standings. Steph Curry and company are now in 10th place, while LeBron James’ crew moves down in to the 11th spot.
LeBron James Frustrated With Current Situation
LeBron James on the current state of the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/CxIjrXNVKr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 6, 2024
Frustrations are reaching a potential boiling point in Los Angeles. There were rumors earlier in the week of a disconnect between the players and head coach Darvin Ham, and James has a long history of getting rid of coaches that he feels no longer properly serve him.
The loss against one of the lesser teams in the NBA certainly stings, and James gave his thoughts about the current state of the team during postgame interviews:
“We just suck right now”
James was able to bounce back from a tough performance earlier in the week. In Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat, he scored just 12 points on 6 of 18 shooting, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range. Against the Grizzlies, he went for 32, but it wasn’t enough to top the scoring output by Memphis.
Friday was the first night of a four-game home stand for the Lakers, and they are hoping that playing in their own arena will help turn their fortunes this weekend and coming week. They’ll take on the Clippers, Raptors, and Suns during the stay.
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