Following their 2023 appearance in the Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers are not living up to expectations.
With the Western Conference seemingly wide open, the Lakers had high expectations going into the 2023–34 campaign.
The Lakers fell to 7-8 in January and 24-25 overall after their Tuesday night loss to the Atlanta Hawks. They are presently ranked ninth in the West.
LeBron James, who has a player option for the upcoming season, outperformed the Hawks in back-to-back games at the age of 39, finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
After the game, James tweeted an hourglass emoji early on Wednesday morning on X, the company that was formerly known as Twitter.
Without the services of Anthony Davis, who missed the second game of the back-to-back, the Lakers fell behind by 20 points in the second half and were unable to stage a comeback.
“We could, on any given night, beat any team in the NBA,” James stated. “However, any NBA team can kick us in the butt on any given night.” What is our track record? Less than.500? There you are.
Atlanta outrebounded the Lakers 46–37 and hit 42.1% from three (16–38).
Star player Trae Young of Atlanta stated, “We were making shots.” “You don’t always have to make shots to stay in the game, establish a rhythm, and feel good about yourself. But on evenings like this one, when you take shots, that emotion is unachievable.”
The NBA trade deadline is drawing near, and the Lakers are running out of time to strengthen their squad.
The Lakers made a flurry of roster changes prior to the deadline last year, and they went on to win 18-9 in the second half. The Lakers are still stuck around.500, therefore general manager Rob Pelinka of the Lakers needs to take further action.