The victory against the Thunder was a great reaction to stop the bleeding. But the Lakers failed to confirm against Boston, logically losing after a controlled match from the Celtics. Already, Los Angeles has missed its start, conceding a 12-0.
Then, LeBron James and his gang have never managed to overthrow Joe Mazzulla's players. There was a match at the start of the second half, before Boston accelerated again.
“We were a little lethargic, after long trips and with the circumstances of Christmas. It took us a while to get going”notes Darvin Ham at Los Angeles Times. “We had some good shots at the start of the match. We lost a few balls. But if you look at our shots and those of Boston, theirs went in. »
The Lakers are still looking
The Celtics also have an advantage over their historic rival: a certain continuity and an immovable major five while that of the Lakers is still shaky.
“Their major five has been almost intact since the start of the season,” continues the Californian coach. “We are looking. Some players are dominant in attack, others in defense and we look for a balance. The injuries affected our cohesion. »
What LeBron James confirms. “We are not in good health at the moment. We're not where we want to be to compete with the best teams.”concedes the “King”, always for the Los Angeles Times.
We must not forget the fatigue that has weighed on a group that has made a big effort to win the “NBA Cup” for several weeks. But since absentees are always wrong, injuries cannot be used as an excuse for Austin Reaves.
“We know that there are absentees but, deep down, in the locker room, we see hard workers,” ensures the rear. “There are intelligent players, leaders like LeBron and Anthony Davis. They know basketball, they know what we need to be better. We have to find a way to help them and we will continue to progress. We're not going to give up, that's obvious. »
Still time to ramp up
The Lakers remain on 6 defeats in 8 matches, with, in addition to the one in Oklahoma City, a victory against the very weak Spurs. Nothing to really brag about and there are three matches left to play in four days, between December 28 and 31.
“It’s obvious that the group and I believe we can beat any team in front of us,” reassures Austin Reaves. “If we don’t have this vision, then what’s the point? We have this state of mind. We need to tighten up some things, lay the foundations and get started. Every time we arrive on the floor, we have this confidence. We have the talent and opportunities to win matches. »
The 2020 champions have almost played 40% of the regular season. What assessment can we draw from their season currently?
“I’m not distraught. It's an NBA season. There are ups and downs “, answers Darvin Ham. “There are united teams who work well and others who struggle, especially as we approach the second or third third of an 82-match season. The most important thing is to see where we can improve, day after day, to become not only stronger but also more consistent, night after night. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| LeBron James | 27 | 34.2 | 54.4 | 41.2 | 73.9 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 25.7 |
| Anthony Davis | 28 | 35.7 | 54.5 | 39.1 | 80.5 | 3.4 | 9.0 | 12.4 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 24.4 |
| Angelo Russell | 29 | 29.8 | 46.4 | 38.5 | 76.7 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 6.1 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 15.3 |
| Austin Reaves | 30 | 29.4 | 47.7 | 36.2 | 87.9 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 15.2 |
| Rui Hachimura | 21 | 24.0 | 49.5 | 40.0 | 72.7 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 12.0 |
| Taurean Prince | 28 | 30.7 | 44.3 | 39.2 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 9.9 |
| Cam Reddish | 25 | 24.9 | 39.6 | 29.2 | 86.1 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 7.1 |
| Christian Wood | 26 | 18.8 | 46.3 | 27.9 | 61.8 | 0.9 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 6.8 |
| Gabe Vincent | 5 | 25.5 | 37.5 | 11.8 | 50.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 5.4 |
| Max Christie | 22 | 16.5 | 38.7 | 30.2 | 71.4 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 4.3 |
| Jaxson Hayes | 27 | 10.7 | 67.3 | 0.0 | 57.7 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 3.0 |
| Colin Castleton | 4 | 7.0 | 62.5 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
| Jalen Hood-schifino | 5 | 10.4 | 22.2 | 12.5 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 2.8 |
| From me Hodge | 7 | 5.9 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 2.0 |
| Jared Vanderbilt | 9 | 15.2 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 |
| Alex Fudge | 4 | 3.6 | 16.7 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
| Maxwell Lewis | 12 | 4.4 | 11.1 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
