LeBron James and the Lakers are falling, and there appears to be no end in sight. Now, even former Lakers are getting in on the action and pushing LA further down.
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After a disappointing end to the year last season, the hope was that the Lakers would come back with a new fire this year. LeBron was going to be good, Anthony Davis would be back, and hopefully, Russell Westbrook would have figured his fit on the team out to where he would be a productive member.
Instead, the wheels have fallen off the wagon completely. LeBron and the Lakers have started the year 2-8, and their latest loss was a blowout to the Utah Jazz, a team that just lost Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in one offseason.
There is nothing going right at the moment, and the team desperately needs a turnaround. Even NBA Twitter is all over the Los Angeles team after some stunning plays by the Jazz this time around.
That’s game pic.twitter.com/OAxKz4IEKV
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 8, 2022
NBA Twitter Reacts To Talen Horton-Tucker Destroying Lakers
In hopes of a fresh season, the Lakers made some additions and some cuts to their roster. One of them included dropping Talen Horton-Tucker from the team, who now plays for the Utah Jazz.
In a revenge game against his old team, Horton-Tucker showed off the hops in a statement jam over the Lakers. The dunk was massive, and it crushed the souls of the Lakers. NBA Twitter seemed to agree as much.
THT STATEMENT DUNK ON THE LAKERS 😳 pic.twitter.com/lJ4iQypbIv
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 8, 2022
ok Lakers season is officially OVER 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/bSFlV0Uwmy
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) November 8, 2022
Tell LeBron, he shouldn’t have traded me!👀pic.twitter.com/ILDAlJSYnn
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) November 8, 2022
It is still early in the year, but with the kind of start the Lakers have had, plays like these can be demoralizing. Los Angeles needs to quickly shed the classification that they’re a fake team and make the best use of their talent. After all, they have LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
What’s gone wrong with LeBron James and the Lakers?
The issues from the 2021-22 season seemed to have carried on to the 2022-23 season. The Lakers are first and foremost an old team. They don’t have the young energy and fire that other contending teams do, and as a result, injuries are playing a big role in their ability to win games.
Secondly, they have no perimeter shooting. The Lakers are tied for last place in the league with 9.3 3-point makes a game on a league-low 28.4 %. They need to desperately add perimeter players who can take defensive focus away from the hammering down low that LeBron, Davis, and even Westbrook now, are able to provide.
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