The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Orlando Magic last night, their third straight defeat and their seventh in their last 10 games. Once the 2-seed in the West, they’re now tied for fourth and in danger of slipping to as low as eighth with 11 games to go.
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It’s been a rough stretch for JJ Redick’s team, as they’ve dealt with multiple injuries and a schedule crunch that forced them to play eight games in 12 days. This isn’t the time of year for excuses, though, and Shannon Sharpe, for one, still believes that the Lakers will find their way before it’s too late.
Sharpe spoke with Chad Johnson on last night’s episode of their Nightcap podcast about the state of the Lakers, and he took note of the many problems the team has right now. One of those is on-ball defense. The Lakers were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA for months, but lately, they can’t keep anybody in front of them.
That came out last night as they allowed 118 points to a Magic team that is last in the NBA in points per game, and it was exploited in a big way by the Chicago Bulls on Saturday to the tune of 146 points, the most they’ve allowed in regulation since the Warriors hung 149 on them in 2016.
Sharpe was especially frustrated by the way the Lakers keep getting lit up in the third quarter. Last night, they led by two at the half but lost the third 34-18. “In no way should a Lakers team that got Luka Doncic and LeBron James on the court only score 18 points in a quarter,” he said.
Despite their struggles, Sharpe still believes that the Lakers can get it done in the playoffs, and he repeated his “Lakers in five” line that has become his catchphrase and rallying cry.
Can the Lakers turn things back around?
There are reasons to believe that Sharpe is right. The Lakers have been super banged up, and this was just the second game back for both LeBron James and Rui Hachimura after extended absences. The schedule hasn’t helped, partly because the Spurs game that was postponed due to the California wildfires had to be wedged in.
The NBA season is long, and the Lakers have shown all year that, though they’re capable of hitting the skids, they’re just as likely to come back stronger than ever. It wasn’t that long ago that they won eight straight to vault up to second in the West. With Luka and LeBron together, no one should count this team out.
Redick showed when he sat nearly every player of consequence against the Bucks last week that he values getting to the playoffs healthy more than he does striving for a higher seed. For a veteran team, that’s the right move. Luka and LeBron know what it takes to win multiple rounds, and it won’t matter much to them if they’re the 3-seed or the 6-seed.
Sharpe is keeping the faith, and other Lakers fans should too. He said it right when he said, “Lakers got some problems, nothing they can’t solve.” It’s going to be a tough road to get out of the West, but this recent stretch is nothing to worry about.
