“Worse in the 1st Quarter in 75+ Years Than the Lakers”: Rachel Nichols Gives LeBron James and Co. a Harsh Reality Check Following Humbling Loss to Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t been in the best of their form this regular season. To mark another tantalizing loss, the Lakeshow were defeated in a tragic 128-94 scoreline by the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night’s game. Undisputed’s Rachel Nichols pointed out that the Lakers’ points tally in the first quarter of these eight games is now considered the worst in NBA history.

LA faced another blow on their face with Anthony Davis being out with another injury in the previous game against the Miami Heat. Davis’ absence has forced the Lakers to feature a changing lineup, which most often can’t match with the expectations laid on this team for this season. Speaking about the same, Nichols said,

“No team has ever been worse in the 1st quarter in 75+ years than the Lakers these first 8 games. You have to have more hustle.”

“No team has ever been worse in the 1st quarter than the Lakers these first 8 games. You have to have more hustle.”@Rachel__Nichols breaks down the Lakers slow 3-5 start: pic.twitter.com/Qd3vGeFjNm

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 9, 2023

The Lakers evidently seem to be lacking the fight in them, unlike their previous seasons, since the bubble. The Lakeshow stands 11th on the Western Conference table, with a lackluster 3-5 record this season. Furthermore, Nichols also pointed out how the team’s offensive ratings plummet drastically whenever LeBron James is off the court.

As per Nichols, the Lakers have a +29 rating, with LeBron James playing his minutes on the court. However, without the King, the Lakers team plummets to an abysmal -87 rating, resulting in such lackluster performances. Furthermore, the Lakers also struggle defensively without LBJ, showing a lack of fight and hustle within its rotation squad.

Though we have heard numerous times that the Lakers have built their core around AD and LeBron James, it’s high time for the other players in the team to take charge. Given LBJ closing to 40 years of age and AD often being sidelined from injury, the Lakers need to have players that can show promising potential in the absence of the star veterans. Only then perhaps, the LA side can recover from such a slow start and create a playoff contention.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James addressed Lakers’ slow start

Anthony Davis showed sparks of promise this season, but his inconsistency is again up galore. However, this time, the star Lakers center seems to be determined to create a winning opportunity for his team. This would mean he isn’t ready to find excuses for himself or his teammates to explain their lackluster performances.

Davis emphasized that the Lakers must stop starting slow to regain a better-winning record in the league. Ahead of facing the Miami Heat on Monday, Davis said,

“Yeah. We don’t have a choice. We can’t use the excuse of guys are out, East Coast, time change, all that. The guys who are playing have been in the league long enough to be ready to go out and get a win. So if we don’t want to stay on this side of the win and loss column then we got to come out with a better first quarter on Monday.”

It’s not just AD, but LeBron James has also spoken out against the Lakeshow’s slow start this season. James has understood that the Lakers lag significantly in offensive rebounds, averaging only 11.3 per game.

This figure currently stands as the ninth worst in the NBA. The 4x NBA champion understands this as a crucial issue that plagues the team and assured the fans that the team will find a solution to get these problems under wraps very soon.