The Los Angeles Lakers gave their fans a lump of coal on Christmas Day as they lost to the Boston Celtics 126-115. Of all the critics the Lakers have had in the hours since, LeBron James might be the biggest.
Speaking to the media after the game, LeBron said that while some of the team’s issues are due to injuries, they still have a lot of work to do in order to reach their goals and become the team they want to be.
“I don’t think we’re where we want to be to compete versus the top teams until we continue to get better and better, continue to work our habits,” James said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “For us, we’re trying to figure our situation out as far as how we want to continue to attack each game. We’ll be better. “
LeBron had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while Anthony Davis had 40 points of his own. But only three other players had more than 10 points and none but Davis had at least 20.
LeBron James says the Lakers’ lack of health relative to the league’s top teams has been a challenge in developing the consistency needed to compete at their best. “We’re still trying to figure out our situation as far as how we want to continue to attack each game” pic.twitter.com/JdU0DjoOlQ
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 26, 2023
The Lakers are now 16-15 – good for ninth in the Western Conference and still in a good position to get a play-in or play-off spot come 2024.
But if the Lakers can’t right their ship quickly, they can kiss a direct berth in the play-off goodbye before the end of the winter.