Los Angeles Lakers ahead Armel Traore appears up on the rating because the workforce falls behind in the course of the second half of an NBA basketball recreation in opposition to the Miami Warmth, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Miami. (AP Picture/Marta Lavandier)s
MIAMI — A 29-point loss in Minnesota on Monday. A 41-point loss in Miami on Wednesday.
Add it up, and it’s the worst two-game stretch in Los Angeles Lakers historical past.
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The Lakers misplaced to the Warmth 134-93 on Wednesday, that loss coming two days after a 109-80 loss to the Timberwolves. The 70-point margin is an all-time, two-game low for the Lakers; they have been outscored by 67 over two separate two-game spans of the 2016-17 season.
“It sucks, for certain, to get your (butt) whooped like that twice in a row,” Lakers star LeBron James mentioned. “For certain.”
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The Lakers ran off a six-game successful streak final month to get to 10-4. They’re 2-6 since, 4 of these losses coming by 25 or extra factors. Wednesday was the low level; the 41-point loss was not solely the worst of the season, however it marked solely the eleventh time in Lakers historical past — greater than 6,800 video games, together with playoffs — that they’ve misplaced by greater than 40.
“I’m embarrassed,” Lakers coach JJ Redick mentioned. “We’re all embarrassed.”
Los Angeles Lakers ahead LeBron James (23) grabs a rebound in entrance of Miami Warmth ahead Jimmy Butler (22) within the first half of an NBA recreation at Kaseya Middle. Necessary Credit score: Jim Rassol-Imagn Photographs
Redick is now 12-10 in 12 months 1 as a coach, and this stretch has clearly been his hardest but. He oscillated in his postgame remarks Wednesday between pointing the finger at himself — “I’ll take all of the possession on this planet. That is my workforce and I lead it,” he mentioned — and saying the workforce is having hassle with the best elements of the sport plan.
“There’s not a way from me that we’re ‘collectively’ proper now,” Redick mentioned. “And that’s what we are saying within the huddle. Doesn’t really feel that manner. Doesn’t really feel that manner. We’re in a troublesome stretch and we’re all looking for it.”
Miami outscored the Lakers 72-15 from 3-point vary — that 57-point differential tying the fourth-largest in NBA historical past.
“We’re having hassle proper now on each ends with like base-level gameplan stuff,” Redick mentioned. “It’s odd. It’s very odd.”
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Anthony Davis had a season-low 12 factors for the Lakers on Monday. He was 4 factors worse on Wednesday on 3-for-14 taking pictures.
“Guys are doing their half. I’m not doing mine, which is simply powerful for our workforce,” Davis mentioned. “I simply must play higher individually on each ends. I maintain myself to the next customary and I haven’t been doing what I wanted to do — particularly offensively for our workforce.”
James mentioned he agreed with every thing Redick mentioned, and Davis even echoed a phrase his coach used a number of instances.
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“Embarrassing,” Davis mentioned.
James hopes the remainder of the Lakers’ locker room takes on that stage of accountability. He insisted that 22 years within the league have taught him to not get too excessive when issues are good or too low when issues are dangerous.
However back-to-back video games like this signify one thing the likes of which he’s by no means handled. The Lakers play at Atlanta on Friday, go dwelling to face Portland on Sunday after which get a couple of days off — the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Dec. 10 and 11 are a built-in break for the groups that didn’t advance to the knockout stage of that match — to apply and search options.
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“Whenever you’re individually (messing) up and also you’re attempting to depend on all people else to cowl for you, I believe it begins with the person first,” James mentioned. “All of us must take accountability.”