"I didn’t like what was going to come out of my mouth" - LeBron James explains absence from the post-game press conference following LA Lakers 37-point loss against Nuggets
LA Lakers star LeBron James rarely misses a post-game press conference. However, he was absent after the Lakers' recent 37-point loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. James seemed visibly frustrated with his teammates during the game due to the lack of effort and intensity on display.
When asked about his absence for media availability, the 37-year-old said it wouldn't have been ideal for him to attend the conference because of the things he would have said in the heat of the moment. Here's what James told The Athletic's Bill Oram regarding this after the LA Lakers' comeback win over the Utah Jazz on Monday (via Harrison Faigen):
"I didn't like what was going to come out of my mouth... I understand that things that I say can be everywhere, so I didn't want to do that to my teammates at that point in time."
The Lakers have had a rough start to the season, and without a doubt hit their lowest point after the Nuggets game. LeBron James opting not to talk to the media at that point proved to be a wise decision as LA stepped up big-time to record a bounce-back victory over Donovan Mitchell and Co.
#LakerNation I apologize and I promise we’ll be better! 👑💜💛
LeBron James' LA Lakers produce best defensive game of the season, limit Utah Jazz's No. 1 ranked offense to 95 points
The LA Lakers recorded arguably their best win of the 2021-22 NBA campaign so far. They defeated a Utah Jazz team that had all their starters available for the game. By no means was it an easy feat to achieve, as Utah is the #1 ranked team offensively as per the NBA's offensive ratings.
The Lakers came into this game having conceded a 37-point loss against the Nuggets, whom the Jazz defeated the other night by 23 points. LA entered the contest as underdogs but managed to come out on top after a gritty performance. Their defense finally came along as they limited the Jazz to only 95 points, which was only four points shy of their season-low score as a team.
#LakersWin https://t.co/F11jR7n47h
The LA Lakers restricted Utah's main scorer Donovan Mitchell to only 13 points and leading bench piece Jordan Clarkson to six points on the night. LeBron James and Co. also held Utah to only 36% of their shots from the field. They have been averaging 47.5% for the season.
Frank Vogel and the coaching staff got their rotations right as they balanced out size and speed to make sure the team did not give away easy scoring chances to their opponents. The Lakers now need to be more consistent with their approach if they are to turn things around in the second half of the campaign.
The LeBron James-led unit is 22-22 for the campaign and has the fourth toughest schedule remaining, as per Tankathon. It will be interesting to see if the Lakeshow can beat opponents that are as strong as the Jazz moving forward.