LeBron James refuses to accept moral victories over 76ers and Celtics: "Talking to the wrong guy talking about 'almost win'"
LeBron James doesn't seem interested in the moral victories the LA Lakers gained during their losses against the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. The Lakers cut a nine-point deficit against the 76ers on December 8th, with 34 seconds left and had the chance to win the tie. But Anthony Davis missed a free throw with two seconds left, and they lost the game 133-122 in OT.
LA overturned a 20-point deficit and led by 13 in the fourth quarter in their last game against the Boston Celtics at home. This time, however, AD missed a pair of free throws that would've put the Lakers up by four with 28 seconds left. Jayson Tatum hit the game-tying shot over LeBron James, who then attempted a 3-pointer to win the tie but failed.
The LA Lakers lost the game 122-118 in OT, suffering another heartbreaking loss against a contending team. There were many positives for Darvin Ham's team in both games. However, when a reporter asked James about the big picture for the Lakers after they "almost won" these games, the four-time champion admitted that these were losses in his book.
Here's what James said (via Spectrum SportsNet):
"Nothing. That we lost. You're talking to the wrong guy talking about 'almost win.' No. We lost."
LeBron on what it says about the Lakers that they've gotten close to beating the 76ers and Celtics:
"Nothing. That we lost. You're talking to the wrong guy talking about 'almost win.' No. We lost." https://t.co/eA1VV7rJbM
The LA Lakers rose to the occasion against the league's best, but it won't mean much if they don't secure the win, especially with their current record of 11-16. Closing games has been an issue for the team since last season, and they will have to improve drastically to compete against rival contenders.
LeBron James and LA Lakers need to be better with their shot selection in the clutch
The LA Lakers have made woeful shot selections in the clutch. The Lakers are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams, but they still settle for jumpers from deep in late-game situations, despite leading comfortably.
The Lakers have some of the best players on their roster who can attack the rim in LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. They need to find ways to move the ball quicker and set up plays inside the paint, through which they've been highly successful.
The Lakers were outscored from the 3-point line by the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics by a significant margin. However, LA made those close games a close contest by doing most of the damage inside the paint. They will have to continue doing that until they make moves to bolster their perimeter shooting.
LeBron James and company need to be more disciplined on the defensive end of the floor as well. They've often become complacent after erasing big deficits, which isn't a good sign for a team aiming to win a championship.