Shannon Sharpe raises concern over LeBron James struggling due to his teammate’s feeble effort: “He’s shooting efficiently & it has no impact”
As LeBron James broke Kobe Bryant's record of 16 Christmas games on Sunday, the LA Lakers dropped their 20th outing, 124-115, to the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The day was marked by the unveiling of Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki's statue, a 32/9/9 performance from Luka Doncic and a 30/8/7 performance from Christian Wood. LeBron James led all scorers with 38 points and added six rebounds and five assists to his tally.
On FS1's "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe sounded off his frustrations with LAL:
"Ain't nothing to unpack. They're not good, they don't have enough good players, it's really not that complicated.
"Even when AD was putting up the numbers he was putting up, even though LeBron is averaging 28/8/6 they were struggling to win games.
.@ShannonSharpe on Lakers allowing 51 points in 3rd quarter vs. Mavs:
“Lakers are not good. They don’t have enough good players; it’s really not that complicated. Take AD’s 27 & 12 out of the mix and what do you expect.” https://t.co/zw0sZ00sEB
Sharpe added:
"You take AD's 27 and 12 out of that mix, what do you expect them to do? ... The shots the Mavs missed in the first half, they made every shot in the third quarter.
"You're up 11 and in a blink of an eye, you're down 19. That's it. ... LeBron is giving you 30, efficiently. He's shooting efficiently and it has no impact."
Lakers marred in inconsistency despite LeBron James' efforts
The LA Lakers are now the 13th seed in the Western Conference, below a rebuilding OKC Thunder.
As mentioned before by Shannon Sharpe, the Lakers are simply bad. Their rotation players aren't competent enough to go toe-to-toe with most NBA teams, and with Anthony Davis yet again missing a protracted period of time due to injuries, LeBron James can only do so much.
Yesterday's game was a reflection of just how poor of a situation the Lakers are in. At the start of the game, the Lakers put their foot down decisively, gaining a sizeable lead through the first eight or so minutes.
Not only did they shoot the ball well, LAL also managed to hold off Luka Doncic by double-teaming at the right time. Doncic didn't score his first field goal until eight minutes into the first quarter.
When LeBron checked out of the game with four minutes and 32 seconds to go in the first, LAL had a lead of 12, and by the time James entered back, it had already been cut down to six.
With almost three minutes without LBJ on the floor, the Lakers scored just two points, as opposed to the Mavs' eight.
However, the knockout punch came in the third quarter, when the Mavericks outscored the Lakers 51-21, a 30-point swing leading to a 19-point lead over Dallas. The 51-point quarter is tied for the second-highest scoring quarter since 2014-15.
LAL can only get better by making trades and moving dead weight off their roster. LeBron James' upcoming two-year extension will reap LAL no benefits if they don't surround him with formidable rotation players.