We are only three days away from the NBA trade deadline, and the Los Angeles Lakers might be forced to make a move if they want to have any chance at the NBA championship this season.
On the road at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, the Lakers got out to a lead at halftime, but a lack of defense and unforced errors allowed their opponent to stretch the lead into the final minutes.
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As the game continued to wind down, Karl-Anthony Towns drove down the lane for New York as Los Angeles’ LeBron James took a step out and swiped at the ball while turning his back on the player he was defending, OG Anunoby.
As LeBron looked backwards to see what happened, Towns had already made the simple pass to Anunoby for the straightforward two points.
Lakers teammate Jarred Vanderbilt looked stunned under the basket, his hands out wide in frustration while looking at a despondent James.
The Knicks would go on to win by 12 points in another game defined by the Lakers’ lack of overall responsibility on defense.
Head coach JJ Redick had a private meeting between his two superstars, James and Luka Doncic, earlier in the season to get them to buy more into the defensive side of the game, yet it has continued to be a struggle.
With the absence of Austin Reaves, who was having an All-Star season before going down with a Grade 2 calf strain, the Lakers’ offense hasn’t been able to keep up against other top teams in the league. Vanderbilt, who was upset over the broken-down play, also hasn’t had the best of seasons, being benched for a series of games earlier in the campaign.
Although the Lakers are 29-19 and seventh in a tough Western Conference, their underlying numbers are worse than their record shows.
Heading into the trade deadline on Thursday, Lakers fans are demanding roster changes to compete this year. After tonight’s loss on “Sunday Night Basketball” on NBC, those cries are only going to grow louder each hour as the transaction window begins to close.
Newsweek