Not all regular season games are created equal.
Some are measuring stick matchups, where teams can see how they fare against the NBA’s best. That’s exactly the scenario the Lakers were in on Monday night as they hosted the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Not only have the Thunder reached the mountaintop, but they’ve remained up there with the best record in the NBA.
The game was competitive and the Lakers led for parts during the third quarter and for a blip in the fourth, but they ultimately lost 119-110. Despite the valiant effort and the Lakers testing the Thunder just as much as OKC challenged Los Angeles, LeBron James didn’t view the loss as any kind of moral victory.
“You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there,” LeBron said. “We’re not…We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That’s why they won the championship.”
While no level-headed person would object to LeBron’s comments, it’s still surprising to hear him being so candid about his team. LeBron either was just having a candid moment, or the gap between these two teams was so large that he felt it was far from controversial to say.
Admitting that the Lakers can’t sustain energy and effort for an entire game is quite a damning statement coming from your superstar player.
While James might’ve been revealing some uncomfortable truths, he’s not wrong. Sure, the Lakers didn’t have Luka Dončić for this game, but the Thunder didn’t have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
While the Lakers kept fighting back and gained the lead for moments in the second half, OKC always felt inevitable. It was understood that their execution and quality would overwhelm LA, and it ultimately happened late in the third quarter.
This loss exposed all the flaws the Lakers have shown all season long. They were outrebounded 45-37, they gave up 23 points off of turnovers and shot just 32% from 3-point range.
The Lakers were unable to stop the Thunder from scoring from the perimeter, allowing Isaiah Joe to have one of his best games of the season with 19 points on 6-11 shooting from deep.
Joe’s great game isn’t an isolated incident. The Lakers often make good shooters look like prime Reggie Miller against them. While the Thunder are the cream of the crop in the NBA, 52 games into the season, LA has shown that if you can score a little, you’re going to score a lot against them.
If this were a measuring stick game, it was proof that the Lakers don’t measure up. They aren’t a championship-contending team. Their record backs that up, the eye test does as well.
All LeBron was doing was stating the obvious.