The Los Angeles Lakers gave fans something to cheer about on Monday night when they beat the Houston Rockets.
Sure, they were defeating the worst team in the NBA but a win is a win, especially for the Lakers, who have struggled all season long.
Analysts and fans have been critiquing the team since the first game, saying they are out of energy, direction, and talent.
Since October, the Lakers have lost 19 games.
– Only 2 of those losses came against under .500 teams
– 5 of those losses have been by 4 points or less.
– 3 of those losses came in overtime pic.twitter.com/DohEQAVUho
— The Lead (@TheLeadSM) January 18, 2023
But looking at the numbers behind their losses, you see that LA has been on a rocky road all season.
Since October, the Lakers have lost 19 games and only 2 of them were against teams under .500.
Meanwhile, 5 of these losses have been by 4 points or less, meaning the Lakers have fallen in some nail-biting close games.
Also, three of the losses were in overtime, including the recent defeat by the Mavericks in double overtime.
In other words, the Lakers have come close many times yet have still come up short.
Almost doesn’t count and a loss is a loss, no matter how close it is.
The Lakers have had a tough schedule and some bad luck but there is no doubt that head coach Darvin Ham needs to closely examine why the team is being defeated during close matches.
He touched upon this the other night after the Lakers once again almost won against the Philadelphia 76ers.
But Russell Westbrook‘s last-second attempt at victory was thwarted by Joel Embiid.
It doesn’t matter how close these losses were, the Lakers are still the 13th team in the West and struggling to get into position for the play-in tournament at the end of the season.
They need to rework their approach because they continually come up close but not close enough.
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