Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James kept it brief when discussing his team’s play following its 10th loss in the last 13 games.
“We just suck right now,” James told reporters, including ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, after the Lakers’ 127-113 home loss to the 12-23 Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.
The 13-game span began after Los Angeles took home the inaugural In-Season Tournament championship, leaving many to wonder how the team’s momentum halted following the title. James took much less stock in the event.
“That was just two games, though,” James said. “That was a small sample. Everybody is getting so cracked up about Vegas, keep bringing up Vegas. It was two games. We took care of that business … but that was really just two games.”
James was the game’s leading scorer Friday despite the loss, dropping 32 points on 11-of-24 shooting while adding five rebounds, seven assists, and five steals in 38 minutes. The Lakers only had 13 bench points, though.
In addition to L.A.’s loss to Memphis, it was reported Thursday that a rift has begun between the team and head coach Darvin Ham due to his constant tinkering of lineups and rotations.
Ham delivered a message of optimism postgame, focusing on the bigger picture.
“I’m tired of people living and dying with every single game we play,” Ham said. “It’s ludicrous, actually. It’s like, come on, man, this is a marathon. And we hit a tough stretch. It’s the same team. … We played some high-level games a little while ago, and we just got to get back to that.”
The 17-19 Lakers’ next chance to return to their winning ways comes Sunday against their red-hot cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers.
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