The Los Angeles Lakers are having a historically bad start to the season, falling to 0-4 after Wednesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers shot below 45% from the field and 30% for 3 again in the matchup with the Nuggets. Denver also outrebounded L.A. 54-47 while LeBron James had one of his worst games as a Laker, committing eight turnovers — tied for the most he has recorded since moving to L.A.
The Purple and Gold simply couldn’t compete with their opponents for a full 48 minutes again, rapidly falling behind after a strong run that kept them in the game or gave them the lead. Against the Nuggets, the Lakers finished the first half on a high note, turning a 10-point deficit into a 54-54 tie at halftime. However, they would be down by over 15 points with over three minutes left in the third quarter.
After the game, head coach Darvin Ham said he wants to see more consistency from his players, particularly when defending the rim, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I think our consistency in terms of not having those lows, you know. Consistency with our energy, first and foremost, and defense around rebounding, holding teams to one shot. And it’s not so much we’ve given up a ton of them. But teams are getting those timely, deep, offensive rebounds against us. Or, we’re getting just a hand on it and it’s going out of bounds so they’re still retaining the possession. But just maintaining our energy and our competitive spirit throughout the 48-minute game. Regardless of what’s going right, what’s going wrong. That is how you create a culture. Just like we’re defending at a high level, we have to keep our competitiveness at a high level at all times. And that’s just doing the little things. It’s not solely based on making shots, although that would help. It’s just based on, again, being consistent with your principles. And the defensive rebounding thing is always, I think — he who controls the glass usually controls the game. So that’ll always be an element that I want to just be superior at.”
The Lakers have started the season with a 0-4 record for only the fourth time ever — they didn’t get more than 21 wins in any of the three campaigns they opened with four straight losses.
The Purple and Gold desperately need to change things before it’s too late.
James takes responsibility for turnovers in Lakers’ loss to Nuggets
After the loss to the Nuggets, James owned up to his sloppiness and made it clear that he needs to be more aggressive.
“I wasn’t aggressive enough on a lot of my turnovers,” the 37-year-old said. “I was coming off a lot of screens, looking to pass and get guys involved. And I wasn’t aggressive enough and there was some careless turnovers on my part.”
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