The Los Angeles Lakers have now lost eight straight games. The seven-game road trip has started off poorly with Luke Walton’s squad dropping the first two away from the Staples Center.
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On Wednesday night, the Lakers remained in the game with the Brooklyn Nets and had a legitimate shot to end their seven-game skid. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t seal the deal in the fourth quarter resulting in another loss and some harsh words from Walton.
According to Nick Young on Spectrum SportsNet, Walton clearly wasn’t happy with the team’s effort against the Nets and called them out following their eighth consecutive loss, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Nick Young said Luke called the team out tonight. On what? "Just mentally being soft…that we've got to step up to the plate." (on SPSN)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 15, 2016
The Nets, who had won only six games all year long before taking on the Lakers, came out with a 10-point win on their home floor. Despite six players on the Lakers squad scoring in double figures, this team still has yet to resemble the resilient group that lead the Lakers to a 10-10 record to start the 2016-17 NBA campaign.
With the Lakers falling to 10-18 on the season, the team will attempt to regroup and get back to work on Friday. Walton’s squad will face off against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers in what will likely be a statement game for this team. Much like the Nets, the 76ers have not been a good team this season with only six wins thus far and rookie Ben Simmons yet to have seen the floor due to foot injury.
After facing the 76ers, the Lakers will play the second game of a back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. If this team can figure things out by Saturday, Los Angeles could be in for a rough night against LeBron James and company in Cleveland.