They will be fine.
The last time the Lakers engaged in a worrying four-game losing streak was in December 2019, when they responded with nine straight games. Coincidentally, he said the victory started against the Portland Trail Blazers, which he defeated last night in one of the best defensive performances of the 2020-21 season.
The concern that came in was How The Lakers lost four in a row that came shortly after Anthony Davis’ Achilles injury. The Lakers dropped just 98 points against the Brooklyn Nets, challenged defensively, losing by 11. Two nights later, now rising (hot is too ez) the Miami Heat eliminated a 90s, 96-94 victory. This was followed by a loss of overtime to the Washington Wizards, who now won 6 of 7 for the first time in three seasons. And then the biggest: a 114-89 bottom that comes into the hands of the Utah Jazz, the best team of the regular season in the NBA (so far).
If last night wasn’t a mandatory win for the Lakers, it was close, if not for the sole reason that Davis doesn’t expect to return for at least a few more weeks. The Lakers had to prove they could step on the water without The Brow and they did so by keeping the 10th NBA offense with the highest score at over 20 points below their average. Dennis Schröder’s recovery from the COVID protocol has helped tremendously, but it mainly signals that the Lakers – even without Davis – have other equipment they could call up defensively, which other NBA competitors must prove when it matters.
The Lakers allowed Damian Lillard to come out for 35 points, but not only did he have to work tirelessly (24 goal attempts) to get what was a large number of games, but the Lakers only allowed a another Trail Blazer to accumulate over 11 points: Gary Trent Jr., who won 19 in just 8-of-20 shots (including 2-for-11 of three). Without Lillard’s 11-for-24, the Blazers fired 21-for-59 and put pressure on what felt like every possession.
It doesn’t matter that LeBron James finished the night with 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, but his defensive rating of 83 was a catalyst in Laker’s victory and also recorded four steals and three blocks. Offensively, the team did not receive significant contributions from anyone other than James, Schröder’s 22 points and the 17-point effort, with nine rebounds from Montrezl Harrell on the bench, but if they are closed on defense, that that’s all they should lead the way.
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Maybe even part of the motivation for the Lakers came shortly before the game, when AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, who played with the LA Galaxy from 2018-19, criticized James for being essentially a political activist and a lawyer. of change in America. Ibrahimovic said in an interview with UEFA for Discovery + on Thursday that James is “phenomenal”, but does not need to do sports and politics at the same time.
“Do what you know how,” Ibrahimovic said, as if giving advice. “Make the category you do. I play football because I’m the best football player. I don’t do politics. If I were a political politician, I would do politics. This is the first mistake people make when they become famous and reach a certain status. Stay away from that. Do only what you do best because it doesn’t look good. “
James not only responded with his performance, but also addressed Ibrahimović after the match, saying that he would not be silent and would not dribble:
“I will never be silent about things that are wrong. I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social justice, racism, suppression of voters; things that happen in our community. I will use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that is happening in this country and around the world. There is no way to just play sports because I understand how strong this platform and my voice are. ”
And, because the internet will be always find out, here is a clip from Ibrahimović accrediting Muhammad Ali for being a role model for what he did inside and outside of box. It’s the typical revisionist story that people do with Ali (and Martin Luther King Jr. and Roberto Clemente, etc.), who wasn’t as beloved in his day as he became in retrospect.