On January 16, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season is in full swing. In today's focus battle, the Lakers lost to the Nuggets 96:133, suffered a wave of 3 consecutive losses, and the record became 21-22, ranking 7th in the West, 12 wins away from the Suns at the top of the Western Conference.
After today's game, Lakers star James declined any post-game interviews.
This is the third time he has not been interviewed this season. The first occurred in the Lakers' away win over the Pistons, when James elbowed Pistons player Stewart and was expelled, which was also the second time in James' career that he was expelled. The second time was the Lakers' away loss to the Bulls, when James had 31 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, but it was difficult to prevent the Lakers from being double-killed by the Bulls.
To be sure, James is in a very upset mood today. James played 31 minutes in the game, shooting only 9 of 23, including 2 of 8 three-pointers, 5 of 7 from the free throw line, a total of only 25 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists, 25 points is also James's lowest score in the last 13 games, and his plus-minus today is only -17! During the game, James was repeatedly provoked by Nuggets player Reed, who even said after the game: "I just want revenge!" ”
At the same time, including Magic Johnson, number one James Black Skip and others have criticized and ridiculed James and the Lakers. Skip even said, "Davis is coming back to save poor James!" Nuggets officials even posted a photo of Jokic and James, writing: "The world's best player and James." ”
So far this season, James has averaged 36.7 minutes per game and has averaged 28.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.2 blocks, shooting 51.9% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range. As a 37-year-old veteran, James has done well enough, but it's clear that such performances are not enough to help the Lakers win.