The Lakers lost again, their eighth of 10 games since All-Star Weekend, and the two wins were won by James' 50+.
The Lakers lose
The Raptors gave the Lakers a slap in the face at the start, and they started 9-0. The Lakers relied on James to push hard to win the first point, but the Raptors' Siakam, Barnes and Van Jordan successively sent out a wave of power, they led the Raptors to another wave of 10-0, the Lakers fell behind 2-19, and even better, the Lakers collectively missed the accuracy outside the three-point line in the first quarter, they were 0-of-13, the first quarter ended, the Raptors have led by 21 points.
In the second quarter, James seemed to have strained his thigh during a breakthrough, but he did not go down, and he tightened his shoelaces to continue fighting. Perhaps seeing James's persistence, the rest of the Lakers began to move, and they began to chase points. But the Raptors won't easily let the lead go, and at halftime, they still led by 18 points at 58-40.
In the third quarter, the two sides came and went, but the point difference was always maintained at around 20 points, and the end of the section was 91-71 for the Raptors.
James still did not give up in the last quarter, he continued to lead the Lakers to continuously narrow the point difference, and finally they successfully chased the point difference to within 10 points, but the time left for the Lakers was not enough, they could only delay through free throw tactics, but the Raptors grasped the free throws, and the Lakers eventually failed.
Smashing the ball doesn't wake up teammates
In this game, James had 30 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, and the score and rebound were the highest on the team. James, who was pushed to the center position, was a bit out of shape after being successfully grabbed by the opponent in the second quarter, and he smashed the ball 3 times in a row, hoping that his teammates could actively fight. But throughout the game, the Lakers still let the Raptors grab 19 rebounds in the frontcourt, and the Lakers are really distracted now.
The playoffs are worrisome
After the game, James left without being interviewed, and he was really disappointed.
Although the Lakers still rank ninth in the West after this game, the winning gap between them and the Pelicans in the Tenth West and the Blazers in the Eleventh In the West is gradually narrowing.
At present, the Lakers are only 1 game ahead of the Pelicans and 2.5 games ahead of the Blazers.
The Lakers have 14 games to play, the Pelicans 14 more and the Trail Blazers 15 more. However, considering the Lakers' next opponents, they are expected to only win another 4 games.
The Pelicans also have direct conversations with the Lakers, who of course hope to surpass the Lakers and let the Blazers and Lakers compete for the final play-off spot.
Although the Blazers did not have Lillard, their next schedule is relatively easy, they have 10 games to play against teams that have basically missed the playoffs, if these teams let the Blazers win, then the Lakers are in danger.
Because just 10 of the Lakers' opponents are teams that need to fight for home advantage in the playoffs, facing these 10 strong opponents, unless James takes another 50+, it is basically hopeless.