LeBron James issued a blunt State of the Los Angeles Lakers following his team's 138-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. It was the second blowout defeat for the Lakers in as many days, following their sluggish showing on Monday against the Houston Rockets.

Playing without Anthony Davis (hip) for the third time all season, the Lakers were a turnstile. The Hawks poured in 36 points in the first quarter and shot 52.5% from the field, including 42.1% from 3-point range. It was the fourth straight game in which Darvin Ham's squad surrendered 130+ points.

“I just told the team after the game, we gotta figure out how to get more resistance defensively,” said Ham. ” … We gotta look ourselves in the mirror and man up.”

James finished with 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting, nine rebounds, and eight assists in 36 minutes. For the second time in 24 hours, the 39-year-old logged heavy minutes due to an unrealistic fourth-quarter comeback bid. (Once again, Los Angeles struggled mightily at the free-throw line, for which LeBron took ownership.)

“At times,” LeBron said when asked if the Lakers' effort was up to snuff. “But at times it wasn't.” 

The Lakers (24-25) are 1-2 on their six-game road trip, with upcoming tests at the top-seeded Boston Celtics (37-11) and the New York Knicks (31-17), winners of eight games in a row. 49 games in, they rank 21st in offensive rating, 15th in defensive rating — their supposed calling card — and last in 3s per game.

Austin Reaves, who led the Lakers with a season-high 28 points, cited defensive miscommunication as a primary culprit for the umpteenth time.

“Individually, we have to sit down and look ourself in the mirror and kind of just ask, ‘What are we bringing to the table?' and start there.  …We're better than what our record indicates, I believe.”

LeBron didn't necessarily agree.

“That's our record,” stated LeBron. “It is what it is.”

“We could, at any given night, beat any team in the NBA. And then on any given night, we can get our ass kicked by any team in the NBA. What's our record? One game under .500? We're 24 and 25? That's where we are.” (Notably, Dejounte Murray easily outdueled his trade rumor-mate, D'Angelo Russell)

LeBron's perspective is understandable, though increasingly so with each dud. Based on the Lakers' 2023 run to the Western Conference finals, their In-Season Tournament triumph, and the presence of LeBron and AD in crunch time, the Lakers believe their ceiling is higher in the postseason.

Unfortunately, they have to make it there, which is far from a guarantee. The Lakers sit 0.5 games ahead of the Rockets (a team that has blown them out twice) for a play-in spot. The Warriors loom. As LeBron surely knows, the Lakers will have to play 33 more games for a coach struggling to push the right buttons and possibly losing player support — and make sure the vast majority of those games are diametric to whatever they've shown the last two nights.