LeBron James was peeved for a host of reasons after the Los Angeles Lakers (16-17) lost 138-110 to the San Antonio Spurs (13-18) on Thursday at Staples Center — his team's fourth straight defeat.
LeBron was upset about yet another loss, facing more questions about when the Lakers will figure things out, and a porous defensive effort. And, like most human beings in the United States of America and in many parts of the world, he's clearly exasperated about the rise of COVID-19 cases (primarily the Omicron variant) that has infected the Lakers — along with the NBA, other major sports leagues, and, as of this week, the city of Los Angeles.
LeBron was asked about the Lakers' defensive struggles vs. San Antonio — who scored the most points vs. Los Angeles in a regulation game since January of 2020. He credited Spurs' execution then noted the fact that the Lakers' best defensive players are in health and safety protocols.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6MnJXNoLPxevYvf5sx6Jv4?si=29a084fc37e546af
“All of our defensive guys are in protocols,” he said, naming Kent Bazemore, Austin Reaves, Trevor Ariza, and Avery Bradley (he unintentionally omitted Anthony Davis, who is sidelined with an MCL sprain). “We don't need a full roster. We just need some of our guys back.”
The Lakers currently have five players in protocols: the aforementioned players, plus Malik Monk. Head coach Frank Vogel remains isolated with COVID-19, and multiple members of the Lakers staff/traveling party have tested positive in the past week, too. Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Dwight Howard spent time in protocols, as did LeBron himself, for what turned out to be a false positive test.
Considering all of that, you can understand why LeBron is just as confused and frustrated as we are.
“It's literally a crapshoot every single time you take a test at this point,” he said.
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