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LOS ANGELES — LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are quickly falling in the Western Conference standings, and the team's latest loss to the Los Angeles Clippers was just another example of their epic failure in 2021-22.
The Lakers dropped to 27-35 on the season, losing four games in a row after the NBA's All-Star break. In the last week alone, the Clippers, who are one spot ahead in the Western Conference standings, defeated the Lakers twice, creating some separation and likely ending the Lakers' chances of grabbing a top-eight seed.
After losing the previous three games this season by a combined eight points, the Lakers went down by as many as 30 points en route to a 21-point loss in the final matchup of the season.
After the game, star forward LeBron James was as straightforward as he could be regarding his thoughts on the Clippers sweeping his Lakers.
“They're the better team,” LeBron James said after the game.
The Clippers came into Thursday night's game as the fifth-best 3-point shooting team in the NBA at 36.3 percent. The final meeting between the two saw the Clippers blow that average out of the water, as they knocked down 17-of-27 3-pointers (63 percent).
“Coming into the game, we knew how great of a 3-point shooting team they are,” the Lakers superstar added. “You give them open looks, they're gonna knock them down and we gave up too many open looks and once the open looks start going in, they even started making the contested ones too. But they're a great shooting team and it results in another win for them.”
"It's been challenging for us this year defensively… We've lost a lot of games because our defense has broken down but it's also been our offense at times." @KingJames on the #Lakers defensive identity this season. pic.twitter.com/yFdtBGn3ur
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 4, 2022
The Lakers' schedule isn't getting any easier anytime soon, either. The Lakers have the second-toughest remaining strength of schedule, with two games each against the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors, respectively.
