On Wednesday evening, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers dropped a game that they really could not afford to lose with a blowout home loss to their Pacific Division rivals, the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers actually raced out to a near 20-point lead in the first quarter of this one, and although James played well, Los Angeles could not get nearly enough stops to slow down a scorching hot Kings squad.
One person who was shook by what they saw unfold on the Crypto.com Arena hardwood floor on Wednesday was none other than NBA insider Rachel Nichols, who took to FS1's Undisputed on Thursday morning to relay her concerns about the Lakers' defense, or lack thereof.
“Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox are excellent players. But Fox tied his career-high with 44 points. That’s a Lakers problem,” said Nichols, per UNDISPUTED on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.
Article Continues BelowIndeed, Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox took turns sauteing the Lakers defense on Wednesday night, both outside on the perimeter and around the basket. Fox ultimately finished with a career high of 44 points, while Sabonis recorded yet another triple double, extending his lead over the rest of the NBA in that department.
Defense has bizarrely been a struggle all year long for the Lakers despite their proficiency in that department a year ago. Instead, it's been the Los Angeles offense that has aided their recent surge in the standings, but the team shouldn't plan on going very far in the postseason if they don't figure out how to get some stops.