Lakers: LeBron James Frustrated By Consistent Late-Game Lineup Inconsistency
Your Los Angeles Angeles Lakers have been very injured of late. Beyond Anthony Davis's annual ailment (this year, it's a right foot stress injury that has kept him out for the past 14 straight games), LA is currently still missing starters Lonnie Walker IV and Patrick Beverley, plus key reserve guard Austin Reaves. Over the past few contests, key contributors like LeBron James and Troy Brown Jr. have also missed time.
Following Thursday night's 119-115 double-overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks, James reflected on the unfortunate result of the team's various major absences: inconsistent rotations late in games.
Playing alongside unfamiliar comrades late (Wenyen Gabriel played in place of Thomas Bryant for the game's final two overtime periods) didn't rattle James too much against the Mavs, as he still poured in 24 points (albeit on a rough 9-of-28 shooting), 16 rebounds and nine assists.
At first, James was relatively diplomatic about his mentality going forward, despite the challenge of his team's recent two game mini-losing slump.
"Just keep playing the game. Each game is its own challenge, and tonight was another challenge. We had some ups and downs, but we gave ourself a chance to win. Couldn't come through late in the game."
James then got real with gathered reporters.
"One consistent thing that we have [late] is a billion different lineups. That's the most consistent. Do you get what I'm saying? ... It's not about trust, we have trust with whoever's on the floor, but at the end of the day, teams have closing lineups. We got so many guys [who are] in and out of the lineup, right now we got a lot of guys [who are] banged up. So it's almost like, who's in a good rhythm that night is gonna be on the floor, along with myself and Russ."
