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LeBron James and the LA Lakers struggled mightily on Wednesday, falling 110-96 at home to a shorthanded Miami Heat team. The loss came despite LA’s Big 3 of James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves each playing between 37 and 43 minutes. The trio’s extended playing time in the blowout left Lakers coach Darvin Ham feeling perplexed.
The Heat were without superstar forward Jimmy Butler (foot). However, it didn’t matter, as they had a well-balanced attack with eight players scoring in double figures, led by 21 points from guard Tyler Herro.
Meanwhile, the Lakers only had six players score at all, led by a game-high 29 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks from Davis. Two of LA’s other starters, Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish, combined for zero points over 47 minutes. That left Ham with no choice but to overly on his top guys.
“I'm cringing here looking at the minutes both Bron and AD played tonight, even Austin,” Ham said postgame.
The loss marked the Lakers’ third straight as they dropped below .500 (17-18). After 35 games, they sit 10th in the Western Conference, on the verge of falling out of play-in position.
The Heat, on the other hand, continue to find ways to succeed despite being shorthanded, as they have won five of their last seven games. After 34 games, they sit fourth in the Eastern Conference (20-14).
Miami will look to build on Wednesday’s victory on the road against the Phoenix Suns (18-16) on Friday. The game marks the final game of the Heat’s five-game West road trip.
Meanwhile, LA will look to bounce back when it hosts the Memphis Grizzlies (11-23) on Friday.
Are LeBron James and the Lakers in serious trouble?
Barring any significant injuries, the Lakers should have enough talent to avoid falling out of play-in/playoff contention. However, most would agree that their offensive struggles should be cause for concern for a team that entered the season with NBA title aspirations.
Through 35 games, LA is ranked just 24th in offensive rating (111.9), 28th in 3-pointers per game (10.7) and 24th in 3-point percentage (35.1%).
After Wednesday’s loss, Davis touched on the Lakers' struggles, warning that they need to right the ship as soon as possible.
“It’s a little bit of everything right now and if we keep on this trend, it’s not going to be good for us,” Davis said. “It’s kind of obvious that we’ve got to figure it out sooner than later.”
The Lakers are sorely in need of extra scoring and spacing around James, Davis and Reaves. Meanwhile, the Feb. 8 trade deadline is fast approaching. So, their front office may have to make some moves to bolster their offense if they hope to contend for the 2024 NBA title.
