07 January 2024 , 17:25
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NBA superstar LeBron James has broken his silence on the Los Angeles Lakers' recent poor performance against the Memphis Grizzlies, summing it up in two damning words: "We suck."
The Lakers suffered their fourth consecutive defeat on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, losing 127-113 to the Grizzlies. This leaves the iconic franchise with a disappointing 17-19 record and currently out of play-in tournament contention.
The team's slump is particularly worrying as it comes less than a month after they won the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament. Since then, the Lakers have been struggling, with a dismal 3-10 record. Despite ending the third quarter with a tied score, Memphis outscored the Lakers by 14 in the final quarter.
James, who was instrumental in knocking the Grizzlies out of the first round of playoffs last season, knows something needs to change. He led all scorers with 32 points but missed four free throws and made three crucial turnovers in the fourth quarter. His frustration was evident when he told reporters: "I mean, we just suck right now."
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Meanwhile, the Grizzlies had a stellar game, hitting a season-high percentage of three-point shots and having four players score at least 20 points. Jaren Jackson Jr., the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, led the way with 31 points.
Memphis, currently 11th in the league for three-pointers per game and last for team three-point percentage, surprised many with their performance. However, James was aware of their potential. "They're NBA players," he said casually. "They work on their craft, too. It seems to happen a lot versus us, where the percentages go the other way.
"We had our game plan and how we wanted to execute that, and I thought we did that as well as we could. And they made us pay."
LeBron James scored 32 points in vain as the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday (Getty Images)Things haven't been going well for the Lakers since their victory in Sin City. They beat the New Orleans Pelicans and the Indiana Pacers to win the championship in Las Vegas, but James is clearly frustrated and tired of constant questions about the Lakers' change in form from the tournament to the regular season.
"That was just two games," James stated firmly. "It's a small sample. Everyone is getting so cracked up about Vegas and keep bringing up Vegas. It was two games. We took care of that business. It was the in-season tournament, we played it, we won it. But that was literally just two games."
After a busy December travelling, the Lakers will be playing 11 out of their first 12 games of 2024 at home. This includes a thrilling match against the on-fire LA Clippers (22-12), who have triumphed in 14 of their last 16 games, on Sunday, Jan. 8.
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