LeBron James’ a return to the Los Angeles Lakers line-up from injury couldn’t help the inconsistent form that has plagued his team in their 130-108 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday.
The defeat dropped the Lakers to 8-9 with more than a fifth of the season in the books.
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“It’s never, ‘We got 65 games left,'” James said when asked by ESPN if he can take the long view considering the Lakers’ early injuries and how much of the 82-game regular-season slate remains.
“We damn sure need to play better, no matter who is in the lineup. We have our system and we need to obviously fast-track it and get better with it so we can play, no matter who is out on the floor, we can play at a high level. … There’s no level of panic, but there should be some sense of urgency any time we take the floor.”
Jams himself registered 23 points on 10/16 shooting alongside six rebounds, two assists and two steals, but despite the strong numbers, was a long way from being 100 percent game ready.
“Physically I felt okay and good enough to know that I can trust my body and get out and play tonight,” James said. “So I’m more looking forward to seeing how I’m feeling tomorrow when I wake up. That is the telltale sign if I’m moving in the right direction with my injury.”
The Lakers, who led by as many as 14 in the first half, fell from grace in the second half, with the Celtics breaking the game open with a 33-21 quarter out of the break.
“We have to get committed to playing as a team offensively,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel.
“And when we do, like we saw in the first quarter, it looks beautiful and you see the potential of what we can be. But we got into holding the ball too much and not playing for each other enough. But that’s part of learning each other and building that cohesiveness and the right habits. And then defensively, guys are going to have big roles if they commit to the defensive side. And if they don’t, they’re not. It’s that simple.”
The 130 points by Boston were the most that the Lakers have allowed all season.
