LeBron James spoke candidly about the difficulties facing the Los Angeles Lakers following a 103-88 loss to the Clippers on Saturday at Intuit Dome.
Asked about being the only starter on the floor after Luka Doncic exited at halftime with a lower leg contusion, James said, “No matter what the circumstance is, still next man up. We’re all professionals and we all got to stay ready. So, you know, obviously very challenging circumstances for our ball club… but at the end of the day, I think we played extremely hard. We did. We followed our keys. We just came up short.”
On the team’s shooting struggles, James acknowledged, “That happens throughout the course of the season. We had some great looks, just didn’t make shots. But we still gave ourselves a chance to be in the game by how well we defended, our competitive spirit, our competitive nature, and just playing hard.”
When asked about the challenge system, James said, “I have no idea where the consistency is. There isn’t any consistency, but it is what it is. It’s the worst thing about sports—injuries—but you can control the controllables. What we have out there, who’s ever in uniform, we have to go out and execute at the utmost pace we can, and on the other end, defend, be on the string, and help each other out.”
LeBron also addressed his observations of Doncic during the game: “Yeah, I saw him limping in the second [quarter], but I haven’t talked to him since. That’s it.”
On the importance of Christmas basketball, James reflected, “I thought all these years it’s still important to me. Obviously, I’d much rather be at home with my family all throughout the day. But the game—the game I love—it’s always been an honor to play it. Our number is called, so we have to go out and perform, and we look forward to it.”
Despite scoring a season-high 36 points, James’ effort wasn’t enough to overcome Kawhi Leonard’s 32 points and the Clippers’ hot shooting. The Lakers missed 32 three-pointers, with Marcus Smart going 0-for-9 from beyond the arc, while Ivica Zubac’s absence due to injury forced the Clippers to rely on depth to maintain their lead.
Los Angeles will travel to Phoenix on Tuesday to finish their eight-game road trip, looking to rebound from the setback.
