Locked On Lakers podcast is your daily ticket to stay ahead of the game and the first to know the latest news, analysis, and insider info for the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA. Hosts Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered the Purple and Gold since 2005 for media outlets including the LA Times, ESPN and The Athletic, offer traditional journalism, informal commentary, and offbeat humor to provide expert, local analysis. Locked On Lakers takes you beyond the scoreboard for the inside scoops on the biggest stories from within the Lakers locker room and all over the NBA. The Locked On Lakers podcast is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
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LeBron Struggles as the Lakers Lose to New Orleans. Is the Team's Spirit Broken?
Rock bottom is a relative term with the 2021-2022 Lakers, but at the very least, Sunday's blowout loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at the Crypt certainly could represent that spot. It was an incredibly listless effort, where the Lakers were inept offensively for the first half, then horrendous defensively after the break (44 points for the Pelicans in the third). New Orleans now moves into the 10th spot in the West, and the Lakers are flirting with falling out of the mini-tournament entirely.
At this point, it feels less about anything the Lakers do, and more about whether the Spurs or Blazers can win enough to knock them out.
So what's going on? Start with effort and energy. It's been a problem all year, and was particularly awful on Sunday. Why, though? What prevents this team from performing with the requisite fight for 48 minutes a game? Do they believe in their ability to win anymore at this point? Can that belief be restored?
What about the talent issue? Because Sunday exposed other problems - namely that when the Big Three aren't available/aren't on point, the Lakers suffer from a serious talent deficit. Are they actually better than a team like New Orleans, if you ignore the names on the front of the jerseys? And if LeBron can't fill those gaps anymore - his last few games have been a struggle, even if the counting numbers are not bad (as was the case Sunday) - what do the Lakers do about it?
It's a massive problem for this year, and one that will bleed into next, as well, if the Lakers can't fix it.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: The Lakers lose, and lose spirit, against the Pelicans.
SEGMENT 2: Has something broken with this team? Like, for good?
SEGMENT 3: It's not just effort and attitude, it's talent. The Lakers are very, very short on it, after LBJ and (sometimes) Russell Westbrook.
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