Los Angeles Lakers key player has been arrested due to..
NEW DELHI: The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by their determination to clinch the NBA‘s inaugural In-Season Tournament, went all in to secure the victory. However, their performance since claiming the tournament title has been far from stellar, with the team boasting a 1-3 record in the aftermath. This includes a shocking loss to the San Antonio Spurs that ended the latter’s 18-game losing streak
Key players, including LeBron James and Anthony Davis, have been sidelined due to either injury or illness in the wake of the tournament triumph. Following the Lakers’ recent defeat against the New York Knicks, LeBron James faced questions about the team’s struggles over the past week. While acknowledging that the challenges were multifaceted, James made a noteworthy reference to the In-Season Tournament as a potential factor in their recent woes.
Have you seen Indiana’s record since Vegas?” James quipped. The Indiana Pacers, like the Lakers, have won only once since the conclusion of the In-Season Tournament, posting a 1-4 record in the past eight days. Both teams share the ignominy of suffering embarrassing losses to lottery teams in that span.
Despite this correlation, it’s essential to scrutinize the notion of causation. While the Lakers and Pacers played an additional game in the context of a traditional 82-game schedule, the impact of that single game on their performance is debatable. During the tournament week, both teams played three total games— a quarterfinal, a semifinal, and the championship bout— with sufficient rest between each game. Travel was minimal, especially for the Lakers, given the proximity of Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
It’s worth noting that James and his Lakers teammates expressed a desire to win the tournament’s $500,000 prize and actively sought out the extra game. However, this coincided with a period in the season where several Lakers players were dealing with injuries and illnesses. James himself has been managing a calf issue, while Davis played through a hip injury, and the team battled a non-COVID illness.
In the face of their recent struggles, two of the Lakers’ three losses were by five points or less, highlighting the narrow margins that could have altered their record. James underscored the team’s resilience, emphasizing that stretches like these are part of the NBA season.