While the Los Angeles Lakers were expected to struggle without LeBron James — and Rajon Rondo for that matter — some of the losses in what’s now a 3-7 stretch without the veterans have simply been inexcusable.
Never mind the fact that the Lakers have failed to get out of their own way with sluggish starts to games and poor free throw shooting. They trailed by 17 points in the first quarter to a New York Knicks team that came away from Staples Center with a win to snap a nine-game losing skid.
Lakers head coach Luke Walton said he would remind his team of their performance from that Friday night as they prepared to face the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers.