If there was any doubt about how important LeBron James remains for the Los Angeles Lakers, Friday’s loss in Minnesota offered a stark reminder.
Without their 39-year-old superstar, the Lakers posted their second-lowest point total of the season in a 97-87 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles dropped to 13-12 and 10th in the Western Conference, extending its downward spiral over the past three weeks. The Lakers have lost eight of their past 11 games, with five of those losses coming by double digits.
James, who was out because of left foot soreness and is away from the team for personal reasons, missed his second straight game. He didn’t travel with the team to Minnesota after not participating in Tuesday’s voluntary “get-what-you-need” day or Wednesday’s practice with an excused absence. It’s unclear when he will return to the team, coach JJ Redick said.
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What is clear, however, is how much the Lakers missed the 22-year veteran, regardless of whatever alternate reality his plus-minus or on-off numbers suggest.
With James out, Los Angeles tied its season-high with 22 turnovers and shot a season-low 38.4 percent from the field. Only three players — Anthony Davis (23 points), Austin Reaves (18 points) and Max Christie (career-high 15 points) — scored in double figures. The Lakers mustered 23 or fewer points in each quarter.
“I think we did enough defensively,” Davis said. “Just didn’t do enough offensively.”
The Lakers’ offense started slowly while adjusting to another new starting lineup: Davis, Christie, Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent. Los Angeles had half of its turnovers (11) in the opening frame, making simple errors like bobbling dribbles and fumbling kick-out passes.
Reaves, who returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games with a left pelvic contusion, took the blame for the offense appearing disorganized for stretches as he tried to shake off his rust.
“A lot of that the first quarter was my fault,” Reaves said. “Not having us organized. Not being on the court the last two weeks, I thought, left a little indecision in my mind with some stuff that we could have been doing. So, I got to be better there.”
This season, the Lakers have been 10.9 points per 100 possessions worse with James on the floor — the worst mark among their rotation players and the first time in James’ career that one of his teams has been better with him off the floor than on it. That largely stems from the Lakers’ defensive struggles with James on the court as they are 0.2 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor offensively. Conversely, they are 11.2 points per 100 possessions worse with him on defensively.
That offensive difference pales in comparison to some of the other on-off differences among the principal figures of the rotation, but it still confirms James’ importance as a shot-creator, playmaker and ballhandler in a group that can lack in those regards. They are no longer as reliant on James as they were in previous seasons, but he’s still their best offensive option in crunch time given his superior shooting and passing compared to Davis.
Outside of Davis, James and Reaves, the Lakers have struggled to find consistent offensive production during their recent downturn, with D’Angelo Russell, Hachimura, rookie Dalton Knecht, Vincent and Christie fluctuating with their output and shooting performances.
James just endured one of his worst shooting slumps and is averaging the second-most turnovers of his career, but he remains one of the game’s premier offensive forces. And the Lakers aren’t built to withstand his absence, even if they beat Portland last Sunday without him and were 6-5 without him last season. The rest of the supporting cast simply hasn’t been good enough or reliable.
And while James’ defense has mostly ranged from subpar to harmful this season, the Lakers certainly missed his size and defensive rebounding. They were already without backup centers Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood and ace wing defender Jarred Vanderbilt, leaving their frontcourt especially thin against one of the biggest and most physically imposing frontlines in the league. The Timberwolves’ frontcourt inflicted its will and outscored the Lakers’ frontline 61-40.
Davis, who was visibly frustrated after the loss as he leaned against his locker, rejected the premise that the Lakers didn’t have enough to beat the Wolves despite missing James and over half their frontcourt.
“I mean, (we have) Christian (Koloko), Rui — myself, just got to figure it out,” Davis said. “No matter who’s playing, we got to figure it out with the five guys on the floor.”
When asked if he’s recently spoken to James about setting a tone during this stretch as the Lakers try to regain control of their season, Davis responded with his shortest answer of the evening.
“No, I haven’t talked to him about any of that,” Davis said as he shook his head.
James is averaging 23.0 points, eight rebounds, 9.1 assists and 4.1 turnovers in 35.0 minutes per game this season. He’s appeared in 23 of the Lakers’ 25 games after stating earlier in the season that he planned on playing in all 82 games.
He aggravated his left foot in the Lakers’ 41-point loss to the Miami Heat on Dec. 4. James was listed as questionable for the Lakers’ next game in Atlanta on Dec. 6 before eventually playing through his discomfort. He sat out the Lakers’ next game, at home against the Portland Trail Blazers, because of his foot pain.
The Lakers next play Sunday in Los Angeles against the Memphis Grizzlies — also the first unofficial day of trade season — and it’s unknown if James will be available. If James plays in the Memphis game, he’ll have had eight days off between games. If he rests, he’ll have another four days off, as the Lakers don’t play again until Thursday in Sacramento amid a stretch of three games in 13 days.
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(Top photo: Jordan Johnson / Getty Images)
