The stage was set. LeBron James asked for, and got, the ball with six second left on the game clock. The Lakers were down by two, but the sellout crypto.com Arena crowd of 18,996 felt the odds were in the hosts’ favor. After all, the 20-year veteran had been responsible for either scoring or assisting on 11 straight points in the last two minutes and change, and the stage was set for him to either add to the 18 he had already put up in the payoff period or set a teammate up for a bucket to tie the match or win it outright. And so he took off from the left quarter court, evidently heading straight to the basket even as the defense collapsed on him. He seemed to have a path to yet another lay-in to force overtime.
There was just one problem, however. As James accelerated to the paint, his right shoe came off and literally flew to the baseline. He lost his footing, and with it any chance to take a stab from point-blank range. Still, he somehow had the presence of mind to flick the loose ball to an open Dennis Shroder in the corner. Given the Lakers’ luck, or, rather, lack thereof, it was no surprise that the attempt from beyond the arc — taken with absolutely no coverage to bother it — missed. The squandered opportunity left the purple and gold with their third straight setback the other day, and seven in their last 10 contests over the last two and a half weeks.
To argue that the Lakers are reeling would be to understate the obvious. It’s bad enough that they need to navigate the foreseeable future without Anthony Davis, by far their best player this season. What’s worse is that, even with him burning rubber at peak health, the best they can do is wallow in mediocrity. Their roster is simply too uneven, and bereft of the right pieces, to compete with the acknowledged elite. It’s why James, four days from his 38th birthday, has been logging extended minutes, and why not even his finest at this point can carry them. The other day, for instance, they became fodder for the otherwise-overmatched Hornets, who have hitherto won just one of their last 10 games.
It’s too bad, really, because James is on the cusp of yet another milestone. Becoming the National Basketball Association’s career points leader is a significant feat in and of itself, but validation in a team sport necessarily comes with victory. And to see him waste his waning years scraping the bottom of the barrel is nothing short of deflating. Don’t tell that to him, though. As he argued in his post-mortem, “I won’t say [it’s] disappointing, because I’m not disappointed in our effort. I’m not disappointed in the guys. You just want to win the game that’s right there in front of you.” Enough said.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
