The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-93 in the NBA Emirates Cup, marking their fourth loss in five games. Despite his legendary status, LeBron James had an off night, but he didn’t hold back in identifying the areas where his team needs improvement.
“Well, I mean, when you’re shading and helping a lot, especially against Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] and J Dub, they have a numbers game on offensive rebounding, but we got to do a better job of trying to clean glass and do a much better job of not turning the ball over as much,” James said.
The Thunder dominated the Lakers in key statistical categories, particularly on the offensive boards. Oklahoma City pulled down 15 offensive rebounds compared to just eight for Los Angeles. Adding to their woes, the Lakers turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 20 points for the Thunder, while OKC committed just 10 turnovers, allowing only five points in return.
Despite the loss, James highlighted the physical nature of recent games and the Lakers’ effort on defense. “Every game has its own challenges and game plan for each game depending on personnel. Defensively, we’ve been really good the last couple of games,” he said. “I like when the game is played that way. I wish it was more regular-season games allowed to play that way.”
Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James drives against Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. (IMAGO/ ZUMA Press Wire)
LeBron James’ praise for the Thunder
James also took time to praise the Thunder for their strong play, even while missing key contributors like Chet Holmgren. “Yeah, I think they’re taking the jump, but they are also missing a big piece too with Chet [Holmgren] being out, so AC being out as well, so they’ll make another jump. But really good team. Well coached,” James remarked.
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JJ Redick pleased with Lakers’ defense
Lakers head coach JJ Redick remained positive about his team’s defensive improvements despite the defeat. “I think the biggest takeaway is we have a lot to build on defensively over the last two games. That is the most connected our team has been on that end of the floor since the first game of the season,” Redick said.
He added: “Really outstanding job with a lot of the stuff we talked about. I don’t know the exact total, but there were a half dozen to a dozen plays that shot us in the foot even before the late game stuff. We played well enough and hard enough to win against the best team in the west. So, there’s definitely good stuff.”
