The Los Angeles Lakers suffered defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics on Saturday, March 8. To add insult to injury, the loss snapped Los Angeles’ eight-game winning streak.
During his postgame news conference, LeBron James pointed toward the Celtics roster continuity as a reason why they’re so dominant. The veteran superstar claimed the Lakers are still capable of beating anyone, but must continue to develop their habits ahead of the postseason.
“We can compete vs anyone in this league,” James said. “We’ll be fine, we’ve got to continue to build our habits. We’re not where they are. That’s the defending champion. They’ve been playing basketball together for a long time. They’ve got a great chemistry, and know what they want to do. We made an acquisition late in the season and we’re still trying to build.”
Since acquiring Luka Doncic, the Lakers have looked like potential NBA Finals candidates. JJ Redick’s team has been elite on the defensive end over the past two weeks. However, offense is still a work in progress and James and Doncic continue to learn how to work together in tandem.
While losing the Celtics will undoubtedly sting, the Lakers have a lot to be excited about, especially as the roster continues to get healthy.
Lakers’ LeBron James Suffered a Groin Injury
Midway through the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ loss to Boston, James left the court with a groin injury. According to ESPN, the Lakers are awaiting results of medical imaging to determine the severity of the sprain and a potential timeline for James’ absence.
“Until he undergoes medical imaging, it is too early to project an accurate timetable for how long James could be out, sources told ESPN,” Dave McMenamin reported. “However, one source said the initial thought is that the injury will sideline James for a matter of weeks, not a matter of days.”
During his postgame news conference, James noted how he doesn’t think this injury is as bad as the one he suffered on Christmas Day in 2018.
“No, it’s not as bad as that,” James said. “It’s not as bad as that.”
That 2018 groin strain caused James to miss 17 games, which became a significant issue for the Lakers during his debut season with the franchise.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic Speaks on James’ Injury
When speaking to the media after the game, Doncic discussed the possibility of being without James in the immediate future. The recently-acquired star noted how the Lakers must have a next-man-up mentality as they look to bounce straight back from their loss.
“Obviously, to get injured at this time, those [groin] injuries are — I don’t want to say the worst, but they are tough to deal with,” Doncic said. “So, just take his time. And we got to have as a team a next-man-up mentality.”
James has been having a stellar season for the Lakers. In 57 games, he’s averaging 25.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.5 assists while shooting 51.8% from the field and 39.1% from deep. If James is back in the rotation within the next two weeks, the Lakers will still have plenty of time to get back to their best and make some noise in the playoffs.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post LeBron James Sends Message After Lakers’ Eight-Game Winning Streak Snapped appeared first on Heavy Sports.