The Los Angeles Lakers need every single win they can come by. They have to show more urgency than they have. Surely after such a frustrating loss, anyone even remotely associated would have the fire of a thousand suns in their eyes as they show accountability for whatever might’ve led to this two-game losing streak.
At the very least, they won’t appear pleased with hardly any aspect of the game, right? Well…
Let’s start with Kyle Kuzma (via Spectrum SportsNet):
What.
That’s a little better, I guess. Kind of.
Now let’s hear from Luke Walton. Surely he’ll rain down fire being the leader he is:
It really says something about how pathetic that New Orleans loss was that anyone would be complimenting a team’s energy for merely [checks notes] … not getting blown out by the powerhouse that is the Memphis Grizzlies? Combine this with Walton’s quotes about this playoff race maybe being a distraction and it’s becoming painfully evident this team has a desperate need for a leader to step up.
To be fair, both Kuzma and Walton impressed upon everyone the importance of actually winning, but come on. There are no moral victories in playoff races. There is no point system to grade caliber of losses. This should go without asking, but where the hell is the urgency here? Where’s the outward annoyance at dropping two crucial games against opponents they should have beaten? This kind of response is what people point to when they define a loser’s mentality.
No one is asking any of the Lakers to appear destitute after a loss like Monday night’s. That doesn’t really serve anyone. But to pat themselves on the back just for trying given this current situation isn’t great to see.
The Lakers have to start winning games. If they hope to start doing that, it’ll have to start with some urgency with each other in analyzing their own performances. Without that, it’s hard to see things actually getting sustainably better than they currently are.
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