LeBron James’ return didn’t do a lot to assist the Los Angeles Lakers.
J.J. Redick’s staff didn’t sustain with the Chicago Bulls.
Josh Giddey nearly posted a quadruple-double, main his staff with 15 factors, 17 assists, 10 rebounds, and eight steals.
The Lakers allowed a whopping 146 factors, and that included 44 factors within the paint.
That’s why their coach put them on blast after the loss.
In his post-game convention, Reddick claimed that it was the worst their protection had regarded all season (through Spectrum SportsNet):
“That was the worst our protection has regarded, frankly, possibly all yr, however definitely within the final three months,” he mentioned.
JJ: “That was the worst our protection has regarded frankly possibly all yr, however definitely within the final three months.” pic.twitter.com/AMyDvnQHDh
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 23, 2025
This was considerably shocking.
The Bulls aren’t a contending staff, and the Lakers had among the finest defenses within the league over the previous couple of months.
In fact, that is the NBA, and anyone can beat anyone on any given day.
However, it was nonetheless a head-scratching efficiency by the Lakers.
The race within the Western Convention is as tight because it’ll ever be, and the Lakers can’t afford to drop video games in opposition to groups they need to’ve overwhelmed.
They’re at the moment 43-27 for the season, and so they’re sitting on the No. 4 spot with 12 video games left within the common season.
They will nonetheless go the Denver Nuggets at No. 3 or possibly even the Houston Rockets at No. 2.
On the flip aspect, they will additionally fall all the way in which to No. 6, 7, or 8 and be within the Play-In Event, to allow them to’t take their foot off the fuel proper now.
Redick’s staff should regroup and get again to their finest earlier than their Monday night time assembly with the Orlando Magic.
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