Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Takeaways from loss to Trail Blazers
By Ronald Agers
The Los Angeles Lakers lost their first game of the season to the Portland Trail Blazers, here are a few takeaways.
The first game of the LeBron James era has come and gone for the Los Angeles Lakers. The new chapter has started. Unfortunately, it finished the same way the Cleveland Cavaliers chapter ended…in a loss!
The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Portland Trailblazers 128-119 for their 16th straight time. The win is also Portland’s 18th straight opening night win which is a NBA record. LeBron James played a typical LeBron James game (more on that later) scoring 26 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out six assists. Josh Hart was impressive scoring 20 points off the bench.
With this loss LeBron James has now gone 0-4 playing the first game for his new teams…but in the NBA this will not be an easy hill to climb according to LeBron via ESPN.com.
"“Every step along the path is always different and challenging in its own right,” James said of starting a new season with a new franchise. “So no matter how comfortable you are, they all have their own feeling and you have to get better with it every single day, so I’m looking forward to this challenge.”"
If you are a Los Angeles Lakers fan do not panic. Throughout James’ career when he took his talents to another franchise it takes time for things to work itself out…
In Miami, the Heat were 9-8 with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh before things worked itself out to the point the Heat made the Finals. Back in Cleveland, the team went 19-20 when he played with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Then the winning streaks came and they went on to the Finals as well.
I can’t lie…I tend to love LeBron James’ quotes sometimes…How about that team chemistry?
"“Um, not as fast as you guys think it’s going to happen,” James said when asked how long it will take for the Lakers’ chemistry to develop. “I always kind of compare it to like instant oatmeal. It is not that fast. It takes a while to get to where you can close your eyes and know exactly where your guys are.”"
Okay Lakers fans, let’s remember these words because yes it will be a challenge and chemistry tends to take time. However, there are definitely things that have to get better. Here are a few takeaways from the loss to the Trail Blazers.