Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons from the loss to the Houston Rockets

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 06: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers is fouled by James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets during the second half of the game at Staples Center on February 6, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 06: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers is fouled by James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets during the second half of the game at Staples Center on February 6, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

LeBron James made the highlight reel. Got his stats and gave the fans a reminder of his bad habits last year.

Lake Show Life has made this statement before and it bears repeating now. LeBron James has to look for his shot and be aggressive for this team to be successful. Sure AD is the most talented player on the team, but James is the most important. With the lineup the Rockets put on the floor, LeBron should have been thinking about scoring 40 points. He did not. He coasted along for two and a half quarters firing up 3-pointers that bailed out Houston all night long.

LeBron James scored 18 points, dished out 15 assists and grabbed 9 rebounds (2 offensive!). He is considered a superstar on this team, this is on him to make sure the Lakers seize a game that was winnable. What Russell Westbrook did, LeBron should have been doing.

Now he’ll make SportsCenter.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1225646100050108417

But if LeBron is going to continue as the primary playmaker for this team, he has to make sure that the offense can produce more than 18 points in the 4th quarter. Plus 6 turnovers aren’t going to get it either.

Watching the box score can get Lakers fans in trouble. It leaves a lot of things out of context. LeBron James shot 8-19 in the game. He shot 1-8 from behind the 3 point line. Remember, Robert Covington was the tallest player on the floor at 6’7″. Instead of dominating down low with plays like this one here.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1225645258555326469

He continued to fire away from outside which made no sense.

Okay, time to talk about the trades and additions that did not happen.