‘Lakers are not good with or without LeBron James’ - shock prediction after Hawks loss
LOS ANGELES LAKERS aren’t a good team with or without LeBron James, Fox Sports’ Rob Parker reckons.
The Lakers suffered a shock loss against the Atlanta Hawks last night, losing 117-113.
James, who recently returned from a groin injury which sidelined him for 17 games, notched another triple double.
The 34-year-old finished with 28 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds.
However, James failed to inspire his young team-mates to the victory.
The Lakers are not good with or without LeBron James
The Lakers are now below .500, with Luke Walton’s men currently 28-29, two and a half games outside of the Western Conference playoffs.
And NBA insider Parker has slammed the Lakers, claiming James and co simply aren’t good enough to make the playoffs this season.
“The Lakers are not good with or without LeBron James, and they will not make the playoffs. This is not a good basketball team,” Parker said on Fox Sports’ The Undisputed.
“Three losses have confirmed that. When they lost to the Knicks at home, the [New York] Knicks have since lost 17 straight.
Lakers: LeBron James has improved with age claims pundit
“They lost to the [Cleveland] Cavaliers and then they lose to the Hawks with LeBron James.
“I know he had a triple double, a phoney triple double, that didn’t matter because they couldn’t close out.
“There was a four-minute stretch where the Hawks couldn’t score in the fourth quarter.
“They were trying to give the game to the Lakers and the Lakers couldn’t win it.”
James was vocal after the Lakers lost against the Hawks, insisting they must dramatically improve - and fast.
“This is a tough loss for us,” James said.
"We didn't have consistent play from all facets of the game. Offensively and defensively, we jacked up a lot of coverages to start the game.
“In the third quarter we jacked up a lot of our coverages again. It was always playing uphill, like we've been doing of late.
“We've got to be a lot better.”