LeBron James return, bad third quarter and recovery woes: Lakers react after Celtics loss

A Lakers-Celtics game will always take the spotlight away from other games on the NBA schedule, and Friday night was no different. The competition started off competitive with nearly all seven lead changes and nine first-half finishes. The second half, however, was a different story.

After taking a 14-man lead in the first half, the Celtics, short of starters in Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams III, blew up the game by taking the Lakers 70-47 lead in the second half on their way to 130-108. Victory.

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While Boston improved to 8-8 with its sixth win in its last nine games, Los Angeles dropped to 8-9 with its third consecutive defeat and fourth in its last five games.

So there was a lot to be said as the Lakers players spoke to reporters after the game.

LeBron James ‘back’

Even the return of James, who missed eight games because of a stomach strain, failed to inspire the Lakers to victory.

Despite the loss, James still looks great. In 32 minutes, he finished with 23 points (10/16 shots from the field), six rebounds, two assists and two robberies.

“Obviously after two and a half weeks I feel like a rookie again, just away from the game,” James said. “[I was] excited. Physically, I feel fine, good enough to know that I can trust my body and play tonight. I look forward to seeing how I feel tomorrow when I wake up. It’s an indication if I’m on the right track with my injury. “

“He looks really good. He looks really good to me. Just like his old self,” Anthony Davis says by James.

Another bad third quarter for the Lakers

This game moved into the third half as the Celtics started 7-0 and eventually overcame the Lakers 33-21 in this period. Being left out of the locker room seems to be a trend among Lakers veterans.

And this doesn’t just happen with “quality” teams. In a 24-point loss to the Timberwolves on November 12, the Lakers were down 40-12 in the third inning.

Davis said figuring out how to score in the third quarter was the team’s goal “kryptonite.”

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The calamity reverberated

In the early stages of this season, the Lakers struggled in one huge aspect of the game: recovery.

They only rank in the middle of the group in terms of resilience with an average of 45.5 goals per game (16th in the league), and against the Celtics, they lost the battle on the glass at the age of 18.

“To get 51-33 recovered tonight is not just part of our makeover as a team,” Carmelo Anthony says.

During the season, the Los Angeles rivals are getting 48.0 rebounds per game, which is fourth worst performance in the tournament. The Lakers are also putting out 11.5 counterattacks per game. Only 76ers (11.7), Kings (11.8) and Timberwolves (13.8) are allowed more.

Don’t panic, but need a sense of urgency

That was the message James sent to his team after the loss.

“It’s never, ‘We have 65 games left.” We definitely need to play better, no matter who’s in the squad,” James said. “There’s no level of panic. But there needs to be some sense of urgency anytime we’re on the ground.”

James is right. The Lakers still have just 17 games left in the season, and more importantly, the team is dealing with injuries to key rotation players and seeing their “Big Three” play together in just seven games.

“I think the reality is that everyone on the outside has really high expectations of our team, as they should.” Russell Westbrook says. “But the reality of our team is that we haven’t really played together.”