The Los Angeles Lakers are in free fall. They suffered a 110-96 to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night to drop below .500 and slide to No. 10 on the Western Conference standings with a 17-18 record.
This was the Lakers’ third straight defeat, and they have now suffered nine losses in their past 12 games.
The Lakers haven’t been very competitive against the Heat, turning the ball over 20 times and making only four of their 30 three-point tries. Two of their starters for the night, Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish, finished scoreless while superstar LeBron James only had 12 points, his lowest since the 2023-24 season started.
Anthony Davis, who was the Lakers’ best player on the court with 29 points and 17 rebounds, said after the game that the Lakers need to “figure” stuff out in order to change their fortunes.
“It’s a little bit of everything right now and if we keep on this trend, it’s not going to be good for us,” Davis said. “It’s kind of obvious that we’ve got to figure it out sooner than later.”
The LA Lakers will be hoping that the return of Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell, who are out with injuries, can provide them a spark and help right the ship. They are also expected to be active on the trade market, with names like Chicago Bulls’ All-Star Zach LaVine and Atlanta Hawks’ guard Dejounte Murray being linked with the franchise in trade rumors.
