The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be in free fall after losing their third consecutive game Wednesday night, falling 110–96 to the Miami Heat.
A three-game losing streak on its own isn’t reason for panic, but zoom out and the Lakers have lost eight of their past 10 games and have gone 3–9 since winning the NBA in-season tournament on Dec. 9. That’s dropped their season record to 17–18 and the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference.
Wednesday’s loss looked even worse with LeBron James having his worst game of the season. The Lakers star scored only 12 points while shooting 6 of 18 from the field, including 0 for 6 from three-point range.
James apparently didn’t want to talk about his performance or the Lakers’ recent struggles afterward. He didn’t stay to speak with reporters, according to media covering the team including ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The Heat held LeBron to 12 points tonight.
— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) January 4, 2024
His lowest scoring output since 2021.
Perhaps James didn’t want to say anything he might regret, especially if he’s unhappy with coach Darvin Ham, as many fans are speculating. Maybe he was also embarrassed at playing so badly while teammates Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves did what they could to win the game, combining for 53 points.
Regardless, ducking reporters and not taking accountability after a bad game reflects poorly on James and forces his teammates to answer for him in postgame interviews. Yet if his intention was to send a message–perhaps to the Lakers’ front office–leaving without speaking to the press certainly drew attention.
