The Lakers fell to 3–3 after Saturday night’s 120–101 loss to the Magic, a game that qualified as part of the NBA's in-season tournament.
When speaking to the media after the game, Los Angeles star LeBron James offered an interesting comparison about how the Lakers are performing right now. His well-known interest in the NFL helped him realize that the Lakers look like the Steelers right now, in his opinion.
“We’re like the Pittsburgh Steelers right now, you know what that means?” James said. “The Pittsburgh Steelers right now have not out-gained or outscored any of their opponents in the season ... and yet they got a winning record.”
The Steelers have a 5–3 record, but it hasn’t come easy. Like James said, Pittsburgh has been out-gained and outscored in all eight games. In fact, the Steelers just made NFL history by becoming the first team to have a winning record despite boasting that stat through this many games. Each of their victories has come by one touchdown or less.
The Steelers have struggled to pull away in victories this season, but still find a way to win, largely thanks to great defensive play in close games.
James jokingly noted in his interview that whenever he picks the Steelers to lose for his well-documented NFL game picks, they typically win.
“I think I’m Mike Tomlin’s lucky charm because every time I pick against them, they win,” James said.
The Lakers rank 16th offensively in the NBA now with an average of 111.8 points per game. Similar to the Steelers' defense helping the team even out, one area where the Lakers have thrived this season is defending opponents on the fast break. They rank No. 4 in the NBA in terms of fewest points allowed on the fast break with 11.3 per game.
