Lakers Struggle Without LeBron James, Lose Third Straight Amid Bench Troubles

With LeBron James, the Lakers are a machine. They have a powerful offense, strong defense, and a well-rounded bench that finds a variety of ways to produce. Without him, they are a team with no identity.

Los Angeles seems quite lost without their leader. They can’t get any offensive rhythm, lack true firepower, and are much weaker on the defensive side of the ball. That’s all led to major issues, culminating in a disappointing three game losing streak.

(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

While the Lakers have put up a fight, the team loses a lot of their depth without James. The superstar is currently nursing a left groin strain that is going to keep him out for at least a few more games.

The Lakers goal in that timeframe is to not lose too much ground in the West.

Falling Out of Line

Los Angeles’ struggles have been on full display during their current three-game losing streak, and they were also extremely apparent during their most recent contest against the Bucks.

The game, despite being between two top teams in the NBA, was never particularly close

The Bucks won the first three quarters, steadily extending their lead each time, and ended the game with a twenty point lead and a 126-106 victory.

The Lakers struggled all over the court, and simply couldn’t keep up without James anchoring the team on both sides of the ball.

They still got production from their starters, but everyone else faded into the background on what became a rather lackluster night.

Dorian Finney-Smith, back from his injury, only scored five points

Of the ten Lakers to see significant play, seven of them failed to score in double digits. That’s not sustainable, nor is it a recipe for long term success.

A One Man Show

When James first reported he would miss significant time, all eyes turned to Luka Doncic. The sharpshooter is one of the best players in the league, and did a great job on leading things in Dallas.

He’s playing at his usual high level, but doing so in a way that doesn’t get everyone else involved like James does

The superstar recorded an impressive 45 points and 11 rebounds. That statline is the best he’s had in a Lakers uniform, but it came at the cost of taking over the game.

He also only had three assists, showing that there aren’t many opportunities to move the ball around.

That’s concerning from a team perspective because it shows, while Doncic has no issue scoring, it’s not necessarily going to lead to wins.

If the Lakers want to keep pace in the West, a losing streak is not something they can afford right now

The Milwaukee loss reinforces the narrative that the Lakers are not a complete team without James. Doncic will put up his stats, and may even create some shots, but he doesn’t foster the same bench production that LeBron does.

Big Night for Reaves

Doncic’s big night, as well as the Lakers loss, are both concerning in tandem. That doesn’t mean everything looked bleak for the purple and gold. Austin Reaves had a great game. The guard continues to grow, and very well may be a key asset moving forward.

The guard finished the night with 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists

He was efficient, worked well with Doncic, and knew where to be at the right time. All of that added up to an impressive performance that’s worth praising.

“I just saw a couple shots go in and kind of got in a little rhythm,” he said of his recent effort.

“The last couple games I haven’t shot it well and it’s good to see the ball go in the basket. But we didn’t do what we were supposed to do today.”

Reaves could well be a key player in turning things around

While Doncic is always going to be number one, a solid number two could help reverse the team’s fortunes. It could even come in handy when James returns.

A Grim Future

Doncic’s performance without James is concerning for several reasons. Not only is it a problem for their current playoff push, but it shows what a potential future for the Lakers could look like.

James is at the tail-end of his career, and Doncic is expected to take the reins once he’s gone

While it’s impossible to doubt what the ex-Maverick can do,, the tough losses show that the supporting cast is not enough to support a single star.

That could well turn around, but it needs to soon. The Lakers will likely have James and Doncic for the rest of this season. If they want to get serious about the playoffs they have to learn how to survive while being short handed.

“I’m sure at some point, every team in the league goes through some type of adversity and has situations where they got a couple back-to-backs and not fully healthy and tank kind of running on empty,” Reaves when discussing LeBron’s injury.

“So it’s no different for us. We just gotta figure out a way to, like I said, weather the storm and win some games.”

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