LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a stunning loss against a feisty Orlando Magic team, the first game their have dropped at Crypto.com Arena this season. However, there is no time to ponder as the Denver Nuggets come into town on Saturday night.
The Lakers have lost 12 out of the last 13 games against Denver, including getting eliminated by them in five games in the first round of last year’s postseason.
It is a new year and with that presents another opportunity to conquer their demons against the Nuggets. Although, James acknowledges that every game is a test for the Lakers, as parity is at an all-time high in the NBA.
“Every game is a test, especially when you’re in the West,” James said of the upcoming matchup with Denver. “Every game of the test, tonight was another one. We didn’t pass the test. We get ready for another one, and we study for the test tomorrow and get ready on Saturday. So doesn’t matter the opponent. The West is, you look at, I think it’s 11 teams, maybe over .500. Every game of the test.”
To James’ point, the next four games are challenging ones as after the Denver game, the Lakers have a road back-to-back with the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs before returning home to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Suns and Thunder games are part of group play in the Emirates NBA Cup.
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are expected to return against L.A., while Victor Wembanyama is currently sidelined with a knee injury that he suffered against the Lakers. Isaiah Hartenstein recently made his return for the Thunder, providing them much-needed frontcourt help.
With all of that being the case, it’s a important stretch coming up for the Lakers, who have gotten off to a nice start before the disappointing loss to Orlando.
LeBron James won’t blame Lakers loss vs. Magic solely on missed free throws
A talking point that came out of the Lakers’ first home loss of the season was late-game free throws that were missed. LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis missed one or more free throws down the stretch and it wound up costing them when Franz Wagner hit a game-winning triples.
Despite having an opportunity to shut the door on the Magic by making their free throws, James was not willing to put all the blame on that when discussing the loss.
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