LeBron James and Lakers can’t achieve Crypto Christmas miracle by losing to Nets

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Lakers star LeBron James, right, tries to get around Brooklyn Nets forward Blake Griffin in the Lakers’ 122-115 loss at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

LeBron James sprinted across the field, penetrating the left wing. He caught a pass from a former UCLA goalie and cut Blake Griffin, pushing back the contact to score while fouling.

As the fans roared, James flexed his arms and looked at his teammates, clapping their hands. First he celebrated with Stanley Johnson. Then Mason Jones. Then Jemmerio Jones. Ugly ? It’s from Darren Collison.

Only James was on the Lakers roster last week.

The NBA’s greatest problem-solver is grappling with the challenge before him – keeping track of who’s even on his team, let alone trying to win with those basketball strangers. And despite his continued excellence, it just didn’t matter.

One night he became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day, James couldn’t get a victory with training and rotation almost every night.

“I kick myself in the head because it gives me such an incredible effort,” said interim coach David Fizdale. “I’m trying to find ways to get him over the hump with that effort, and I hate that it’s wasted in casualties. Just spectacular. And I hate that it’s wasted on losses.

The Lakers lost to Brooklyn 122-115 on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena, wasting 39 points in James’ 40 minutes, when the Lakers were nine points better than the Nets. In the eight minutes he was out of the game, Brooklyn was 16 points ahead.

Since the Lakers learned they would be without Anthony Davis for at least the next four weeks after spraining his knee in Minnesota, James has scored at least 30 points every time the Lakers have played, increasing his total points each time.

This did not result in any victory.

“I don’t really care how I play if it’s a loss,” James said.

There is definitely frustration. You can see it on the pitch when the Lakers blow a blanket or miss an easy basket with the team unable to play at their level. And you know it’s there given the mess of the Lakers roster.

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When Johnson and Collison signed up for Friday’s game, they became the 21st and 22nd different players to compete in the Lakers’ uniform this season.

Lakers goaltender Russell Westbrook, center, was fouled while driving between Brooklyn Nets forwards Bruce Brown, left, and James Johnson in the first half. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

The chaos prompted the Lakers to change their plans on the fly, and on Saturday that meant starting – then quickly sitting down – Dwight Howard.

They went to James in the middle early in the first half, going small only to come back after being big. They wiped out a 17-point deficit at the start of the third quarter, reviving their building. That life quickly slipped away, like a punctured balloon, after the Nets ran 39-14.

With a few boos and a lot of whispers, the Lakers looked doomed. Challenged by Carmelo Anthony to show some pride, the Lakers surged again. Johnson, the former Santa Ana Mater Dei High star who signed on Christmas Eve, performed with a lot of length and energy, helping to slow James Harden down.

Thanks, certainly in part to his presence, Harden took just two of 10 off the field in the second half, opening the door for the Lakers. James found a sharp Malik Monk, playing his first game after a week in COVID-19 protocols, for a basket tying the score at 115.

Brooklyn, however, quickly got a three-point play from center Nic Claxton, who caught a lob and dived on James. And at the other end, Russell Westbrook missed another close range shot – this one a dunk – sealing the fate of the Lakers.

“A big part of that is that he wants it so badly,” Fizadale said of Westbrook.

“I mean, you can just see it in him. Everyone does it. He wants it so badly. And I know it’s just hard for him when it doesn’t work. And I know he cares like crazy.

When asked by a team manager to speak after the game, Westbrook refused.

Everyone internally has raised serious questions about where this Lakers team is heading, citing a complete lack of information. Evaluating the roster, the coaching job, all of that made impossible by early-season injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak that has prompted the Lakers to seek out healthy players just to fill a rotation.

“We were just trying to figure out what’s the best way for us to win, how do we win and what is the best formation to put on the field. Let’s save these minutes so that we can get better and better, ”James said after their loss to Spurs on Thursday.

“We literally haven’t had the opportunity to connect to anything. We do not know. I just said that after the last game. We have no chemistry with any team for the simple fact that we literally didn’t register enough minutes.

James’ 39 points moved him 27 points ahead of Kobe Bryant for the most Christmas in league history. Westbrook’s triple-double was also his second on league marquee day – he’s only the second player at Christmas to record multiple triple-doubles. Oscar Robertson has done it four times.

The numbers are impressive, but they are out of step with the results. But the Lakers have lost James’ last four 30-point games and are 2-4 in Westbrook’s six triple doubles.

On Saturday, it was disastrous performances in the first and third quarters, stretches that forced the Lakers to play too close to perfection. And in what is becoming all too familiar to them, they’ve left the losing ground even with James playing big minutes and delivering big games.

“He’s a robot, man. He can do whatever he wants, ”Monk said, shaking his head. “… and don’t win, man, and don’t help, man.” We are as crazy as everyone else.

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

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