Los Angeles Lakers of LeBron James, who are in a serious sports crisis, took to the air this Friday at beat the orlando magic, the worst team in the NBA and has only won 8 of its 47 games (105-116). After a very worrying streak and several humiliating defeats, the Lakers (23-23) seemed to have a suitable rival tonight to change their dynamic. The Magic occupy the last position in the Eastern Conference with the worst balance in the league (8-39). after today’s loss), they had lost 13 of their last 14 games, and had only won 2 of their 18 home games. LeBron James (29 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists), Carmelo Anthony (23 points with 4 of 5 triples) and Russell Westbrook (18 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals) led the Angelenos victory.
However, the victory was not a walk for the Lakers since all their alarms had gone off at halftime. In the first half, the Magic dominated the scoreboard (62-54) against a purple and gold team that had only scored 21.4% of their three-pointers, that had lost 11 balls and that, among all their players, had only distributed 6 assists. However, the reaction of the Lakers was commendable since, with a low starting quintet with Stanley Johnson instead of Dwight Howard, they achieved a 0-9 run and came out with renewed energy on defense in the third quarter.
The third set ended with the visitor’s advantage (78-85 after a 16-31 in that quarter) and in the last twelve minutes the Lakers knew how to manage their advantage without major shocks. Jalen Suggs (22 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists) was the top scorer for a Magic team that couldn’t keep up in the second half.
This much-needed victory for the Lakers in Orlando (USA) comes just two days after the debacle on their court against the Indiana Pacers (104-111), third from bottom in the East and before arriving in the Californian city only they had been victorious in one of their last ten duels. To complete the cycle of horrors for the Lakers, who had only breathed on Monday by beating the Utah Jazz (101-95), we must remember that last Saturday they crashed at home against the Denver Nuggets (133-96).
This difficult situation for the Lakers has endangered the position of their coach Frank Vogel, who, according to The Athletic portal this week, is being closely evaluated by the Los Angeles board. The game against the Magic is the first of a six-game road trip for the Lakers that will face, among others, teams like the Miami Heat, the Brooklyn Nets or the Philadelphia 76ers.
