LeBron James is both telling it like it is and dropping cryptic tweets.
Following the Lakers’ second straight 16-point loss, this one a 138-122 road setback against the Hawks on Wednesday [AEDT], that again dropped them under .500, James did not hold back in expressing his frustration with his team’s play.
“We could, on any given night, beat any team in the NBA. And then on any given night we could get our ass kicked by any team in the NBA,” James said.
“That’s just the … What’s our record? Under .500? 24-25? That’s what we are.”
Hours after the game, James then stirred the pot by tweeting an hour glass.
The Lakers’ struggles have coach Darvin Ham in the crosshairs, and some X users speculated if James’ tweet signified he was running out of patience with his coach.
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It’s possible James simply was tweeting that time is running out on the Lakers or perhaps signifying to the front office it needs to acquire new talent before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
It’s not surprising that James is frustrated with a team that is currently seeded ninth in the Western Conference and is in danger of missing the playoffs.
Los Angeles entered the year believing it had the right mix to return to the NBA Finals following last year’s trip to the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers have hovered around .500 for most of the season, and have just not used any big wins to catapult themselves to a long winning streak.
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Los Angeles had a potential season-changing 145-144 double-overtime win over the Warriors on Saturday, but the Lakers weren’t competitive in these last two setbacks in a pair of losses to sub-.500 teams in the Rockets and Hawks.
James tallied 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists Tuesday, but without Anthony Davis, the Lakers fell behind by 15 points entering the fourth quarter.
Things don’t get easier for the Lakers with three of their four upcoming games coming against some of the league’s best in the Celtics, Knicks and Nuggets.
“I don’t have any message for my teammates,” James said, according to ESPN. “Just go out and do your job.”
This article first appeared on The New York Postand was reproduced with permission.