LeBron James and Steph Curry are still the most watched players in the NBA. For that reason alone, the league ensured fans were getting the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors as part of the Christmas Day schedule. However, their play might not be what fans associate high level basketball with.
Both teams have been in a slump at around the same time. The Lakers started their 3-8 run from November 21st, whereas the Warriors started their 2-9 record on the 23rd. The men in purple and gold seemed to turn a corner when they hammered out an impressive three-game winning streak.
The Warriors win over the Minnesota Timberwolves could have also sparked such a run. However, it was short lived as they fell against the inconsistent Indiana Pacers. The Los Angeles Lakers too lost as the Detroit Pistons completed the season sweep on them.
The championship winning teams will now face off on Christmas Day. But the background of these embarrassing losses brings up the question if they are worth being the highlight on that day. More importantly, why are these two teams struggling when they were supposed to challenge for an NBA title.
LeBron James and Lakers still have to fix finer details
There struggles in that eleven-game stretch is already well documented. Shooting woes coupled with missing effort on defense and both top stars not doing their bit to lead by example. In their past three games, that trend seemed to have changed.
Their shooting was much better and so was their overall defense. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have played better, but more evidently has been the rest of the team. Their hustle was evident on both ends of the floor as they beat the Memphis Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings twice.
That form should have suggested it would have been easy against the Detroit Pistons. Instead, the Pistons kept pace with the much more experienced team and eventually wound out winners. One look at the stat sheet and one would think the Los Angeles Lakers did everything they did in their three-game winning streak.
In fact, nothing out of the ordinary showed up other than a few additional turnovers. But tonight, those usual turnovers were their undoing as the Pistons capitalized and scored. There are also a few things the team haven’t been doing well. One is to create more scoring chances, both in transition as well as in set plays.
That has led to reduced scoring all across the court, leaving them unable to create more possessions to create more scoring opportunities. The team still has to work on a lot of finer details if they are to start winning consistently. Hopefully this embarrassment will spur them to play better.
Steph Curry and Warriors are a mess
When talking about embarrassments, the Golden State Warriors are becoming the definition of that. Their 51-point embarrassment at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies was the highlight of that terrible run. It seems the wind has been knocked out of the team that once led the West.
It is difficult to pinpoint one exact problem the Warriors have been facing in this stretch. On one hand Steph Curry again had a miserable night shooting woeful 15% from the field. This was against a Pacers team not known for their defense, suggesting the superstar is almost in a slump.
It makes it worse for the team when another starter Draymond Green also shoots 20% from the field. All those missed shots become scoring opportunities for the opposition, making it hard to win. These shooting woes have been plaguing the Warriors for some time and Steve Kerr does not seem to have a handle on it, yet.
It could be he is experimenting before the crucial new year stretch starts. However, Steve Kerr has to figure out this mess the Golden State Warriors are in. Else they will undo all the good their hot start to this season showed. That start showed this team could contend for a title, which right now looks suspect. It brings the question if these two struggling teams should be headlining the NBA’s Christmas Day games.
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