It’s back to the drawing board again for the Los Angeles Lakers. They are losing games in blowout fashion as the Miami Heat defeated them by a 41-point margin. Yes, you heard it right. Things look shaky for JJ Redick’s side as the Lakers struggle to get going yet again. All the promise upon his arrival goes down to the ground with the side looking to reclaim their glory days. Well, some NBA experts have started to question LeBron James as well.

With the Lakers inching towards a victory, columnist Jason Whitlock shared a video of James’ struggles, apparently limping with a knee injury. It looked like he couldn’t bend his knee and stood inactive on the floor. Although he finished the game with 29 points, Jason believes the four-time MVP is stat-padding.

LeBron James stat-padding talks comes into the spotlight!

“Right now, he’s simply out there, stat-padding in a league that allows it because the physicality and defense have basically been removed from the game. The effort level is so low that you can actually get away with and put up numbers offensively on one leg. That’s how soft the league is,” mentioned Jason in the clip. In one way, the league’s gone soft compared to the old era of the 1980s. “If this was 1988, on one leg, they’d be like ‘LeBron, you can’t help us out here.”

Even Skip Bayless got into the act stating on X, “WHY IS LEBRON JAMES AT ALMOST 40 STILL PLAYING IN THIS BLOWOUT IN THE 4TH QUARTER??? TO PAD HIS ALL-TIME STATS???”

Imagine LBJ going against the Bad Boys Pistons! It’s not an easy watch, for sure. According to columnist Rob Parker, the Lakers are experiencing an internal power struggle.

“You know what could happen in a game like that, LeBron could get hurt. As well as burning up minutes that he could have in April or May, he could get hurt. Oh my god, he got hurt in the game that the Lakers are down 40 points. Really, why is he playing?” mentioned Rob Parker. Notably, some teams will throw in the towel when the situation becomes hopeless or they are at the end of a blowout.

LeBron’s different though, we guess!

Is JJ Redick facing criticism after an internal power struggle with King James?

Parker didn’t hold back his comments about the former Mavericks player turned coach. When JJ Redick set foot in Los Angeles, there was a cause for optimism. It looks like he needs help from the front office and trade some fresh players. (Trae Young would do wonders). But Rob Parker remains unconvinced by JJ Redick and Co.

“All you fake JJ Redick fans, I’m dead serious. Who were all excited about JJ Redick and the start the Lakers had when they won their first three games? And, ‘oh my god, what a difference this team is’, and ‘oh he’s so smart.’ He went and grabbed the line-ups last year,’ and picked the ones who had the most wins, right?, questioned Parker.

“And that’s what he’s going to start his starting lineup and all this stuff and now people going, wow, what do you want JJ Redick to do? Which one is it?”

It’s no surprise to learn about the plight of the Lakers, right now. Questions come in about LeBron James’ commitment to the team. Bringing in Bronny James didn’t work out well, for now. Therefore, having a 39-year-old LeBron play when the game’s done and dusted? Not a cool plan!

Even another columnist, Steve Kim, questioned, “Who do you think controls his minutes? Is it JJ Redick or him? It’s him. Who makes a lot of decisions or influences his own minutes, the rotation, and who’s on the team? He does. Who has the ability to say, guys, I’m kind of injured? Let me sit down for the good of the team and let Anthony Davis take over.”

There are questions to be answered in Los Angeles. If this carries on, it will be a long season for the Laker Nation. Thus, let’s wait and watch where this goes. To sum up, the Lakers would love some players to get them going!