After the seemingly half-hearted attempts, the Lakers lost to the Knicks earlier today, 114-109. The Knicks controlled most of the gameplay, leading them by double digits. LeBron James’ Lakers rallied along to lead, but never got close enough. Anthony Davis’ powerful performance was on full display today, with 32 points and 14 rebounds. Even Austin Reaves was a surprise package, off the bench, with 20 points and 3 rebounds. Despite the hot start in the third quarter, leading us all to believe they still have the chance, the Lakers couldn’t keep up with the energy the Knicks had today.

The Lakers missed several layups, and the Knicks kept taking advantage of this situation, eventually leading to their win. The Lakers and LeBron couldn’t find the consistency and it was evidently pointed out in the post-game interview today. After yet another defeat, James blames their frequent travels since Vegas and the resulting mental fatigue. He also points his fingers at his In-Season Tournament Finals rivals, the Indiana Pacers struggling the same way as the Lakers.

LeBron James takes a dig at Indiana Pacers

It wasn’t long ago when the Lakers defeated the Pacers in the In-Season Tournament finals. After their 123-109 victory over the Pacers, there were promising signs of the Lakers finally making a comeback. After all, it did feel like it was a Lakers’ home game at the T-Mobile Arena that day. But they’ve been facing the same fate as the Pacers.

The Pacers have played against the T-wolves, Clippers, Wizards, and Bucks, and have lost all the games. The only game they’ve won is the one against Piston on December 12th, 131-123. The Lakers too, have suffered a similar fate, going 1-3 since their return from Vegas. Of course, King James was quick to point that out in his post-game interview about the same. In the interview, when the reporter asks him about these struggles, he says, “It could be a little bit of everything, I don’t know… I mean, have you seen Indiana’s record since Vegas?”

He’s basically endorsing, rather, blaming Vegas, as a curse, for their bizarre performance since the IST finals. Even the reported seems to respond, “There indeed is something to that”, with James partially agreeing to the same.

But is it really the case? Being back to back on the road since Vegas is affecting their performance like they’ve been cursed?

The King wants to rest!

Just as the Lakers were about to get a lead, the Knicks fought back harder, leaving the Lakers perplexed. Of course, they need to figure out ways to extend their lead consistently, especially after today’s match. As dominant as AD is on-court, they lost their precious points because the game was extremely off for the team right from the beginning. They couldn’t spark any life to the game.

An obviously disappointed LeBron said this to the reporters in the post-game interview: “We’ve been feeling it definitely, like you said, first time being home since December 5, and now we hit the road again tomorrow. But I feel even through after that we still even competed, gave ourselves a chance to stand in the game throughout, but it was a tough one for us”.

He further adds, “Get some rest, get healthy, and try to finish out December the right way. We just got to mentally stay locked in“. Staying on the road for too long is what’s stealing their focus and attention away. It’s causing the franchise to not get their share of rest, to deal with all the surprises the game throws their way. But is simply blaming the traveling aspect here okay?

Analysts and fans are of the opinion that these are mere excuses from the King and the franchise, but is there something deep-rooted here? Is traveling really causing a major curse on the Lakers franchise? Or is King James just giving excuses by taking a dig at the Pacers? They’re bound for their next showdown against the Bulls who are confident after today’s win, on Wednesday at 7:00 PM at the United Center. Stay tuned for more updates.