The Los Angeles Lakers struggles continued Saturday night as they dropped a sixth game out of their last eight, this time to the Utah Jazz 132-125.
The Lakers were looking for star forward Anthony Davis to step up in the absence of LeBron James, who was out with an ankle injury, but he had just 15 points on 5-of-21 from the field in the loss. After the game, Davis didn’t shy away from putting the blame on himself, per Spectrum Sportsnet:
Spectrum SportsNet @SpectrumSN
“Everyone did their job, except me… This one’s on me.” Anthony Davis breaks down the key moments in the game and takes the blame for the loss.
“Everyone did their job, except me… This one’s on me.” Anthony Davis breaks down the key moments in the game and takes the blame for the loss. pic.twitter.com/QM0OFhPLY5
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 14, 2024
“Everyone did their job except me. I didn’t do my job,” Davis said. “Obviously, when Bron is out, everybody has to step up, and those guys did, except myself. So this one is on me.”
Los Angeles got a big game from some of its role players amid Davis’ struggles. D’Angelo Russell led the way with 39 points, and Austin Reaves added 19, but their efforts weren’t enough to get past the Jazz.
With the loss, the Lakers dropped to 19-21 on the season and currently sit in 11th place in the Western Conference. Despite the star pairing of James and Davis, Los Angeles has not been clicking this season, and the Lakers are in desperate need of a change to ensure a playoff appearance. Lackluster performances from Davis — especially when James is out — won’t cut it moving forward.
It is likely the Lakers will make a move before the trade deadline, but in the meantime, they’ll be looking for Davis to step things up and help them get out of their current slump.
