1 of 5, James' dominance in the final quarter is gone, which is the biggest embarrassment for the Lakers at present

The fact that the Lakers didn't win today against the Pistons, a weak team, is indeed a bit incredible. Because judging from the Lakers' overall performance this season, they must win this game. But not only did the Lakers fail to win this game, but the other players except Davis did not perform as well as they wanted. Russell and Reaves, who started the game, were very inefficient. Hachimura scored only 8 points in his debut.

Although Davis's performance was as consistent as ever, he still scored 37 points today, but the rest of the Lakers players were unable to give him effective support. James didn't have a good performance in the final quarter today, scoring just four points on 1-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line and making both free throws in the final quarter. Obviously, he couldn't play this kind of offensive performance in the final quarter to change the situation on the court. Now the biggest embarrassment of the Lakers is that James no longer has the dominance of the last quarter, which makes the Lakers lose a strong point that can turn the decline around in the final moments.

Fans who are familiar with James and the Lakers should know that in the past few years, James has often turned the tide at the last minute, and even if the Lakers are 10 points behind in the final five minutes, James can turn the tide on the court by himself. But at present, James no longer has such ability, and even by the fourth quarter, his physical reserves are already insufficient. The first three quarters had almost exhausted all of his energy. In the fourth quarter, you'll notice that James was trying to shoot more from the outside on the offensive end, including slowing down on the defensive end.

So now the Lakers are a team that relies entirely on Davis, but Davis is not a point where the outside dominates the offense, and he can't hold the ball and make his own decisions on offense like a guard or small forward. Nowadays, the Lakers do not have a stable point on the outside, which is also one of their weaknesses. Reaves and Russell have been very inconsistent in their offensive performances.

We have to admit that James' age is really no longer enough for him to have a consistent fourth-quarter performance. So even if this Lakers team makes the playoffs, we can't expect James to have that kind of performance. In fact, after the playoffs are full of intense physical confrontation, James may be more tired, and his physical strength may even be exhausted after halftime. After all, he is already a 40-year-old player, this is an objective fact. So many Lakers fans still have to calm down, this Lakers team must be traded in the middle of the season, otherwise they will not be able to go far even if they play the playoffs.