The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Phoenix Suns in blowout fashion on Thursday night.
While one loss during the regular season isn’t necessarily a sign that things aren’t going well for a team, Charles Barkley voiced his concern for the Lakers.
In a segment of the NBA on TNT, Barkley said, “The Lakers are in serious trouble.”
Chuck: “The Lakers are in serious trouble.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/E7gUlommB1
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 12, 2024
This loss brought the Lakers’ record down to 19-20, dropping them to the 10th-best record in the Western Conference.
They are just ahead of the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies and behind the Suns and Houston Rockets.
Having LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the same roster seems like a recipe for success, but to this point in the season, that has not been the case for the Lakers.
This team has struggled to put it together for a meaningful stretch of wins, which is why their record is around .500.
Kenny Smith also added that the Lakers “wait and think they can turn it on” later in the season.
Smith indicates that James and the Lakers seem unstoppable in the playoffs, but they always seem to limp toward the postseason.
He and the rest of the NBA on TNT crew are concerned about the team’s attitude to this point in the year.
If they are not careful, they could fall out of playoff contention in the coming weeks, needing a desperate push at the end of the year to contend for another title.
Can the Lakers recapture the fire they have for the playoffs throughout the rest of the regular season?
NEXT:
Skip Bayless Says 2 Lakers Players Didn’t Show Up In Suns Loss