{"id":468305,"date":"2021-05-03T18:35:59","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T22:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=468305"},"modified":"2021-05-03T18:36:02","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T22:36:02","slug":"lebron-james-is-unraveling-as-the-lakers-find-themselves-in-a-tailspin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lebron-james-is-unraveling-as-the-lakers-find-themselves-in-a-tailspin\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James Is Unraveling As The Lakers Find Themselves In A Tailspin"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flebron-james-is-unraveling-as-the-lakers-find-themselves-in-a-tailspin%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=468305&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-1194195783.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>The defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers have lost six of their last seven games, and are in danger of falling out of the top six in the West, which would put them into the first year of the NBA play-in games.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As opposed to years past, being the seventh seed does not guarantee teams a first-round playoff series. Now, the NBA will hold a play-in tournament in which the seventh and eight teams will play each other and the ninth and tenth teams will also play, with the winners advancing to the playoffs. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The winner of the 7-8 matchup will advance to the first round of the playoffs while the loser will play the winner of the 9-10 matchup to determine the final playoff team in each conference.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It\u2019s a position that no one thought the Lakers would find themselves in ahead of the 2021 season, and James isn\u2019t taking it well.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After a 121-114 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, the four-time MVP turned his ire toward the NBA\u2019s play-in tournament.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhoever came up with that s**t needs to be fired,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/31382214\/lebron-james-battles-sore-ankle-frustrated-los-angeles-lakers-lose-again\"><span>James<\/span><\/a><span> told the media after the loss.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The play-in tournament was agreed upon in the offseason following a negotiation between the NBA and the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association). It\u2019s worth noting that James supported the play-in tournament before the NBA resumed in 2020 following the stop in play due to the pandemic.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOne thing you can\u2019t just do is go straight to the playoffs, because it discredits the 60-plus games that guys had fighting for that position,\u201d James said according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/now\/lebron-james-whines-play-championing-061532725.html\"><span>NBC Sports<\/span><\/a><span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou got Portland. You got Memphis \u2026 New Orleans and Sacramento tinkering around there \u2026 so if there\u2019s five or ten games left \u2026 why not those guys battle it out? Make them play each other all five games?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It\u2019s the second time in less than a week where James made headlines.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Yes. The Daily Wire is covering sports \u2013 without the woke. Want more? <\/i><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe?utm_source=adwords&amp;utm_term=daily%20wire&amp;utm_campaign=Search+-+Daily+Wire+Brand&amp;utm_medium=ppc&amp;hsa_kw=daily%20wire&amp;hsa_ad=432007871445&amp;hsa_src=g&amp;hsa_ver=3&amp;hsa_grp=71680674390&amp;hsa_cam=927227687&amp;hsa_tgt=kwd-316236076046&amp;hsa_acc=6411461344&amp;hsa_mt=p&amp;hsa_net=adwords&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw1PSDBhDbARIsAPeTqrfwVNC1MZnI5ZRWdzEbOk3Pjz0oFVeTr7sA8iGOgsyrhbqydkk91vsaAkuXEALw_wcB\"><b><i>Become a member.<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>After missing 20 consecutive games with a high ankle sprain \u2014 the longest absence of his career \u2014 James returned to the floor Friday night in Sacramento. After a four point loss to the Kings, James seemed dejected when asked about the injury.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI know getting back to 100% is impossible. I\u2019ll never get back to 100% in my career,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/lakers-lebron-james-returns-injury-115731066.html\"><span>James<\/span><\/a><span> said. \u201cBut I felt comfortable where I knew I could get on the floor and help my team win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It was an unusual moment for James, a player seldom known to show weakness, and one that should be <\/span>cause for concern for a Lakers organization attempting to repeat as champions.<\/p>\n<p><span>The implementation of the play-in tournament comes after years of debate, and in a regular season shortened by ten games, adds a level of intrigue the NBA desperately needs. To this point, the season has been a slog, to say the least. The league has been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/nba-players-were-right-to-worry-about-a-shortened-offseason-injury-spike-proves-it\"><span>gutted by injuries<\/span><\/a><span> to star players, and the result has been a level of sloppy play not seen in years past.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Regardless of James\u2019 feelings toward the new playoff format, he may have no choice but to participate. The Lakers have a brutal schedule to finish the regular season, with games against Denver, Portland, Phoenix, and the Clippers, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>To add to the Lakers misery, ESPN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/31383788\/los-angeles-lakers-dennis-schroder-extended-period-health-safety-protocols-sources-say\">Adrian Wojnarowski<\/a> announced Monday that guard Dennis Schroder is expected to miss an \u201cextended period of games\u201d because of the league\u2019s health and safety protocols. It will be the second Covid-related absence this season&nbsp;for the Lakers point guard.<\/p>\n<p><span>James may want to stop whining and focus on the last eight games, because his pursuit of a fifth title could get a whole lot harder if he doesn\u2019t.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News.&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">member<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers have lost six of their last seven games, and are in danger of falling out of the top six in the West, which &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1891722,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-468305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1891722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}