Tuesday night was an ugly night for the Los Angeles Lakers. The team suffered a rough loss to the Atlanta Hawks, 117-113. This is the Lakers fourth loss in the last five games. Outside of a one-point victory in Boston on February 7, the Lakers have recently lost to the Sixers, Pacers, and Warriors, all by double-digits.
LeBron had a triple-double against the Hawks with 43 points, 11 rebounds, and 16 assists. One would think that performance would be enough on paper to lift this Lakers team to victory over the young and inexperienced Atlanta Hawks, but it wasn’t. Down the stretch, LeBron’s play became more passive and that may have cost the Lakers a loss, but maybe that was planned.
Hear me out here, LeBron played great but did not want to win. It’s no secret at this point that there is dysfunction in the Lakers locker room and front office, and rumors say LeBron wants Luke Walton out as head coach. So why not purposely lose to the Hawks before the NBA All Star Break? It’s never easy to fire a coach during the season, but during break would be the best time to do it. Unfortunately for LeBron, it looks as though Walton’s job is safe for now.
I’m sure it’s super awkward for LeBron to play for a guy who was taken in the same draft class. That’s right. Luke Walton was a second round pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. So even if the Lakers weren’t struggling, this awkward player/coach relationship between LeBron and Walton would still likely exist.
Ultimately, it’s just a matter of time before the Lakers fire Luke Walton. LeBron wants him out, and there’s a good chance the Lakers miss the playoffs this year. It seems like this move won’t happen until the offseason, but maybe LeBron can get his way for once this season.
