The Chicago Bulls dominated the Los Angeles Lakers with a 146-115 statement win over the bling bling on Saturday.
The Lakers had LeBron James and Ruin Hachimura just returning from injury and while the two were greatly missed, they couldn’t do much to stop the destruction.
LeBron recorded 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers against the Bulls. He did his best, considering he had just finished healing from a strained left groin injury.
“We got 12 games to position ourselves in the postseason. We pretty much can control our own destiny if we win ballgames and not have to be in the play-in” he said after the match.
Right now, the Lakers are no. 4 in the Western Conference, and losing does not help their case in any way.
Lakers coach JJ Redick seemed to like the idea that it was better for his team to start afresh and prepare for the upcoming twelve games before the end of the regular season. Twelve games they must win.
“I think that’s a good way to look at it. … ground zero,” Redick said. “These next 12 games, you’ve got to refind your way. It’s a perpetually flowing river that we’ve all of a sudden run into a beaver’s [dam] … and we got to get ready to get the water flowing again.”
Hachimura who got 5 points on 2-for-6 shooting and 2 rebounds in 18 minutes against Chicago was not feeling good about the game too.
“I think our key is going to be the defense,” Hachimura said.
“Our defense was awful today. We weren’t locked into our game plans and everything. We didn’t execute. They were getting everything — 3s, transition, layups, pick-and-roll, whatever. So we just got to, I think, focus on defense.”
Hachimura was out for a few weeks due to a tendinopathy in his left knee. “My knee is going to be like that for a while, I think,” he said.
“I can’t really get back to 100% right away. I got to rest for a long time to get back to normal. But I don’t think we have that, so we just got to maintain and manage it.”
