LeBron James didn’t think Lakers ‘sustained energy and effort’ against Grizzlies

On the road and with two starters down, LeBron James didn’t feel like the Lakers brought the appropriate level of focus against the Grizzlies.

A 1-4 road record wasn't what the Lakers wanted during their first trip away from Los Angeles.

Yet, that's exactly how it ended, with Memphis beating L.A. 131-114. After starting the season 3-0, the Lakers are now back at a .500 record eight games into the season.

The excuses are there to justify the defeat. Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis were both out and the backup big became Christian Koloko, who the NBA only recently medically cleared for his first NBA action in roughly 16 months.

The Lakers rely heavily on their starters. Not having them, specifically the team’s best player, made winning on the road a tall order.

Even with the odds stacked against them, LeBron James had one of his best games of the season, but it wasn’t enough to keep the game even competitive. After the loss, he talked about his dissatisfaction with the team's overall effort in the loss.

"At the end of the day, especially when you lose bodies, you got to compete even harder, you got to be out there giving everything that you got and doing it on both ends," LeBron said postgame. "There's times we did that, but for the majority of the time, I don't think we sustained energy and effort."

Those were harsh words from LeBron, but the tape doesn't lie. The Lakers never led in this game and struggled mightily in the second half.

In the third quarter, they were outscored 36-28 and no one stepped up in AD's absence, outside of LeBron with a 39-point performance, to carry any of the offensive or defensive load.

Even Redick was in awe of Lebron's play. At the same time, he also described a lack of attention to detail, which led to D'Angelo Russell's benching in the second half.

The reality is that the Lakers are not talented enough to win a game without AD if they are not fully focused on being the best version of themselves.

No one is asking Austin Reaves to become Jayson Tatum, but a certain level of sharpness is needed. If the Lakers aren't collectively closing out on shooters, making their rotation, taking care of the ball and taking good shots, then they will lose more games than they win.

Now that L.A. is back home, let's see if they will come out and play for a complete 48 minutes. Even in victories, it seems that has yet to happen this season.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.