By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The Los Angeles Lakers are going through a rough patch. They have lost three games in a row, concluding with a 119–96 defeat to the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day.
Luka Dončić scored 25 points to lead the team, but it wasn’t nearly enough to compete with the Rockets. As the fiercely competitive Slovenian star is, Dončić looked visibly dejected after the game.
“I don’t know what has to change, but definitely something needs to change. We’ve been blown out in the last three games; it looks terrible. We’ve got to figure it out, that’s the thing we have to do. Everybody’s got to talk about it. I know JJ said it’s going to be uncomfortable. And it should be,” Dončić said at the postgame press conference.
The Lakers are still a relatively new team after several roster changes over the summer and Dončić joining midway through last season in one of the biggest trades in NBA history. The Slovenian star hopes that going through rough patches now could make the team stronger.
“We are definitely going through it now. It’s not necessary to go through this, but obviously you need to go through the bad to become great. We’ve got to figure it out.”
Dončić also admitted the team’s effort has been lacking in recent games.
“Everybody’s got to give better effort, starting with me.”
The Lakers star insists that the team must improve quickly.
“We’ve got to challenge everybody. Everybody’s got to challenge first each other, and then teammates. There’s no way we should be playing like this. We’ve got to be better,” Dončić concluded.