LeBron James Says Lakers Need to Show Urgency: 'Damn Sure Need to Play Better'

It was not a happy return to the court for LeBron James, whose Los Angeles Lakers fell 130-108 on the road to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Friday.

James, who had missed his previous eight games with an abdominal strain, said afterward that the Lakers needed to step it up even though the 2021-22 season is still in its early stages.

L.A. fell to 8-9 as losers of its last three. The Lakers are also 3-6 in their last nine contests and entered Friday 25th in offensive rating (104.9 points per 100 possessions), per Basketball Reference.

L.A. was also 15th in defensive rating (107.7 points allowed per 100 possessions), a ranking that may drop after the team allowed 70 second-half points en route to a 22-point defeat.

James did his part Friday, posting 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting in addition to six rebounds and a pair of steals. Anthony Davis added 31 points for L.A.

The majority of the other Lakers struggled, and no one had an answer for Jayson Tatum (37 points) or the backcourt of Dennis Schroder and Marcus Smart (43 combined points). The C's dominated even without All-Star Jaylen Brown (hamstring strain).

The good news for the Lakers is that a lot of teams are stuck in neutral this year, with the fourth- through 12-placed teams in the Western Conference all having between six and nine wins. 

However, L.A. hasn't looked particularly good with or without James on the court this year. Time is on their side, but continued lethargic play would put them in a rough spot as the season moves along.

The Lakers will look to get back to .500 when they visit the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at Little Caesars Arena.