It turns out that LeBron James guy is pretty important.

After the Lakers’ staggering win over the reigning champions on Christmas Day, in which the squad had to finish out without James after he left with a groin injury in the third quarter, there was optimism the team could stay afloat in his absence.

Since then, the team has lost both contests without the former MVP in frustrating manner, and have dropped three spots in the Western Conference standings.

This is not to say the team’s young core did not step up in his absence, as they all showed real promise in the losses, but they simply fell victim to nagging issues that were too difficult to overcome without James, and an array of rotation players, to make up the ground.

Fumbled Fourth Quarters

Arguably the biggest area where the Lakers have missed James thus far has been in closing time. In their last two games, the Lakers have been outscored by a combined 21 points in the fourth quarter after being in general control of both contests leading up to the final frame.

In their loss to the Kings, the Lakers had a firm grip on the game until a late collapse occurred on the back of sloppy half-court offense and a general lapse in effort.

One needs to only look at Sacramento’s “win probability” in their win to see how slim their chances were to pull out a victory over the Lakers after trailing by double digits, which culminated in a Bogdan Bogdanović game-winner.

Via: Inpredictable

Unfortunately, the team fell victim to similar circumstances once again against their Los Angeles’ brethren on Friday night.

Via: Inpredictable

The Lakers opened up a double-digit lead in the third quarter against the Clippers and looked to be on the verge of pulling away and putting the heartbreaking loss the night before behind them. Yet, behind a Clippers’ 22-0 run, more salt was added to the two-day wound.

As seen in their recent late-game struggles, the team has desperately missed James’ ability to seal victories.

The current leader in fourth quarter points per game, and third in win-probability added, James almost singlehandedly prevents a 22-0 run from happening or finds a way to uphold a double-digit lead in the fourth on the road.

Which is exactly why the Lakers, and the rest of the league, covets players with the ability to close.

Context Matters

All things considered, these two games were always going to be difficult for the young Lakers’ to win.

Of course not having James is the pivotal difference maker here, but it is worth noting the team has also been without Rajon Rondo (who will be reportedly out another  5-8 weeks) their starting center JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley.

The timing of the injuries was doubly unfortunate as the team was faced with another back-to-back, this time against two current Western Conference playoff foes. Both of whom would love nothing more to kick the Lakers when they were down.

Although the “young core” starting lineup struggled in their on-court time together, individual players did step up.

Lonzo Ball, who also has dealt with cramps, has averaged nearly 40 minutes a game in James’ absence.

In his last two games, Ball has been noticeably more engaged, averaging: 19.5 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and 1.5 steals a contest while shooting over 50 percent from the field and from three.

As expected, Ball’s usage also saw an uptick, as he has steadily been up from his 16.2 percent season rate to 17.7 percent in James’ absence.

Like Ball, Kyle Kuzma also looked to be primed for the opportunity to showcase his skills with more usage. Kuzma has averaged an impressive 28.5 points in James’ absence, but has struggled taking care of the rock as he has coughed it up ten times in the last two games.

What’s Next?

In terms of the big picture, the individual performances will hopefully translate and continue once James returns to the lineup. Although the team were unable to hold on to either game that were in reach, there were lessons learned.

With both losses coming down to the final frame, or final shot, the importance of the little things definitely will be a point of emphasis going forward. The combination of horrific free-throw performances with their high turnover rate simply has buried a team with the slightest of margins as is without an array of rotational players.

It is unknown when the team will get James and company back into the lineup, but in the meantime, the young players need to continue their strong play and pay extra attention to the margins.

As they have learned in rough fashion in these last two games, it is within those margins where games are won and lost.

*Stats per: NBA.com | Inpredictable

*Featured photo by: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

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