The Los Angeles Lakers' season flipped on its head after their 119-96 Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets prompted an irate JJ Redick postgame rant.
The second year head coach shredded his team, citing a lack of execution and attention to detail as the reason Los Angeles has been a "terrible basketball team" lately.
As Redick searches for an ounce of effort from the Lakers between games, NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade perhaps said the quiet part out loud regarding where his former championship teammate LeBron James stands in Redick's quest for stabilization.
Wade's start truth on LeBron
"LeBron on his golf simulator right now," Wade said during Friday's Amazon Prime broadcast. "He's not worried about this."
James, who is playing in his record 23rd season and turns 41 on Tuesday, has played in 13 games this season and is averaging 20.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. Despite appearing a step slower than his usual self, the NBA's all-time leading scorer is averaging 25.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists over his last seven games.
The Lakers desperately need James' production moving forward as Austin Reaves is slated to miss at least four weeks with a calf strain. Reaves, one of the most unprecedented stories of the early NBA season, is having an all-star season, posting 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 23 games this year.
The loss of the undrafted star couldn't have come at a worse time. Los Angeles is 19-10 and has lost three-straight games ahead of its clash against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.