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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

The Los Angeles Lakers felt the absence of LeBron James once again as they lost to the Atlanta Hawks. This is their third straight loss and their season continues to go downwards. Their struggles keep on mounting as they are yet to figure out a winning formula. Notably, after the game, Malik Monk gave the Laker fans a major truth bomb.

Frustrated with the team’s form, Monk said that the purple and gold don’t have the resilience to win with James out.

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The King has been a big part of the Lakers’ rare success this season. He has put up monster numbers every night. Hence, it was obvious his absence would hurt them. However, they have failed to come up with a win even once without him in the lineup. Despite a balanced showing against the Hawks, they couldn’t get the job done.

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Can the Lakers win without LeBron James?

After the game, Monk spoke with reporters about the Lake show not being able to win without their big stars. Surprisingly, Monk had some criticism for his own team. He said they don’t have the resilience yet. While he admitted they have figured things out, Monk feels they haven’t been able to deliver it on the floor.

He said, “You never know who is going to get hurt, who’s going to be out, who’s got family issues. And that’s something we have been battling all year, like you said. But yeah, we don’t have the resiliency yet. We don’t have it yet. That’s what we have been struggling with the whole season. We know what we got to do man, just got to put it together. We keep saying the same thing, we just got to go out there and do it.”

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USA Today via Reuters

Monk was clearly frustrated with the loss, and he had every right to be. Monk was sensational against the Hawks as he put up 33 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 63% from the field. Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis rose to the occasion as they combined for 47 points on the night. However, once again, the defense let the Lakers down.

Trae Young took advantage of the poor defense as he chipped in with 36 points, 5 rebounds, and 12 assists. John Collins added 20 points and 11 rebounds to the mix. Moreover, the two big men, Clint Capela and Onyeka Okingwu, combined for 36 points for the night. The Hawks improve to 24-25 while the Lakers fall to 24-27.

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