Once your fans start to turn on you, it's safe to assume that the players and coaches aren't doing their jobs on the court. That was the case Sunday for the Los Angeles Lakers during their embarrassing 123-95 loss to the Pelicans at home.
Fans at the Crypto.com Arean were booing their beloved Lakers, with some video capturing both LeBron James and Trevor Ariza confronting the angry crowd.
The man who has been labeled as the face for the Lakers' troubles this season, Russell Westbrook, is not all that bothered by what Lakers fans think during his press conference after the game.
“Nah,” Westbrook said. “Take it home? For what? S–t. Take it home? I got three beautiful kids at my house. Why would I take it home? If they boo, they can take their ass home. I ain’t worried about that. It doesn’t bother me none.”
James, who was headed towards the tunnel with time remaining in the fourth quarter, says the solution to the Lakers' struggles begins with just winning one game and then analyzing how they won.
“It all starts with a win. That’s what it starts with,” he said. “Try to get off of this slide and get a win, and learn from that win with things you did well, things that you didn’t do so well. So it always starts with that and how you can try to get into a game-by-game situation.”
As for the Pelicans, they are currently the 10th seed in the Western Conference, putting them in the play-in tournament. They are only a game back from the Lakers who are the 9th seed. Since his addition to the team, McCollum has scored 20 or more points in six of his first seven games in New Orleans and accounted for 22 against the Lakers.
Sunday’s loss was Los Angeles' ninth defeat in the past 12 games. If they continue to skid following the All-Star break, it is very possible that the Lakers can find themselves missing out on the postseason altogether.
“We’re not shooting the ball well from the perimeter, and the paint’s clogged, and we’re trying to force inside — with the pass, with the bounce — and it’s leading to a lot of turnovers,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. “We’re not moving that well defensively. So, we weren’t very good on either end (Sunday).”
Follow Jasper Jones on Twitter: @jonesj2342
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