With LeBron James and Anthony Davis back on the roster, the time is now for the Lakers to save their season.
Amid a nightmarish month for the Purple and Gold, they have fallen all the way to 11th in the West and 16 games under .500.
Friday night’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans was a game they needed to win if they wanted to keep their title hopes alive.
Of course, 37-year-old LeBron James was almost the hero of the match, pouring in 38 points and 8 rebounds on 59% shooting. Had he not air-balled a potential game-tying three-pointer, it would have been an amazing night for him. Anthony Davis also had a solid game with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Unfortunately, none of it was enough to deliver a win, which was decided in the final seconds of the game (114-111).
On Twitter, things got pretty intense, as fans from all corners of the country chimed in to give their initial thoughts on the performance and what it means for the Lakers’ short-term future — which probably does not include the play-in tournament.
Here are some of the Tweets that best sum up what people are feeling right now:
This game sums up the entire year for the Lakers. They don’t deserve to be in the playoffs.
— Petty Cowboys Fan (@emanuelgodina) April 2, 2022
.@Lakers …delete my number. I’ll hit you when I’m ready to talk.
— O’Shea Jackson Jr (@OsheaJacksonJr) April 2, 2022
The LAKERS FUCKING SUCK pic.twitter.com/kR787KebtU
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) April 2, 2022
The Lakers really just got 38/8/4 from LeBron, 23/12/6 from AD … and still lost. pic.twitter.com/XZDygLEASt
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) April 2, 2022
https://twitter.com/ArracetiA/status/1510121616834969601
Lebron in the clutch 💀💀 pic.twitter.com/mYvSVfxE5Q
— Thunder Run The West (@DubsThunder) April 2, 2022
A Lebron missed 3 was the most predictable ending ever
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) April 2, 2022
Embarrassing Lakers L
— Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) April 2, 2022
life as a Lakers fan pic.twitter.com/rL1qgFlqVq
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 2, 2022
Westbrook when he plays with Lebron and AD pic.twitter.com/XrCBAUhXm2
— T (@Hey4PF) April 2, 2022
Thats it Lakers pretty much officially out, need 2 wins and 2 Spurs Ls 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/F45leQt2MB
— 𝐁ℝㄖℕυℕivⓔℝsit𝕐 (@BronUniversity) April 2, 2022
This Lakers season is officially over. 🙏
Anyone who wanted to see this bozo ass team make the play in or playoffs is a sicko. pic.twitter.com/nR0q7rkL5q
— HOLLYWOOD Holguin (@HollywoodHOLG) April 2, 2022
Despite there being less than 10 games left in the season, Russell Westbrook is still working to find a place on the roster. So far, his fit with James and Davis has been uninspiring, and his 12 points, 5 assist effort tonight was proof of it.
All Westbrook can do at this point is keep playing and try to make things work as he goes along.
“Yeah, that’s the challenge,” Westbrook said about maximizing his game alongside his co-stars. “For me, I just got to find ways to be able to affect the game and figure out a way to be able to implement all of our guys so we can make a run, get into the playoffs and hopefully get a championship. My challenge as the point guard is to be able to implement everyone else, and I’ll try to do it the best way I can.”
As for LeBron James, he still has a chance to bring his team back from the brink. Despite his clutch-time failures today, there is no doubt that he is the only one keeping the Lakers going.
The path ahead is rough and James is going to have to play at historic levels if L.A. is going to make the play-in.
True, he’s done crazy things before, but this Lakers team has dropped the ball so many times already that it’s hard to believe they’re capable of turning things around. At this point, it might already be too late.
