With the season hanging in the balance, the Los Angeles Lakers were unable to deliver a win on Thursday, falling to the Utah Jazz in a lopsided game.
With no LeBron James or Anthony Davis, the result was not surprising. Still, Lakers fans couldn’t help but lament the defeat and their diminishing playoff hopes.
Best Lakers effort in 3 games and we’re still gonna lose by double digits
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) April 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/_1lilwes/status/1509742561208016898https://twitter.com/jujoffer/status/1509742368915959815
I hate this team pic.twitter.com/AtUAc0oEli
— Depressed Mr.Krabs (@PlanktonisBad) April 1, 2022
Stephen A Smith was right the entire time #LALvsUTA #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/RawiqqTfRx
— Dakota Fuqua (@DaLoneWolf1997) April 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/6669inthesheets/status/1509746719688331269https://twitter.com/jstuddog/status/1509746004274257933
Lakers back out of the Play-In pic.twitter.com/1GExjoU6qb
— Pepé Silvia ⚜️ (@SlayYoung23) April 1, 2022
STOP PUTTING THE LAKERS ON NATIONAL TELEVISION #NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/M1GLt3fJ8c
— bettorspalace (@bettorspalace) April 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/Miss_Cass_87/status/1509743365302104066
The Purple and Gold have lost 4 straight and are now 14 games under .500. If they don’t finish out strong, they could fall out of the play-in range. The worst of it all has been the team’s body language, which has (at times) looked despondent and disconnected at times.
“I am disappointed in my Lakers, a lot of people are,” said Shaquille O’Neal. “We all forgot about their ages, ‘oh Westbrook’s coming, oh they got Carmelo.’ Like we’re used to having teams with big-name stars on it. So you’ve got a team with three Hall of Famers. You’d think they’d be in six or seven, and then AD’s not playing. So I doubt they even make the play-in game. But if they do, they definitely have to win and they will face Phoenix in the first round. And if they make it to the eighth spot, they will beat Phoenix.”
Fortunately, it’s not all bad news for the 17x Champs. According to multiple sources, LeBron and Davis are slated to return on Friday against the Pelicans, which could end up being their most important game of the season.
Whatever happens, the Lakers are likely to seek major changes in the summer. The supporting cast has not stepped up and Russell Westbrook has been a ridiculously poor fit on the team.
Perhaps with a few moves, Rob Pelinka can turn the station around and put the Lakers back on the map.
Until then, they have to keep fighting to salvage what’s left of this season.
