After entering the season with high expectations, the Los Angeles Lakers fell into disarray almost immediately. As it became apparent that the team was in no shape to win a title, fans and analysts called for the front office to make a move ahead of the deadline.
With the deadline come and gone with no major moves, the Purple and Gold are stuck with who they have and have no choice but to push in in spite of their struggles.
On Wednesday, the team got a dose of good news with the return of LeBron James, who dropped a triple-double against the Rockets. Even Russell Westbrook had a solid showing, with a 24-point game on 61.5% shooting.
Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough to give them a win and after watching the 17x Champs go down again (to one of the worst teams in the league), Lakers fans stormed social media to express their grief and disappointment.
https://twitter.com/2kisgoatedd/status/1501761440176390145
Lakers getting cooked by Jalen green dude pic.twitter.com/0O2iSYDEg4
— Evan 🇮🇹 (@OfficialEvanAZ) March 10, 2022
Credit to Russell Westbrook for following up all of the recent drama with an excellent performance against the #Rockets
— Roosh (@RooshWilliams) March 10, 2022
Being a lakers fan so rough rn 😭
— Wilson Neloy (@W_Neloy) March 10, 2022
Pain, a familiar feeling has returned yet again. pic.twitter.com/vuN1VvZ3cn
— Tony (@sickgainss) March 10, 2022
https://twitter.com/realjmorris/status/1501770767004049411
Lakers is the most useless team in the NBA now
— BIG OWL⁶🦉 (@ovo_enam) March 10, 2022
The Lakers can’t be serious 😐 https://t.co/LLnnCfN35e
— Herlens (@Herlens_) March 10, 2022
Tell me this score dont say the Lakers lost to the Rockets in OT…thats WILD
— Box-Of-Holes..go follow (@BoX_OfHOLES) March 10, 2022
Lakers in poverty pic.twitter.com/t9bJfz0lx9
— FACTUAL OPINIONS OF DRED (Habitual Line Stepper) (@FACTUALOPINION0) March 10, 2022
It’s hard to fully judge the Lakers without Anthony Davis, who has missed the majority of the season with injuries. When LeBron James dropped 56 in L.A.’s win over the Warriors, it was a reminder of how dangerous they could be. In a way, it has only made the situation worse, as Laker fans can’t help but get their hopes up.
In retaliation, they target Westbrook, who has admitted to seeing hostility from his own fans.
“Once it starts to affect my family and my wife,” said Russ. “Even today, my mom said something about it today. It affects them even going to games. I don’t even want to bring my kids to the game because I don’t want them to hear people calling their dad nicknames and all these names for no reason, because he’s playing the game that he loves. It’s gotten so bad where my family don’t even want to go to home games, to any game because of, not just the media across the globe using platforms to constantly shame me. It’s just super unfortunate, super upsetting to me and I’m at a point where I’m going to continue to address it. It’s just unfortunate.”
It’s a toxic situation, to say the least. As LeBron and Westbrook try and right their wrongs, questions about the future) both short term and long term) are looming over their heads.
All the while, fans, and analysts continue to bash the state of their play, which is looking worse with each passing game.
