The Los Angeles Lakers suffered another hurtful defeat on Friday night, this time against a direct rival that already took the 10th seed from them. The Purple and Gold entered this season with high expectations after landing Russell Westbrook and many veterans hungry to compete for the championship.
Unfortunately, things haven’t gone in their favor and the Lakers rank now 11th in the Western Conference standings. The New Orleans Pelicans have taken things personally with the 17-time NBA champions, and Friday night’s game was crucial for them.
In the end, they beat the Lakers 114-111 at Crypto.com Arena, giving the San Antonio Spurs the advantage over the Lakers for the last play-in tournament spot. After the game, many fans showed their anger with the team, blasting them for that game and the entire season, as the Californians are 15 games below the .500 mark.
LeBron James also got flamed for his performance, despite recording 38 points, given his inability to close the game in the final quarter. One would think the King is demoralized after what seems to be their last chance to make it to the play-in tournament, but that’s far away from reality.
Following the game, the 4x NBA champion addressed reporters, claiming that until they are officially eliminated, they will have a chance to make it (2:26).
“Well until it says we’re eliminated, it doesn’t. So I mean till that moment we’ll know what our destiny is, but right now we don’t, so just keep pushing forward.”
Things got more complicated for the Lakers after Friday’s loss, but LeBron is still confident they can get the job done. Moreover, the Spurs can slip up, but the Californians have the tougher schedule.
This Sunday, they’ll have to host the Denver Nuggets, then visit the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors. After that, it comes their easiest opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder, before wrapping the season up against the Nuggets in Denver.
LeBron remains confident, but it’s hard to find a lot of people in Lakers Nation that share that confidence.
