For the Los Angeles Lakers, every game is a must-win scenario. In the aftermath of an embarrassingly slow start, L.A. finds itself in a situation where almost every loss matters.
So when the Lakers took a loss to the 76ers on Sunday, fans couldn’t help but feel dread at the direction their season was headed. They also couldn’t help but blame the referees, who apparently missed a foul call on Westbrook at the end of the game. Even LeBron James cited his disdain for the officiating during Russ’ final, game-clinching possession.
“And all year they keep telling me to my face on the court, ‘I didn’t see it’ or ‘It wasn’t a foul.’ It’s not making sense to me seriously! Frustrating as hell man! Anyways keep going Squad,” James wrote after the buzzer.
Regardless of how you feel about Russ,
If you don’t think that this was as clear of a foul as it gets – then you’re lying. Period.
For NBA to come out & shamelessly lie 2 games in a row against the Lakers? Why is NBA trying to make sure Lakers lose?
— Letting Go (@ProvideContext) January 16, 2023
Well, it wasn’t long after that the NBA gave its own ruling on the play, effectively denying that Russ was actually fouled. In the NBA’s L2M report, it’s explained why the refs on the court actually made the right call:
“Embiid (PHI) slightly extends his arm before retracting it and marginal arm contact occurs with Westbrook (LAL) during the driving shot attempt.”
Some Lakers fans still weren’t happy with that answer, but such is the way of things for a fanbase forced to cheer for a struggling Lakers team.
LeBron James Getting Frustrated Amid Ongoing Mid-Season Struggles
At almost 40 years old, this isn’t the situation LeBron James hoped to be in the summer. But since his contract makes him ineligible to be traded this season, he’ll have no choice but to ride this out and play out this season as a Laker.
And it doesn’t take a genius to tell that James is starting to get really frustrated by all the losing.
We have seen LeBron James being visibly annoyed at various points this season, but his frustrations were at an all-time high after this one, especially after that disastrous final play where Russell Westbrook wasn’t even able to get a proper shot off against Joel Embiid. In his postgame interview, James didn’t even seem to be in the mood to answer any questions.
NBA Reporter: “Take us through the final offensive possession.”
LeBron James: “We got a stop, gave ourselves a chance to win the game (and) we didn’t.”
NBA Reporter: “A lot of focus will be on that final possession but as you know, you can see the game in its entirety, coach mentioned moments ago too, just being better whether it’s finishing or not, how do you assess the game as a whole?”
LeBron James: “Just frustrating, getting those positions and not being able to come up with the victory.”
With half of the season still left to go, it’s still far too early for L.A. to wave the white flag. When Anthony Davis gets healthy (which could be around the All-Star break), the Lakers will be right back in the thick of things out West.
Still, the loss last night hurts, and it’s hard not to think how things might have gone differently had the officials made a different call on the court that play.
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