Without their top four players on Monday, the shorthanded laker hardly stood a chance against the Phoenix Suns, who blew them out by 26 points. But as fans were quick to notice, none of it was enough to stop Patrick Beverley from having a good time.
At some point in the third quarter, Beverley went viral for making the ‘too small’ gesture at Chris Paul. The problem is, the Lakers were getting absolutely demolished in the game.
It wasn’t a good look from Beverley, but it tells the story of what this season has been for L.A.: all bark and no bite. In a segment on First Take Tuesday morning, NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith got honest on Bev’s taunt and the state of the Lakers after their latest blowout loss.
“If you didn’t shove Chris Paul in the back. If you didn’t shove Deandre Ayton in the back, we wouldn’t be looking at that. The fact of the matter is, once upon a time before you did that kind of stuff then that’s just you being a pest and you trying to agitate people emotionally and stuff like that. It would have been nice for you to do it in a closer game instead of you getting blown out, losing to the Phoenix Suns yet again, it would have been nice if you did it then and it would have been nice had you done something while competitive absent of the shove in the back to Chris Paul and those boys,” argued Stephen A.
Stephen A. Smith Blasts Rob Pelinka For Assembling Awful Lakers Team
Without Davis, LeBron, Westbrook, and Reaves, nobody was expecting the Lakers to win the game. But against a Suns team that was also without several of their key players, there was hope the Lakers could at least make things competitive.
That proved not to be the case, and a quick look at the depth chart will tell you why.
“Also, I’m appalled. Lonnie Walker, Dennis Schroder, Thomas Bryant, Patrick Beverley, and Troy Brown Jr. is your starting five for the Los Angeles Lakers,” said Smith. “Really, Rob Pelinka? Really? Because on a day like today, this is the storyline we have to talk about with the Lakers. It’s the most interesting storyline there is about the Los Angeles Lakers. Think about that, that’s how sad this is. Rob Pelinka, what’s up? What’s up, bro?”
Needless to say, this is not what Lakers fans had in mind when Pelinka traded for Westbrook last year. Instead of finding success together and allowing LeBron to age gracefully, the Lakers have failed in almost every way to build a capable supporting cast, and it’s coming back to hurt them.
If the Lakers don’t hurry and make some trade soon, there may be nothing left to root for at all this season for the 17x NBA Champions.
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