Lakers fans are not happy about the team’s skid, and on Sunday, they decided to make that known.
During a devastating 123-95 loss to the Pelicans, fans booed the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. And video appears to show LeBron James and Trevor Ariza responding to the angry crowd.
WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
Beleaguered point guard Russell Westbrook claimed after the game that he would not take the negativity home with him that night.
“Nah,” Westbrook said. “Take it home? For what? S–t. Take it home? I got three beautiful kids at my house. Why would I take it home? If they boo, they can take their ass home. I ain’t worried about that. It doesn’t bother me none.”
Sunday’s loss was the Lakers’ ninth defeat in the past 12 games, dipping their record to 27-33. Los Angeles’ breathing room for the final spot in the play-in tournament has shrunk to 2½ games with 22 left in the season.
“We got a tough stretch with Dallas, Clippers again Thursday, then Golden State on Saturday,” James said. “And we still got 10 road games this month, or March, so it don’t get easier for us.”
James, who left the court and headed into the tunnel with time left in the loss, said that the solution to the Lakers’ struggles is simply notching a win and analyzing how the team was able to accomplish that.
“It all starts with a win. That’s what it starts with,” he said. “Try to get off of this slide and get a win, and learn from that win with things you did well, things that you didn’t do so well. So it always starts with that and how you can try to get into a game-by-game situation.”
Westbrook added that he believes that the Lakers can change the narrative of the season by simply grinding more than their opponents, a tactic he said the team’s foes were succeeding at.
“Teams are coming in, playing harder, and I believe that’s kind of their scouting report: Just play harder than them and see what happens,” Westbrook said. “And it’s working. Until we determine and have the determination that we’re not going to allow it, especially on our home floor, it will continue to happen to us.”
However, that may not solve the breadth of the Lakers issues. The defeat at the hands of New Orleans featured 23 turnovers that resulted in 25 points for the Pelicans. DeAndre Jordan threw a wide pass to Wayne Ellington that hit court-side fans in an embarrassing blooper.
The Lakers shot 7-for-34 from 3 with an overall field goal percentage of 41.7%. The team trailed by over 30 points when the boos erupted from the stands.
“We’re not shooting the ball well from the perimeter, and the paint’s clogged, and we’re trying to force inside — with the pass, with the bounce — and it’s leading to a lot of turnovers,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said. “We’re not moving that well defensively. So, we weren’t very good on either end (Sunday).”