Sloppy play by LeBron James was greeted with a round of booing Sunday as fans showed their displeasure with the slumping Los Angeles Laker...
Sloppy play by LeBron James was greeted with a round of booing Sunday as fans showed their displeasure with the slumping Los Angeles Lakers.
James and his Lakers teammates lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 123-95, leading to very loud and unhappy noises from fans in Crypto.com Arena.
The loss was LA’s second straight and fifth in its last six games, giving the Lakers a record of 27-33.
The hometown fans were not happy about the team’s performance on Sunday, especially the 37-year-old James’ season-high seven turnovers.
Things got so testy at one point that James and Trevor Ariza confronted fans heckling them.
“What do you know about basketball other than the ball going in or not? Shut yo a** up,” LeBron said, according to a video on Twitter featuring very graphic language.
He offered the media more printable language after the game when asked how the Lakers can turn things around.
“It all starts with a win. That’s what it starts with,” James said, according to ESPN.
“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,” he said.
James admitted it would not be easy.
“We got a tough stretch with Dallas, Clippers again Thursday, then Golden State on Saturday,” he said “And we still got 10 road games this month, or March, so it don’t get easier for us.”
Lakers star Russell Westbook said that even after losing nine of their last 12 games, nothing that happens on the court stays with him after the game.
“Take it home? For what? S***. Take it home? I got three beautiful kids at my house. Why would I take it home? If they boo, they can take their a** home. I ain’t worried about that. It doesn’t bother me none,” he said.
Westbrook said the Lakers need to focus on winning.
“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,” he 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.”
“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 coach Frank Vogel said. “And we’re not moving that well defensively. So, we weren’t very good on either end tonight.”
Lakers center Dwight Howard tried to project some optimism.
“It’s real easy to give up, throw in the towel and say negative things,” Howard said. “So, really at a loss for words. But we got to stay positive. We can’t sulk in defeat, and we can’t quit on each other.
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