It has happened for the second time now. The thing that Lakers fans dreaded. The Lakers have fallen off the 10th seed. This means that if the season was to end right now, the Lakers would not even qualify for the play-in tournament. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook seem to have no solution.

Despite another inspired 38 point game from LeBron, the Lakers lost the game quite poorly. On Friday night, the Lakers lost another game that they looked like winning. The New Orleans Pelicans snatched the victory from the grasp of Frank Vogel’s side.

Although the Pelicans looked a better side most of the first half, the Lakers picked up good momentum in the second. This was Anthony Davis’ first game back, and he had a decent outing.

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‘King James’ obviously showed his class. Russell Westbrook could not contribute much during the start of the game, but he also scored some important points at the end.

Russell Westbrook slams the Crypto.com Arena crowd

Russ West has been under the cosh all season. He has been under constant criticism. A player of Westbrook’s quality and career going through such a relationship with his own fans is not something anyone would like to see.

Russ West obviously knows this season has not been anywhere close to his own standards. However, he still feels that the fans get harsh on him. His 7-word comment, “I don’t pay attention to this crowd.” was a clear indication of that. 

The NBA Twitter was quick to dismiss Westbrook as they were nowhere on the same page as the Lakers star.

To be fair to Russell Westbrook, fans have often gone beyond criticism to show their discontent. There have been multiple reports of death threats and many other comments along those lines towards his family, which is not criticism and it is not what the sport of basketball stands for.

Talking about the game, the momentum favored the Lakers during the 4th quarter. However, the Pelicans changed the course of the game. This has happened way too often all season. There always seems to be one man open for the opposition and their lack of defensive structure has cost them too many games.

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The Lakers are 11th seed now and on the lowest of lows. With hopes fading away, they slightly have the chance to qualify for the play-in, but to guarantee that they need to win all the remaining games and hope that the teams around them do not do the same.