"I don't pay attention to this crowd, to be honest" - Russell Westbrook refuses to buckle amid a trainwreck LA Lakers season, says the Crypto crowd doesn't impact him

Russell Westbrook's latest comments about the Crypto.com Arena crowd is only going to make him more of a target in home games. Photo: Sporting News]

The LA Lakers threw the kitchen sink at the New Orleans Pelicans by bringing back Anthony Davis and LeBron James to team up with Russell Westbrook. Despite a star-studded lineup on the floor, LA surrendered another significant lead to unbelievably finish winless against the Pelicans this season.

With yet another embarrassing defeat, the LA Lakers are now in 11th place, leaving their fate at the hands of other teams. The Crypto.com Arena crowd egged them on early but got antsy when the Pelicans mounted their rally. LA’s collapse seemed inevitable, which prompted several sections of the arena to boo and whistle the home team.

In a postgame interview, Russell Westbrook took a dig at the mostly Lakers faithful who have had enough of their absurdly underachieving season (via Ryan Ward):

“I don’t pay attention to this crowd, to be honest.”

Russell Westbrook on how the Crypto crowd impacts the game: "I don't pay attention to this crowd, to be honest."

The former MVP’s words are quite telling just how far he has fallen from the good graces of the home crowd. Instead of getting added energy and boost from the Lakers faithful, it has come to a point where he’s basically playing in a neutral arena.

More importantly, it seems like the Lakers’ superstar point guard has stopped caring what the Crypto.com Arena crowd thinks about how the LA Lakers play. LeBron James has preached accountability to Laker Nation throughout his time in Tinseltown, but it looks like Westbrook is done with that in just his first season.

Russell Westbrook had another pedestrian game

The former MVP had another forgettable night in front of the home fans. [Photo: Sports Illustrated]

Mr. Triple-Double has played like a glorified role player for most of the season and has shown it yet again in the loss to the Pelicans. He finished with 12 points on 15 shots and had more turnovers (6) than assists (5). This game is a microcosm of how he has played this campaign for the LA Lakers.

Russell Westbrook had a game-worst net rating of -12. Anthony Davis, who missed the last 6 weeks due to a mid-foot sprain, had a significantly better game than the fiery point guard. AD had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in 31 minutes after the lengthy layoff.

Exclusive @YahooSports interview with Lakers star Russell Westbrook. He chose not to sit out games in midst of ridicule because he wanted to send a message that no matter what you’re going, you can get through: “You can make it out of this.” sports.yahoo.com/russell-westbr…

Three of LA’s last five games will be on their home floor, which means that more could come from the Lakers’ faithful who must’ve heard Westbrook’s comments. While most fans may see it as nothing more than frustration from their superstar, it does not look good for him.

It seems like Russell Westbrook can’t wait for the season to end and get away from the criticism of Laker Nation.