"One of then was a**" - Lakers fans scrutinize LeBron James' post-game comment juxtaposing it with Russell Westbrook's infamous locker room statement
LeBron James and the LA Lakers were one of the best teams in the league in the last month of the regular season. Despite many suggesting the Lakers avoid the Denver Nuggets in the first round, the Lakers took the risk. However, after going 0-3 in the series, James’ said something in the postgame press conference that attracted the attention of Laker fans.
The Laker roster, apart from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, has been unable to give any kind of production on the floor. Just before the postseason started, the Lakers were the top team in offensive production. However, in this series, most of the players have been largely invisible.
However, things might have taken a bad turn for the Lakers fans when LeBron James made a comment while defending his teammates. Commenting on the loss to the Nuggets for the 11th consecutive time, James said this,
"It's just basketball. At the end of the day, it's just basketball."
Reacting to the post, a fan commented,
"Sounds like his 2011 speech after the finals collapse lol."
Another fan with the user name "LokA" took a jab at Russell Westbrook's comments from last year. Westbrook infamously asked the players to have fun after a win, interrupting James asking his teammates to be greedy and not be satisfied with the win. These comments notably attracted a lot of criticism. The fan said,
"One of them was ASS."
Leon Phelps wrote,
"I was thinking this last night. They called Westbrook a “vampire” behind this.. It was wild af."
Another fan said that James' statement was taken out of context.
"taken completely out of context."
In fact, James was actually talking about his teammates and the pressure they shouldn't feel because it was "just basketball."
Even before the series started, James had said that his team would have to play the best basketball to win the series against the Nuggets. So far the Lakers' haven't been able to do it in three games.
LeBron James takes a shot at his teammates after Lakers’ horrendous Game 3 loss
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are certified playoff performers and continue to do the heavy lifting for the team this postseason. Apart from both the Lakers superstars, none of the players on the roster have been consistent in this series.
In the postgame interview James was asked about what the Lakers’ could do to play their best basketball. The Lakers star said that it is hard for most players to play their best basketball in the playoffs because of the pressure that comes with it.
"Postseason is professional play. It's normal to experience anxiety and pressure - that's the essence of the postseason. So I'm unsure how to answer that. It's a personal question that individual players should answer themselves about how they feel."
Apart from James and Davis, hardly any other player from the Lakers' roster has been consistent in this series. From D'Angelo Russell to Austin Reaves, all have struggled from the field, which has been detrimental to the Lakers' performance in the series.
While there is a high chance that the series is already over for the Lakers, they need to win Game 4 to avoid the sweep. The Lakers have lost the last 11 games against the Nuggets, a spell that started last season.