The Lakers and the Magic Johnson-owned Los Angeles Dodgers are in a battle for L.A.’s sports supremacy, with both teams winning at an unprecedented rate since their arrival from other cities. The two franchises have seen some of the most talented players in NBA history come through their ranks, but fans will likely be left on edge as these powerhouse teams continue to compete.
Russell Westbrook, the MVP of the NBA and a star player for the Lakers, has fired back at Magic Johnson. In an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Westbrook said that “Magic is one of my favorite people in the world.” Read more in detail here: russell westbrook news.
courtesy of Getty Images Russell Westbrook is a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.
On Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their worst defeat of the season against the Denver Nuggets, and even Magic Johnson was critical of the team.
Johnson resorted to Twitter shortly after the 133-96 loss to criticize the Lakers.
We as @Lakers fans can tolerate being outplayed after getting blasted out 133-96 by the Nuggets, but we want more than a lack of effort and intensity. You, @JeanieBuss, are deserving of better.
— January 16, 2022, Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson)
“As Lakers fans, we can tolerate being outplayed, but we want more than a lack of effort and urgency,” Johnson said on Twitter. “You deserve better, Jeanie Buss, as the owner.”
Russell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Lakers was questioned about Johnson’s statement, which was unusually harsh when it came to his previous club.
Westbrook told reporters, “I don’t have a response.” “In our world, everyone has the right to their own views.” It doesn’t matter what it is. You can either run with it, or you can put it in one ear and out the other, or you can’t react to it at all.
“Magic has a right to his viewpoint.” And he isn’t around every day. He isn’t with us every day. He has no idea what’s going on with us inside and is attempting to work things out. But I don’t have anything to say about it. … As I already said, everyone in the globe has the right to their own viewpoint.”
Westbrook believes the Lakers aren’t putting in enough effort.
Play Magic Johnson’s tweet criticizing the Lakers’ effort has elicited no response from Russell Westbrook. Magic Johnson’s tweet criticizing the Lakers’ effort has elicited no response from Russell Westbrook. 2022-01-16T05:00:57Z
The Nuggets dominated the Lakers in every facet of the game. They were outrebounded 51-41 and enabled Denver to shoot over 50% from three-point range. The Lakers have the talent, but Westbrook believes it will come down to effort.
“We have to decide whether we’re going to play hard or not,” Westbrook said. “Sometimes it’s not about the strategies or how you play; it’s about playing hard.” It’s as easy as that. Sometimes, teams just play harder than we do. We give up a lot of points even when we’re winning, but it’s starting to show, particularly when we’re losing games and opponents are simply putting their heads down and going. We need to be more aggressive in our defense.”
The Lakers are currently 21-22 and have dropped below.500 for the second time this season. It’s a rough look for a team full of future Hall of Famers that started the season with championship ambitions. When it came to what the Lakers need to do to improve, Dwight Howard, who started at center for the Lakers against the Nuggets, agreed with Westbrook.
“I’m not sure how much I can say about it.” Howard said, “We’ve been saying that all year.” “As a result, I shouldn’t have to say anything else.” But, you know, he’s absolutely correct.”
The Los Angeles Lakers are going back to the drawing board.
Play After being thrashed by the Nuggets, Frank Vogel comments, “It’s pretty annoying.” After being thrashed by the Nuggets, Frank Vogel comments, “It’s pretty annoying.” 2022-01-16T 04:44:50Z
Before the game against the Nuggets, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel expressed optimism in the team’s defensive performance. It’s evident, though, that a “heated film session” wasn’t enough to fix the Lakers’ problems.
Vogel said of the defense, “It’s not good enough.” “We have a new group that we’re attempting to get to understand our system, double teams, and each other on the fly, and we haven’t had much practice time to get this group as connected as we wanted to be.” We’re working on it right now. We’re putting out every effort. However, this is not where we want to be.”
On Monday, the Lakers will face the Utah Jazz, who are now ranked 28th in the NBA, and will be hoping for a better outcome.
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