The Lakers Are Done, but the Mocking Is Not: TRAINA THOUGHTS

Lakers get 'One Shining Moment' treatment after being eliminated from playoff contention

1. The Lakers were eliminated from postseason contention Tuesday night thanks to their 121–110 loss to the Suns.

The team’s record sits at a shocking 31–48, and theories about why this season flopped so badly are all over the place.

There was also mocking. A lot of mocking.

Stephen A. Smith weighed in on the Lakers’ embarrassing season, saying last night, “The Lakers are a national basketball atrocity.”

Stephen A Smith doesn't hold back on Jeanie Buss and the Lakers front office https://t.co/andNga35cL

— Piñata Farms: The Meme App (@pinatafarms) April 6, 2022

Bleacher Report kicked the Lakers while they were down by releasing this video immediately after they were eliminated on Tuesday.

One last look at a season Lakers fans will want to forget 😬 pic.twitter.com/A59xhdNcKb

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 6, 2022

A lot of people dragged this old LeBron tweet out.

LeBron’s tweet at the start of the Lakers season did not age well 😂 pic.twitter.com/m25skKF5c3

— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) April 6, 2022

But I have saved the finest piece of Lakers mockery for last.

Hot off the heels of Monday night's annual “One Shining Moment” video, one creative individual has given us a spectacular version dedicated to the 2021–2022 Lakers.

2. The Lakers get eliminated from playoff contention. This person trends on Twitter and then people want to know why and how that person has a job.

Learn the game, people. If you didn’t make him trend all the time over the stupid stuff he says, he’d be less likely to have the job he has.

3. Final ratings show that more people watched Duke–North Carolina than Kansas–North Carolina. However, the Jayhawks–Tar Heels thriller is now the most-watched NCAA tournament final ever to air on cable.

Looking like Kansas-North Carolina will finish with 18.1 million viewers with March Madness Live streaming factored in. +4% from Baylor-Gonzaga last year on CBS (with MML included).

Below the 18.5 million that UNC-Duke semifinal got on Saturday night with MML https://t.co/x2VF6BWPXy

— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) April 5, 2022

Meanwhile, the women’s tournament also had a big ratings increase for its final.

The #NationalChampionship between @UConnWBB & @GamecockWBB was the most-watched #NCAAWBB champ game in nearly TWO DECADES

🏀 4.85M viewers
🏀 Up 18% from '21, up 30% from '19
🏀 Peaked with 5.91M viewers

Full #MarchMadness viewership details to come pic.twitter.com/mGXoTeJb09

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 5, 2022

4. If you’re into knowing the salaries of sports media stars, here’s some news that’s sure to blow your mind regarding Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski.

NEWS: Adam Schefter's new deal is for around $9M per year, while Adrian Wojnarowski is in the $7M per range, according to sources.

Both are for 5 years.

Details as to what ESPN is up to inside.https://t.co/Uus4ewBk2K

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) April 5, 2022

5. I’m not shocked the sports media world would break out in cold sweats and have their bodies go limp upon hearing the news that Tiger Woods will play in the Masters. But it is a little surprising to see the betting world go all-in. I will throw $20 on Tiger, though, just because of FOMO.

The power of Tiger Woods is on full display in The Masters betting markets.

Tiger was as high as 100/1 to win his sixth green jacket L/week, now he's mostly 50/1 with a 65/1 on the board in Vegas. Woods was -165 to miss the cut, now he's -111 to miss and -109 to make at Circa.

— Sammy P (@spshoot) April 5, 2022

6. The latest SI Media Podcast features interviews with Greg Gumbel from CBS Sports and WWE superstar Seth Rollins.

Gumbel had some very interesting things to say about the massive increase in broadcaster salaries. He also talked about being in sports broadcasting for 50 years and working with some great characters, including Bill Walton, Terry Bradshaw and Charles Barkley.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Meant to post this yesterday and forgot. As I said on Instagram, I got weak in the knees watching this video. I can't recommend this TikTok account enough.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.