Lakers News: NBA On TNT Twitter Broadcasters Chastise Team Construction
Another night, another Los Angeles Lakers loss. Last night, the team that got the best of them was L.A.'s second-favorite NBA franchise, the Clippers, led in scoring by Paul George, ex-Laker Ivica Zubac, John Wall and Kawhi Leonard. The Lakers nearly mounted an improbable fourth-quarter comeback, but the Clippers did just enough to win in the end, 103-97. With the defeat, the Lakers are now 0-2. And many are blaming team vice president Rob Pelinka for his strange roster construction choices during two consecutive offseasons now.
Turner Sports is exploring how best it can use social media to attract the eyeballs of cord cutters and folks who generally aren't interested in watching the game's traditional cable broadcast, or at least might be curious to see an alternative approach. To that end, it's been trotting out a simulcast NBA on TNT program via Twitter. Last night for the Lakers-Clippers game, we were treated to the insights of three-time Sixth Man of the Year and former Lob City Clipper Jamal Crawford, former LeBron James teammate Channing Frye, and Taylor Rooks for this format.
All three agreed that this year's new-look Lakers roster essentially carried over the 2021-22 roster trend of not surrounding Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis with teammates who bring out their best and help the club win, specifically with regards to floor spacing.
To be fair, James himself acknowledged that his teammates are limited as three-point shooters, in postgame comments following the team's 10-for-40 long-range performance during its season opener Tuesday, a 123-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Rooks asked Crawford and Frye how this season's Los Angeles team can "get past" its lack of outside jump shooters.
"The word that bothered me with the Lakers last year was accountability," Crawford reflected. "I felt like they weren't accountable from the top on down, and this year they're kind of doing the same thing... What's different about last year's team than this year's team, besides a few names? Nothing! ...It's still the same issue, so what are we doing?"
"What I would want is, instead of having an image of what you think the Lakers are, look at what the Lakers need," Channing Frye chimed in, before adding that Darvin Ham could still maximize the club somewhat. "You know what great coaches do? They coach the players that they have to win."
