On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered one of their worst losses of the season, a 107-105 setback to a weak Portland Trail Blazers squad.
Afterward, Lakers legend Magic Johnson took to Twitter to express his dismay.
After the @Lakers loss to Portland tonight, I'm speechless. No words can describe how I'm feeling.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) February 10, 2022
Russell Westbrook missed the contest due to a back ailment, and without him, the Lakers looked like they lacked urgency.
LeBron James scored 30 points and had seven assists and seven rebounds, but he also committed six of L.A.’s 21 turnovers.
The Blazers recently traded away two of their best players, C.J. McCollum and Norman Powell, and superstar guard Damian Lillard has been out after having surgery due to an ab injury.
Still, Portland showed far more desire than the Lakers did, as it outrebounded them and held a huge advantage in fast-break points.
A bright spot for L.A. was the play of third-year guard Talen Horton-Tucker, who has failed to show any real improvement after getting a new contract this offseason. He had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
With just hours to go before the NBA’s trading deadline, the pressure is mounting for the Lakers to make a move that would improve their prospects. They are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference.
Many have felt that dealing Westbrook would fix the team’s issues, but Wednesday’s loss seemed to prove that the team’s issues run much deeper than him.
