Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal was critical of the team following L.A.’s Game 5 loss to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs.
“I hate watching the Lakers play sometimes, because, towards the end, they try to play the hero ball,” O’Neal said on “Inside the NBA.” “‘OK, we gonna start playing hard now. If we hit this 3 it’ll tie the game.’ That’s not going to work. Bron (LeBron James) knows that and understands that. These young guys need to understand that. The crowd was flat. They played flat. They played with no intensity. They didn’t have focus. And I’m glad the Rockets beat them. We know what needs to be done to win the championship. LeBron knows that. I’m surprised that they didn’t come out with that effort and intensity. I’m super disappointed in the Lakers.”
The Lakers were forced to play catch up on Wednesday after getting outscored 30-19 in the second quarter, and they ultimately didn’t do enough on offense to get the win. Now, Los Angeles will travel to Houston to play Game 6 on Friday night. The Lakers went up 3-0 in this series, yet they’re facing the possibility of having to play Game 7 to clinch a spot in the second round. No team in NBA history has every come back after losing the first three games of a seven-game series.
On Wednesday, Luke Kennard finished with just one point for Los Angeles, and star guard Austin Reaves made just four of his 16 attempts from the field in his return from an oblique injury. James led the team with 25 points and seven assists.
It seems that O’Neal was frustrated with the Lakers’ offensive execution, and L.A. did more than take a couple of ill-advised shots. The Lakers turned the ball over 15 times (Houston had just 10 turnovers in the game) and made just 7-of-27 shots from beyond the arc.
While the Lakers have been without Luka Doncic in this series, players like Kennard, Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura have stepped up at times to fill the void on offense. In Game 5, those players combined to score just 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting from the field.
On the bright side for the Lakers, Kevin Durant is listed as out for Game 6.
Even if Durant sits, it’ll be important for the Lakers to listen to O’Neal’s advice and play with more intensity in Game 6, especially on the road. Los Angeles won Game 3 in Houston in overtime, but it dropped Game 4 by 19 points.
If the Lakers advance past the Rockets, they’ll take on the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.
