The NBA world was excited to see a rematch of the Western Conference Finals in the first round of the 2023-24 NBA playoffs. However, many were disappointed to see the Lakers drop Game 1 to the Nuggets, even after they quickly accumulated a 12-point lead in the 2nd quarter, leading former NBA legend Charles Barkley to call out the Los Angeles franchise. Lowlighting the Lakers’ decision to blame Russell Westbrook a year ago, Barkley fears the same for D’Angelo Russell.
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On one of the recent episodes of Inside the NBA, the hosts dove into Game 1 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. As the conversation went on, Barkley revealed what the Lakers have been doing and what’ll happen to D’Angelo Russell.
“One thing you can always count on with the Lakers, they gon’ throw somebody under the bus when they lose. Going back to Russell Westbrook, going back to Frank Vogel, now it’s D’Angelo Russell…The Denver Nuggets are a better team than the Lakers. I didn’t like how they called D’Angelo out after Game 1.”
“Kid’s not trying to miss shots but they’re beating them in every aspect of the game. They’re not just beating them at D’Angelo’s position. I hope he has a good game but the Nuggets; they’re just a better team than the Lakers. It has nothing to do with D’Angelo or Rui or whatever. The Denver Nuggets man, they’re a well oiled machine.”
Charles Barkley’s rant on the Lakers came after head coach Darvin Ham subtly brought Russell’s poor shooting night into the spotlight. While Ham tried to paint a pretty picture around D-Lo’s poor shooting night, the narrative quickly changed to the Game 1 loss being pinned on Russell’s head. And this is what Charles Barkley was not happy with.
Last year, the Los Angeles Lakers fanbase constantly blamed Russell Westbrook for the team’s poor start of the season, forgetting what Westbrook had done the year prior to that when LeBron James and Anthony Davis missed time off the floor.
And now, something similar is happening after the Lakers dropped Game 1. No doubt that Russell had a poor shooting night but taking into consideration what Barkley said, the Nuggets are a superior team to the Lakers.
In the final minutes of Game 1, fatigue and age could clearly be seen playing a factor for Los Angeles, who seemed winded up with playing major minutes. While Russell’s inability to make shots may have played a role, it wasn’t the sole reason why the Lakers lost and it is unfortunate if D’Angelo Russell becomes the scapegoat if the Lakers lose this series.
Is D’Angelo Russell the scapegoat for the Lakers this year?
The Los Angeles Lakers franchise didn’t just blame Russell Westbrook a year ago for the team’s struggles but also let go of the coach who the team last won an NBA championship with. Frank Vogel was used as a scapegoat as well when things weren’t clicking for the Lakers.
A Reddit user had this to say about the Lakers’ front office getting rid of Vogel.
“Vogel had some very questionable rotations and decision making which did not help his case. Did it warrant being fired? No. The FO inability to provide a somewhat, capable and serviceable roster is to blame. Vogel was a scapegoat, similar to how Westbrook became a scapegoat. It is easier to blame someone lower on the totem pole than to accept the FO is the cause for our bad seasons. Vogel did not help his case though. Overall it was a combination of a lot of things.”
D’Angelo Russell has had a great year with the Lakers, coming up big in games where the team needed his point production the most. It would be a shame if Los Angeles used D-Lo as another scapegoat instead of taking accountability. After all, the Nuggets are a superior team and are the defending champions. There is no shame in losing to the better team.
