Lakers fans are everywhere. Literally.
Before a Sunday night game in Oklahoma City between the Thunder and Houston Rockets, an LA fan had to created a little dialogue from the bleachers.
Lakers fan six rows behind the scorer's table screams at Westbrook: "Russ, come to L.A.!!" Russ starts shaking his head no.
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) November 17, 2014
Fan: "You can shoot all you want. Come to L.A. We got rings."
Westbrook: "Get yo ass out of here and go back to L.A."
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) November 17, 2014
Usually when a fan shouts about joining the prestigious Lakers, the player just walks away. But the tides have turned in LA, at least for the time being. Superstar players aren’t bailing ship from their respective teams to join a 36-year-old Kobe Bryant and a starting point guard who doesn’t even dish out five assists per game without nearly three turnovers the same night. In addition, injuries to notable rookie Julius Randle and veteran guard Steve Nash has made the Lakers worst start in franchise history (1-8) the least of its worries.
But it’s not all rainbows and butterflies in Oklahoma either. Obviously the Thunder are in a much better situation than LA, however, the fans would probably disagree.
In a competitive Western Conference – it’s the Thunder near the bottom. With a 3-7 record and two superstars sidelined with injuries, the question remains what the other guys can do in the absence of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
The league’s reigning MVP is out for at least another two weeks after discovering a foot injury in mid-October. The team’s floor general is also out after undergoing surgery to repair a broken right hand, Westbrook is looking at another month on the sidelines.
No one is pressing the panic button in OKC, but if the Thunder can’t at least find a way to float around .500, it may be hard to land coveted home court advantage in the postseason.
This all started with a tweet from a beat writer, a very good one at that, but we all know how these things work – cue the trade rumors.