“Getting Harder To Defend Him” – Lakers Fans Slam Luka Doncic for Sloppy Christmas Day Performance Against Rockets

Luka Doncic and his Los Angeles Lakers are in terrible form, dropping more games than they have won in December.

“Getting Harder To Defend Him” – Lakers Fans Slam Luka Doncic for Sloppy Christmas Day Performance Against Rockets

Luka Doncic was sloppy in the loss to the Rockets (Image via FirstSportz)

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Luka Doncic and his Los Angeles Lakers enjoyed a good run in October and November when they surged to become the second-best team in the hotly contested Western Conference.

Then came December, and that run has turned into a disappointment as the men in purple and gold have dropped six of their ten games so far, the last of which was on Christmas Day. In what should have been a tightly contested game, the Lakers fell behind early and could not catch up to the Houston Rockets for the rest of the game.

This was the Slovenian’s first game back after their previous loss to the Phoenix Suns. On paper, he scored 25 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists.

Those are not his typical numbers, which, along with his six turnovers and a lackluster performance on defense, contributed to the 23-point loss. It was not as if his teammates were much better, but being the Lakers’ most important player, his performance was underwhelming.

Head coach JJ Redick has been talking about the need for 100% effort. He did not single out any particular player, but his fiery postgame interview suggested he was not happy with his team. Usually, Luka Doncic is expected to lead his team into battle, and they are expected to follow his lead. Maybe that is why his fans, and those of the Los Angeles Lakers, were irked by his poor effort.

Fans vent their frustrations on social media after watching Luka Doncic’s play

Los Angeles Lakers fans are passionate about their team and always expect the players to be vying for a championship. One of the ways a team can show its intent of fighting for a title is how they perform against the league’s best teams.

During their embarrassing loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the players, including Luka Doncic, faced a lot of heat. This time, after they saw a similar effort, fans were livid. They took to social media to vent out their frustrations, slamming the 26-year-old for not doing his part as the team’s best player. Check out examples of those reactions below.

A fan comment
A fan comment (Image via SS/X)

Luka Doncic might want to talk about how he understands the need to improve. But fans are trying their best not to paint him as the reason his teams have not been successful.

Luka Doncic acknowledges something has to change

Everyone associated with the NBA knew that fans were voicing their frustrations on social media. When reporters asked Luka Doncic about what the Lakers need to do to stop this string of poor losses, he said:

Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic
Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic (Image via Punto por Punto/X)

I don’t know what has to change, but definitely something needs to change… We got to figure out that’s the thing we have (to do). Everybody got to talk about it. I know JJ said it’s going to be uncomfortable. As it should be.

Luka Doncic said to reporters

It seems the 5-time All-NBA 1st teamer understands what the team is lacking and acknowledged that the team needs to feel head coach JJ Redick’s fury if they are to improve.

If Doncic can lead his team to accept and work on the changes Redick suggests, maybe the Lakers can turn their form around and be the championship contender their fans feel they should play like.

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