Shaquille O’Neal calls out Lakers’ lack of effort in embarrassing loss to short-handed 76ers

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal did not mince his words regarding the Los Angeles Lakers' performance against the recent matchup against Sixers.

Shaquille O’Neal calls out Lakers’ lack of effort in embarrassing loss to short-handed 76ers

Shaquille O'Neal

On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers traveled to Philadelphia to play at the Wells Fargo Center. After defeating the Hornets 112-107 the previous night, they played the Philadelphia Sixers on the second night of a back-to-back. Many believed this would be an easy victory, with the Sixers missing several important players like Joel Embiid and Paul George.

Interestingly, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal was one of them. As a result, O’Neal did not hold back when he spoke after the Lakers had fallen behind 73-57 at the half.

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Shaq criticized the Lakers for their lack of intensity during his Tuesday appearance on TNT. Despite having a stronger side than the Sixers on paper, the Lakers did not perform up to their standards.

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They’re not playing with any effort, and they’re not playing hard.

Shaquille O’Neal said

In addition, the Lakers lost their star man Anthony Davis due to an injury in the middle of the game. However, O’Neal stated that even without Davis, the Lakers were supposed to beat an injury-plagued Sixers side. O’Neal was spitting out facts. The Sixers were playing with a lot more passion and effort, even if they were without some of their best players.

In the meantime, on the second night of the back-to-back, the Lakers appeared to be at a loss. Tyrese Maxey‘s Sixers defeated the Lakers to record their 18th victory of the year. They now have a three-game winning streak.

Lakers lost Anthony Davis due to injury early against the 76ers

Anthony Davis, the star of the Los Angeles Lakers, left Tuesday’s game versus the Philadelphia 76ers due to an abdominal strain. Davis was then declared out for the rest of the 118-104 defeat. The Lakers star left the game after barely playing ten minutes. He had four points and two rebounds at the end of the evening.

Before Tuesday’s game, Davis, who leads the Lakers chart with an average of 26.3 points and 12.1 rebounds through 41 games, had had a generally healthy season. After missing two games in December due to a left foot injury, LeBron James reportedly said he would remain “open to” missing matches in the future to manage his workload.

As the Lakers plan to rely on Davis in James’ absence, his availability will be more crucial than ever. This is if the NBA’s all-time top scorer does choose to make missing games a regular part of his schedule moving forward.