James Worthy knows what it takes to win titles in the NBA, and he doesn’t see it in the current version of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers legend, who helped the franchise win three NBA championships, issued a fiery rebuke of Los Angeles following the team’s embarrassing 111-89 loss on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif.
“No heart. Weak,” the 64-year-old Worthy said about the Lakers during the Spectrum SportsNet’s postgame show.
“It’s the Boston Celtics without [Jayson] Tatum,” added Worthy. “You’re at home. To me, you show no respect for the uniform. When you come out and get outrebounded like that. They [Celtics] sniffed a weakness and dominated.”
Numbers can back up what Worthys’ eyes told him about the Lakers’ letdown performance.
After the first quarter ended in a 28-28 tie, Boston got down to work, erecting a lead as big as 22 points. The Celtics also had 50 rebounds to just 39 by Los Angeles.
It must have been tough for Lakers fans to see Celtics starter Neemias Queta put up 10 points and 12 rebounds, while LA center Deandre Ayton coughed up only 4 points and 7 boards. Luka Doncic had 25 points, but finished with a game-worst -21 plus/minus.
The Lakers will have a chance to redeem themselves on Tuesday, when they welcome the Orlando Magic to Los Angeles.
