The Los Angeles Lakers’ season effectively came to an end on Tuesday night when they fell to the Phoenix Suns 121-110.
While there are still games left to be played, the defeat officially eliminated LA from playoff contention.
Given that this group entered the year with title aspirations, the disastrous way they ended the season will go down as one of the biggest letdowns in franchise history.
After the Suns game, Lakers star Carmelo Anthony got brutally honest about the experience.
“I would say this is a season where we just didn’t get it done,” Anthony said. “We had the tools. Some things were out of our control and some things we could control and some things we couldn’t. It’s nothing more than we didn’t get it done. You can’t make no excuses about it. We just didn’t get it done.”
That being said, Anthony still felt like the Lakers held their heads up as much as possible despite the struggles they faced.
“We stayed together,” he continued.
“You didn’t see much of guys straying away from each other. It’s weird. We knew our backs were against the wall. I think situations like this and seasons like this it’s easy for teams to kind of just go their own way when things get thick and backs against the wall.
“Again, I didn’t see none of that. I didn’t experience none of that in the locker room, in practice, on bus or on the plane. None of that. Guys were still locked in and understanding what was at stake.”
Still, Anthony was careful to reiterate that he wasn’t backing away from the failure that was this Lakers’ season. He knows the team came up short.
“Now the wins didn’t add up to what we were feeling and what we knew,” he added. “Again, we just didn’t get it done, man. That’s all I can say. We didn’t get it done.”
Anthony decided to join the Lakers this past offseason after pumping fresh life into his career during a multi-year stretch with the Portland Trail Blazers.
When Anthony opted to leave Portland, it spurred a strong reaction from his then-teammate Damian Lillard. That in turn prompted a response from Anthony, which led to a subsequent follow-up from Lillard.
McKayla Maroney’s still got it.https://t.co/9SZ3MQm9Xu
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 5, 2022
Throughout this season, Anthony attempted to remain upbeat regarding the Lakers’ campaign despite dealing with some pretty notable issues off the court. Often times, the 37-year-old served as the lone bright spot for Los Angeles.
It will be interesting to see where Anthony and the Lakers go from here. Will the squad opt for a complete roster makeover, leading to widespread changes across the board? Or will certain core pieces, like Anthony, be permitted to stay? Time will tell.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
