By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
On the brink of elimination and deprived of the services of LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers falling to the Phoenix Suns made the Western Conference Play-In zone unreachable Tuesday night. The storied franchise will be limited to a simple Regular Season campaign and miss the postseason for the eighth time in the last ten years after the 2020 NBA championship and the 2021 first-round exit snapped the streak.
“Extremely disappointed,” confessed head coach Frank Vogel commenting on failing to secure a chance to make the Playoffs via the Play-Ins, “We fell short. We were eliminated tonight. I can say it has not been due to a lack of effort. We have all put in the work. Our guys stayed fighting right until the end. We brought integrity to the process. We just fell short through a disjointed season.”
James, 37, sat out for the second game in a row because of a sprained left ankle. Russell Westbrook scoring 28 points and Anthony Davis posting a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double were not enough to keep their side in the hunt for a spot in the Playoffs.
“Some things we could control, some things we couldn’t,” said Carmelo Anthony painting the picture of the 2021-22 Regular Season after putting up ten points off the bench against the Suns, “It is nothing more than we just didn’t get it done. We can’t make excuses. We just didn’t get it done.”
Wrapping up the 2021-22 campaign, the Lakers will visit the Golden State Warriors Thursday, host the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Crypto.com Arena Friday, and go back on the road to take on the Denver Nuggets Sunday.
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