The Los Angeles Lakers haven't had the best start to the 2021/22 NBA season. The purple and gold are trying to turn things around following a tumultuous and full of injury 2020/21 season.
Unfortunately, even after they landed quality veterans, things haven't clicked for Frank Vogel's team. To make things worse, their players started having issues just two games into the season. As the Lakers took on the Phoenix Suns, Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis got into it on the team's bench on Friday night.
They had to be separated by the rest of the teammates and team personnel, but the situation didn't look good. Although that's seemingly in the past, that exchange raised many eyebrows around the league, especially from Lakers legends.
For instance, Magic Johnson didn't like what he saw from the two big men. The former point guard called them out for disrespecting the organization, claiming he's never seen anything like that in 42 years of relationship with the Lakers.
"Dwight Howard and AD got into a physical altercation on the bench…in my 42 years of being associated with the Lakers organization, I’ve never seen something like that smh," the five-time NBA champion tweeted on Friday night.
It was a terrible night for the Lakers, who couldn't get past the same team that eliminated them from the 2021 NBA playoff. Phoenix left Staples Center with a 115-105 win that extended Los Angeles' losing streak. Magic also reflected on this, saying that the Lakers have several issues to fix before being able to compete.
"The Lakers have a team issue and basketball issue."
The Californians started this season with high expectations. After trading for Russell Westbrook and signing high-profile names like Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and more, plenty of people labeled them championship favorites.
Well, seeing their preseason matches and how the regular season started, it's hard to believe that this team can even make the playoff. Still, the season is early and they have room to improve. Then again, as Magic said, they need to work on those issues before it's too late. When people expected showtime, the Lakers brought it, but this time it's all drama.
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