Local TV broadcasts of sports games don’t hide their allegiance to the hometown team, but they tend to be fairly respectful of both teams involved. Not so much on Friday when the Los Angeles Lakers squared off against the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics beat the Lakers 130-108 thanks in part to a strong performance from ex-Laker Dennis Schroder, who collected 21 points, six assists and six rebounds as a stand-in for the injured Jaylen Brown. That was not what the graphics team for NBC Sports Boston focused on after the game, however. It opted instead to take a brutal shot at how much the Lakers are paying Russell Westbrook.
It’s not clear if this was supposed to air on TV or if it was a behind-the-scenes joke that accidentally went public. Whatever the case, don’t expect the Lakers to be happy about it.
Still, the Lakers are 8-9 and aren’t getting elite production from Westbrook, who has struggled to fit into the team. On Friday, the veteran guard contributed just 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting, along with six assists and four rebounds. Schroder, meanwhile, has shot more efficiently than Westbrook and turned the ball over less frequently for the Celtics.
It’s pretty funny how Schroder is being contrasted with Westbrook as an affordable value now considering the circumstances that led to that.
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