Chad Ochocinco rips LeBron James apologists amid Lakers' worst two game stretch in history: "Ya'll making excuses"

Former NFL star-turned-sports analyst Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson shared his thoughts about the LA Lakers and their apologists during Wednesday's edition of his joint podcast with Shannon Sharpe, "Night Cap." The Cincinnati Bengals legend spoke about the Miami Heat's Wednesday rout of Los Angeles.

Miami dropped 134 points against 93 from the Purple and Gold, which prompted Sharpe and former LeBron James teammate J.R. Smith to discuss whether something was happening to James. Ochocinco wasn't having any of that and gave credit to Miami instead.

"I respect both of your basketball prowess and understanding of the game," Johnson said (Timestamp: 5:43), "but I don't appreciate y'all making these excuses for LeBron. I don't like that. I don't like the fact that y'all are not giving the Heat credit for putting belt to a** to the Lakers. And that's what happened tonight.

"All these different excuses and the Olympics and being tired and playing 82 games and who they need to bring in and he needs help, no. The Heat put belt to a** tonight. Simple as that."

Shannon Sharpe replied that it is normal to have bad games, but when things aren't going well for somebody for more than one game, it's easy to ask what's wrong with that person. In the last five games, LeBron James only made one 3-pointer in 23 attempts. He entered the Heat's matchup shooting 0-from-19 from deep.

LeBron James, LA Lakers are having yet another rocky season

After a positive start to the 2024-25 NBA season, the 17-time NBA champions have struggled to even score 100 points in three of their last four matchups. It goes without saying that they lost all those games, but the last two have raised some eyebrows around Lakers Nation.

They were dismantled 109-80 by the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Then, they went to Kaseya Center and lost by 41 points to the Miami Heat. The results haven't sat well with plenty of people, and some fans are already demanding changes.

Bringing in JJ Redick to lead the project was considered a good move during the first weeks of competition, but the Lakers have struggled to get things going on both ends. The Lakers (12-10) have lost six of their past eight games. The rookie coach said the team isn't together as a group, but if that doesn't change soon, we could see another round of in-season moves from this franchise.