Shaquille O 'Neal urges the Lakers to "step up" their efforts to respond to LeBron James's criticism

The ongoing struggles of the Los Angeles Lakers have brought a lot of ink to the NBA world in recent days. Consecutive defeats against the New Orleans pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies, combined with a few comments that appear to be calling LeBron James' teammates have thrilled the sport.

All speeches in the media have weighed, but few have as much weight in the Lakers sphere as Shaquille O. Neal. In addition to being one of the biggest players in the franchise, O'Neal handles his drama throughout his Hall of Fame career.

He recently talked about the Lakers' problems, saying that players should talk to James and raise their level of play rather than sulking, via NBA on TNT:

"It's something that needs to be fixed. You should just go to him and say, "You made comments. Who are you talking about? What do you mean? And again, as players, this is not the time to sit down and sulk. If you do not want to be exchanged or spoken, step up. LeBron is used to playing with guys who make shots and give him a nice appearance. He does not have that right now.

O'Neal added that the current Lakers must be able to move on and intensify their efforts when it matters most:

"There are two ways to do it: say something, guys become sensitive and intensify. Or, you say something and the guys stay sensitive all year long. Look, I've been traded six times and I've never cried about it. You continue. This is the basketball business. But if you want to be a guy who is not traded, you have to step up your efforts. Period."

There is no doubt that commercial rumors are part of this sector and players must be able to handle everything that awaits them. Although their chances of playing in the playoffs seem slim at the moment, the Lakers can succeed if they do exactly what O'Neal says and impose themselves.

To their credit, all members of the Lakers locker room expressed confidence in the team's ability to get on the right track and qualify for the playoffs.

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