Following the Lakers' loss on Sunday night to the Raptors, which moved Los Angeles into a three-way tie with the Blazers and Mavericks in the Western Conference standings, LeBron James criticized the league's new play-in tournament format.
"Whoever came up with that s--- needs to be fired," James said.
With the defeat, Los Angeles fell to 36-28 and No. 6 in the standings due to losing the tiebreaker over Dallas and holding it over Portland.
New this year, being No. 7 doesn't guarantee a team a first-round playoff series. Instead, the NBA will hold a play-in tournament in which the Nos.