On Monday night, Los Angeles Lakers fans were hopeful that a game, at Staples Center against the playoff-contending Clippers, might provide hope towards a Lakers' playoff push. That wasn't the case, as the Clippers showed why they're holding one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference. A 113-105 victory was the end result, but plenty of drama occurred in the building ahead of that final score. Videos showing Kyle Kuzma pushing LeBron during one play, and reports of fans chanting for superstar Kobe Bryant are just more of the latest in a tough Lakers season.

Perhaps LeBron's playoff intensity mode is deactivated.

Video: Kuzma shoves away Lebron during play

One would think on a night when Rajon Rondo achieves a triple-double and LeBron James scores 27, the Lakers might win. However, an eight-point loss was yet another rough result for the Lakers. It included Kyle Kuzma having to exit the game due to rolling his ankle. Some fans are referring to that as karma after his "shove" to get LeBron into position.

The video below shows the highlight from earlier in the game. Kuzma shoves LeBron James away to get him to go up against his man on defense. The resulting play was a miss for the Clippers, but in a game, the Lakers just couldn't win.

The highlight clip doesn't necessarily suggest any bad blood between Bron and Kuz, yet.

However, it certainly plays into the notion of fans or analysts suggesting LeBron doesn't play enough defense, as Kyle Kuzma tried to give him a push.

Lakers fans want Kobe back

It's an even more far-fetched dream than making the playoffs, but Lakers fans were showing their discontent on Monday night with a specific chant. That was to request the Lakers' great Kobe Bryant make his return to save this sinking ship.

A small "We want Kobe" chant reportedly after LeBron's missed free throw may have been a sign of the final nail in the coffin for the team's playoff hopes. Bryant has been retired from the team for several years now and enjoying his life as an entrepreneur and media mogul. It's probably what LeBron is aspiring to do once things have concluded for his NBA career too.

Kobe Bryant achieved five championships during his time with the LA Lakers. However, he had Shaq for several of those runs, and an All-Star level Pau Gasol later. While LeBron has help from young teammates, it just hasn't been enough to get this team back into contention this late in the season.

All that said, there are 18 games. However, each loss is adding to the distance between LA and the teams at the bottom of the eight playoff contenders in the West. Next up, the Lakers try to pull off another difficult win when they host the Denver Nuggets. If the team officially bows out of the playoff chase, expect changes to come after the season including a possible Luke Walton firing as the head coach.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED