"He's Not Touching My Slips No More": NBA Betting Fans Infuriated With Lakers' $16,208,000 Big After Sitting 2nd Half With Injury

The LA Lakers have gone above .500 in the early stages of the regular season, but fans still have many questions when it comes to the purple and gold squad. Some members of Laker Nation, in fact, are not quite convinced that Deandre Ayton is the reliable center that the team needs.

Ayton did not help his own case when he sat out the second half of the Lakers' matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, with the apparent cause being a back injury. Though ESPN's Dave McMenamin has reported that the Bahamian big man "expects" to be available on Sunday versus the Miami Heat, some fans took a cynical tone in their reactions. In particular, a number of betting enthusiasts expressed their displeasure.

"Nah nah he not touching my slips no more," one fan tweeted.

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To the credit of Ayton, who is on a two-year, $16,208,000 contract as per Spotrac, he has played in all six of the Lakers' regular season games to date. The Lakers have gone 4-2 to start the season.

Heading into Friday's game, Ayton had been averaging 16.0 ppg, 9.4 rpg, and 1.0 bpg. However, due to his back issues, Ayton was sidelined for the last two quarters of the Grizzlies matchup; he finished with just nine points and failed to grab a single rebound.

The Lakers' rotation players, of course, are expected to go the extra mile as the team awaits the comeback of LeBron James (sciatica). Though the Lakers ended up defeating the Grizzlies 117-112, they'll need every bit of production from Ayton as they play the Heat, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the currently undefeated San Antonio Spurs.

Luka Doncic achieves statistical feat upon return to Lakers lineup

Though Luka Doncic has played in just three games thus far this season, he has produced stellar numbers in every outing.

After sitting out two consecutive games due to finger and leg injuries, Doncic made his comeback on Friday and scored 44 points against the Grizzlies. Thanks to this latest scoring outburst, Doncic has become just one of two NBA players to score 40+ points in their first three regular season games.

The only other player to have done this in NBA history was former Lakers great Wilt Chamberlain. Though Doncic's Lakers stint is less than a year old, he has wasted no time in putting up incredible individual numbers.

Edited by Simoun Victor Redoblado