Can you name the Lakers' starting five? Neither can Shaq

LOS ANGELES -- Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t impressed, and let’s face it, no one does a slow burn quite like him. When asked how many members of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Thursday night roster he could name, he verbally dunked all over his former franchise.

“None of them,” O’Neal said, on TNT’s post-game studio coverage. “I wasn’t watching them. I’m not watching that. I like competitive games.”

Suffice to say, the Lakers’ 108-90 defeat to the Golden State Warriors was not a competitive game, or anything vaguely resembling one.

When LeBron James signed in the summer and then the NBA schedule came out this was one fixture that was immediately circled. You could picture it then, James leading his plucky Lakers toward the playoffs and trying to get a home "W" over the defending champions less than a week before the playoffs.

The reality was somewhat different. No James, who is out the remainder of the season to rest and recuperate. No Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma either, through injury or merely the pointlessness of risking further harm to valuable players when the season is already in the dumpster.

The Lakers were captained by Isaac Bonga, 19, a 39th draft pick from Germany. Their top scorer? Johnathan Williams, a two-way forward usually assigned to the G-League’s South Bay Lakers. Their biggest highlight? A thunderous second quarter dunk by Alex Caruso, also a two-way guy, a balding 25-year-old out of Texas A&M.

Moritz Wagner was the second top scorer. Mike Muscala hit the most threes. It was a night for anonymous guys, because really, that’s about all the Lakers have available.

Predictably, it was a rout. The Warriors, who have awoken from their season-long slumber and are hitting playoff mode, cruised to a 37-10 lead, looked to the bench and went into cruise control from there.

Yet while Shaq detested the latest ignominy of a detestable Lakers season, a funny thing was happening at Staples Center. There weren't boos. No one was mad. It wasn't a joyous celebration but it wasn't a wake, either.

The 40th home game of the team’s campaign could not have felt more different than the first in October, or any of the first dozen. It is a different crowd these days, primarily because tickets in the nosebleed sections no longer resell for more than $300 like in the crazed initial days of LeBron Mania.

Some of the newcomers are those who realize the Lakers may never be this affordable again, at least not when the defending NBA champions happen to be in town.

“I come to Los Angeles a lot for business but I have never been to a Lakers game before,” said Petra Metzgher, 33, a fashion seller from Munich, Germany. “When Kobe (Bryant) was still playing the tickets were very expensive and when I was here in November they were crazy.”

Back then, the Lakers had teething troubles but still figured to make the playoffs. On Thursday, that hope had long since been eradicated, the squad shorn of active star power. Metzgher got a “nice” seat in the middle tier for around $51 by regularly checking a secondary ticket marketplace.

There were some empty seats too, a rarity for Lakers games, particularly in the minutes following halftime. It is a bit easier to linger over your hot dog when the cost of entry didn’t equate to a week’s wages.

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Yet there were plenty of hardcore supporters remaining, some of them the kind of dedicated followers who revel in being around when others have given up.

“Anybody can come along and say they are a fan when things are going great and the team is winning all the time,” lifelong fan Lorenzo Starks, 32, said. “Maybe that’s what it will be like next season. For me, if you live through the rough, it makes the smooth even sweeter.”

His friend, Dee Charles, also 32, is not a basketball regular but the effort of the unproven group now representing the Lakers struck a chord with him.

“These dudes play with all-out effort,” Charles said. “They probably don’t have the same level of talent but they are out there fighting for each other and trying to get a better contract and a better career. I can relate to that.”

It is a world removed from Showtime. The dynamics came from the Warriors, topped by Stephen Curry setting up Kevin Durant with an outrageous, leaping behind-the-back pass to fill the highlight reels. Once the scoring chasm opened, you could see Golden State’s collective mind already moving on to the next challenge, not that this could really be described as a challenge.

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But that’s not the fault of these young Lakers, most of whom almost certainly won’t be Lakers (unless you count South Bay) by the time next season starts. It’s not the fault of the fans, especially the commendable ones who show up even through this somewhat depressing lull.

It is just the new reality, until the Lakers revamp and rebuild and restructure over the summer, prompting more promises of better times and championship potential.

Will it work out any better next time? Or will we be back here a year from now, ruminating on another lost season and with another batch of unheralded players filling the gaps?

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Martin Rogers on Twitter @RogersJourno