With the Lakers short on bodies and play makers, LA Lakers guard Tyler Ennis got the “Isaiah Thomas” package, and the 23-year-old backup point guard has responded with a couple good games.
Los Angeles Lakers backup point guard Tyler Ennis doesn't have a personality that begs for attention, but the 23-year-old, who was born in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, draws an abnormal level of hate on social media considering his limited role on the team.
"Oh yea," Ennis laughs, as NBCLA.com mentions that he seems to draw the ire of fans on social media more so than any other member of the Lakers' locker room. "I've never had a fan come up to me personally, just social media. I have a family that watches it during games, and they tell me about it. I'm not really big into it."
Prior to joining the Lakers via trade during the 2016-17 season, Ennis got his first taste of the dark side of irrational NBA fandom in Houston.
"In Milwaukee, the market's not that big, so I didn't really experience it, but Houston was huge," Ennis says. "Everybody was all James (Harden) and everyone else. If you didn't win, it was everyone else's fault. Talking to other players around the league, I realized that everyone goes through it."
After arriving in Los Angeles, the social media volume grew notably louder, though. The point guard argues that the fans can't blame the young core of players for losses, so the frustrated fans watching a team with a losing record opt to sling arrows at the Canadian's chest instead.
"I think the Lakers' fans kind of just have to look for something," Ennis says. "If that's me, then it is what it is. We always talk about the negative people, but there're also a lot of positive guys that personal message me or just comment good stuff, but obviously, the ones you remember are the bad, people talking crap."
The 6-foot, 3-inch guard adds, "Most of them are people that have no idea of what's going on. Other basketball players, or GMs or coaches realize to come off the bench to play is probably a lot harder than starting in most situations. You wouldn't know that if you never played, and a lot of fans never played, so they wouldn't know."
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Ennis concludes, "It's not like I'm going to plead my case to fans."
In his fourth NBA season, Ennis is a young player on his fourth NBA team and simply trying to find his place in the league after being drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the no. 18 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. So, it's curious that a young player with such a polite demeanor, who only averages 11.7 minutes per game, would become a central target for the Lakers' fan base.
After all, Ennis has rarely enjoyed an extended run of regular, meaningful minutes on any of the teams he's played for. In the grand scheme of the NBA, Ennis is a still a young player, and he's played well in pockets when provided the opportunity.
In fact, when Ennis did get regular playing time at the end of the 2016-17 season, the point guard played a vital role in the Lakers winning five of their last six games.
Only, that winning run upset Lakers' fans and didn't help Ennis' standing with the team's supporters because the Lakers were in the lottery chase, which led to the bizarre practice of fans celebrating losses to help the Lakers' odds of keeping their draft pick. In effect, when he was playing well, Ennis earned even more negative attention from the fans on social media.
"It's placing the blame on somebody who is, I mean, I don't even play 20 minutes per game," Ennis points out. "Obviously, there're mistakes we make, everybody. There're great games, bad games. I don't think me playing 15 minutes, 12 minutes per game on average is the do-or-die of why we didn't make the playoffs."
Few could argue that Ennis is the reason the Lakers missed the playoffs in 2018. Frankly, even the delusional few that could make the argument would be quickly quieted when one points out that Ennis logged over 20 minutes only three times before the Lakers were mathematically eliminated from the postseason.
"Usually, it's a laugh," Ennis shares his response to seeing the, um, colorful comments on social media. "I'll show my girlfriend, my boys. There are a few that you respond to. I haven't run into somebody that I respond to and they continue. They tell you, 'You suck!' and you respond to them, and they usually apologize like, 'You know, I'm just a mad Lakers fan. Can't wait to see you guys play.' That's usually what it is."
Obviously, though, Ennis isn't responding to everyone--or even most people. Instead, he usually takes a different approach.
"I block everybody," Ennis laughs. "I block a lot. I do, just because if it's continuous. If I do play bad, I expect fans to get on me about it because that's just the professional thing. But if it's a game that I played good in and it's ridiculous or I just never want to see them again, I block them. So, I do have a huge list of blocked people, but that's just because I'm not into keeping negativity around, and I'd rather see the positive fans and respond to them."
With Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Isaiah Thomas out injured, Ennis played two straight games of 22-plus minutes for the first time during the 2017-18 season on Tuesday and Wednesday. Provided an opportunity, Ennis played well and drew praise from his coach on Wednesday night.
In Utah on Tuesday and in San Antonio on Wednesday, Ennis averaged 27.0 minutes, 10.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block. On social media, though, Ennis may lead the NBA in blocks.
