The Los Angeles Lakers lost their fourth straight game Wednesday when they took a 115-99 beatdown at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, but with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, fans witnessed a worrying act from veteran point guard Rajon Rondo.

Down by double digits, Rondo was seen sitting with the fans courtside rather than on the Lakers bench with 48 seconds left. A lot of people saw this as an unprofessional act, including commentator Mark Jackson.

Rondo addressed this during postgame interviews, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, saying what he did should not be an issue, since he has done it multiple times this season:

“I've done it like maybe eight, 10 times this year. I don't know why it's a big deal now.”

Everything went south for the Lakers after a promising start to the season. Injuries and inconsistencies have severely plagued them this year, and with no real reason to celebrate, fans will usually see every unusual action from any Laker as a sign that the team is falling apart, no matter how little or insignificant it is.

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Rondo has indeed been seen sitting on empty courtside seats on multiple occasions this season. He did it during a blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers last month, and nobody seemed to care at that time.

But now that the Lakers are about to miss the playoffs, Rondo's action is perceived by some as a protest.

Rondo has been a positive locker room guy for the Lakers, especially in mentoring the team's young core. He was even seen coaching the team back when he was sidelined with injuries.

In short, Rondo's the only veteran outside of LeBron James who has a positive value to the Lakers, so he should not be lambasted for something he does on normal days.

After all, courtside seats are usually full at Staples.

Unless, of course, the Lakers are getting blown out.