The Angeles Lakers lost tonight (Friday) 103:97 to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Darwin Hamm's team suffered a terrible shooting night with 35 percent from the field (33 of 94), 20 percent from beyond the arc (9 of 45), and Russell Westbrook "stood out" again.
The reviled point guard finished 27 minutes 0-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-6 from beyond the arc, and his only two points came from the line.
"I think I was solid," he insisted.
For the entire game, noises were heard in the Lakers stands every time Westbrook went up for a shot.
At the end, when the coordinator made his way to the dressing room, another fan shouted at him: "You are a bad f*&%g".
Westbrook replied: "Come and tell me that to my face" - and that's exactly what happened.
Russell Westbrook was walking into the locker room and a fan yelled, "You fuckin' suck!"
and Russ heard him and came back out and told him something along the lines of "say that to my face" and then the fan went ahead and said it to his face...🥴 pic.twitter.com/jGSUntPZdG
— NAT THE PEOPLE'S CHAMP (@habibiting) October 21, 2022
At the end, LeBron James was asked what his message was to the center after a game like this, and he replied: "Just throw him in the toilet and prepare for the next game. I think he played great. He was at our pace on defense."
Anthony Davis added: "We get excellent shots, all of us, and we have to keep believing in ourselves. That the mistakes don't hurt our self-confidence."
But unfortunately for the Lakers, Westbrook is not the only problem - the rest of the roster built around LeBron James and Anthony Davis looks grayer than ever.
"What they put around LeBron last year was embarrassing, and it's the same this year. Someone in Los Angeles is not doing their job," Charles Barkley said.
The legendary former player and current TNT commentator also pointed an accusing finger: "LeBron should tell himself, I'm too old to carry this team, and tell Anthony Davis that he's the one who should take the team on his back. LeBron is one of the greatest of all time, but at his age, we're not You should ask a 38-year-old to be the best player on the team. In any industry, that shouldn't happen, certainly if you have Anthony Davis."
LeBron James.
A bad night for the Lakers, photo: AP
Barkley's friend on the panel, Kenny Smith, agreed: "They have a lot of problems, obviously this roster is not compatible with a team that wants to win a championship. In the big moments, the ball doesn't go to Anthony Davis, but somehow it goes to Westbrook or LeBron. For some reason they don't do it With this squad, there's no chance they'll make it to the playoffs."
On the winning side, Kawhi Leonard waited 493 to play an official NBA game again - and it was worth the wait.
The star comes off the bench on his way to 14 points and 7 rebounds, and looks, at times, like the Leonard we've been waiting for.
The decision to bring him off the bench, as Tyrone told him, was a joint one.
"It won't be like this in the long run," he said, "but that's how we chose to start. We'll see how we move forward."
Leonard.
Back in a big way, photo: I.P
"He hasn't played for 15-16 months, so you can't expect him to be excellent in every game," the coach added.
"Everyone needs to understand that it will be a process. At times he will look like Kawhi Leonard, and at other times not. He will not become great overnight, you need patience."
"My goal is to be excellent in these minutes," added Leonard himself, "to have fun, stay healthy and win. That's what we did tonight, but it's only the first game. We still have a lot of work left."
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