Most NBA analysts predicted that the Los Angeles Lakers will struggle to find any sort of rhythm this season.
Adding Russell Westbrook to a team featuring Anthony Davis and LeBron James raised several questions. They needed more shooting, not another ball-dominant guard.
Fast-forward to today and it’s clear that Frank Vogel’s side is far behind what they’d expected to be at this point in the season.
Moreover, it’s not only how they’ve executed the game plan but the mindset they’re showing on the court.
Westbrook Says The Lakers Will Get Everyone's Best Shot
Westbrook opened up about that and stated that the Lakers are the team to beat and will be treated as such by the rest of the league:
“We know what we’re supposed to do,” Westbrook said in his press conference. “We know when we’re supposed to take and win games, regardless of who’s playing. But this is the NBA, and these guys are professional, just as well as us. We gotta do a better job of taking on the challenge because we know that when everybody’s playing the Los Angeles Lakers, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot. We know that from the start of the year. We understand that, but we gotta be able to own our s***, simple as that."
Anthony Davis Says They Need To Play Like Underdogs
Anthony Davis seems to agree with Westbrook’s statement.
He urged the team to play with an underdog mentality and start fighting as hard as they can to close out games.
“We gotta play like we’re the underdogs,” Davis told the press. “Which, now, at this point in the season, the way we’re playing, in a lot of games we probably are. We gotta be able to have that mindset and we gotta come in and be scrappy and be the more physical team and play like we’re the underdogs.”
Lakers Need To Find Consistency, Says Davis
The Lakers have struggled to string solid efforts together and you never know what version of them you’ll get.
Davis knows that inconsistency has been a major issue and a point of emphasis for them going forward:
“That’s our biggest problem right now: consistency,” Davis said. “We come out certain games and don’t play how we’re supposed to play. Then, games like Boston, we come out and play great. We gotta be a more consistent team if we want to truly compete for a championship. It’s a mindset thing.”
LeBron Urges The Team To Take Better Care Of The Ball
Even LeBron James, who recently recorded his 100th career triple-double; has struggled to be at his best.
He had five turnovers against the Grizzlies and acknowledged that they’re not going to win many basketball games unless they take better care of the ball:
“Tonight, turnovers killed us,” James said after the loss to the Grizzlies. “We’ve been doing a hell of a job over the last seven games averaging only 12.5 turnovers, but tonight we had 22 for 27 points. That’s been our Achilles heel before the last seven games and tonight it bit us in the bud.”
It’s still early in the season but Frank Vogel’s sit is getting hotter and he needs to find an answer ASAP.
]]>The Inquisitr
