Getty Images LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Quinn Cook of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The latest Los Angeles Lakers loss had guards Isaiah Thomas and Quinn Cook chatting publicly on Twitter about how they could help their former team.
The Lakers suffered their eighth loss in ten tries on Saturday night, falling to the Portland Trail Blazers — a team they are neck-and-neck with in the standings. The defending champions are playing without starting guard Dennis Schroder, who is out due to health and safety protocols, and Talen Horton-Tucker, who has had a breakout season.
In their absence, a hobbled Alex Caruso played a season-high 35 minutes, providing 18 points.
Thomas last played with the Pelicans and wore purple and gold during the 2017-18 season. He started the conversation on Twitter writing: “Man I could help them Lakers boys during this time!”
Cook, who was waived by the Lakers earlier this season and won a ring with the team last season, responded: “Man I feel you!! You ain’t the only one big bro!”
Thoams had one more response to Cook, saying: “Killa!!! You know what it is, you’ve proven that year after year. Stay ready. We back on real soon”
@QCook323 Killa!!! You know what it is, you’ve proven that year after year . Stay ready. We back on real soon 🏁
Cook signed a pair of 10-day deals with the Cavaliers this season after being let go by the Lakers. In a little less than two seasons in LA, Cook — a two-time NBA champion — managed 4.3 points in a little less than 10 minutes per game.
Thomas has struggled to find a home in the NBA since his All-Star season in 2017. He’s played with five teams since most recently with the New Orleans Pelicans on a 10-day contract that was not extended.
Lakers’ Bad Foul Late Helped Seal Loss Against Blazers
Getty ImagesLos Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel.
The Lakers battled against the Blazers, but had a tough final minute, with an unnecessary foul by Ben McLemore standing out.
“We don’t want to take a foul there; we want to play it out, try to get a stop and give ourselves a chance to win it with the ball on the last possession,” head coach Frank Vogel said, per ESPN.
It was Caruso who took the blame for the situation after the game, noting that he should have let everyone on the court know the plan.
“Being a point guard, one of the more vocal guys, one of the high-[hoops-]IQ guys on the team right now with a couple of our leaders missing, our point guards missing,” he said. “I was pretty disappointed in myself, just messing up that part of the game because we had battled so hard.”
Lakers Optimistic Following Anthony Davis’ Big Night
The Lakers’ consolation prize in the loss was a huge night from Anthony Davis, who scored 36 points in 39 minutes, also grabbing 12 rebounds. After Davis exited the front-end of back-to-back with back spasms, it was a hugely positive sign to him respond with his best performance since returning from injury.
“I feel good. I feel good,” Davis said on Zoom. “Put me on the floor, I’m going to try to do as much as I can to help the team win. I feel like I’m getting my legs back under me. I’m getting a rhythm. So, I think the minutes might get back extended. And also, some of that too, I didn’t … I technically didn’t play last night. So, I had a little bit more juice.”
The Lakers are awaiting official word on LeBron James, who has missed the last three games resting his banged-up ankle. The Lakers face the Suns on Sunday and the Knicks on Tuesday.
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