The Los Angeles Lakers dropped to 24-27 on the season after losing January 30 to the Atlanta Hawks by a final score of 129-121. Despite having Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis in the lineup, the Lakers blew their 11th double-digit lead of the season, the most in the NBA, according to SB Nation’s Jacob Rude.
If the season ended today, the Lakers would be in the play-in tournament. Despite LeBron James scoring 29.1 points per game, the Lakers have looked like a below-average team. They are 21st in the league in net rating and 23rd in offensive rating.
Entering the fourth quarter against the Hawks, the Lakers had a 10-point lead. However, Atlanta outscored Los Angeles 38-20 in the final quarter. Davis acknowledged that the Lakers “can’t finish games.” Still, he and Westbrook said they are optimistic.
Davis Still Believes Lakers Have a Good Team
The numbers and eye test show that the Lakers aren’t a good team. However, for some reason, Davis believes Los Angeles can turn things around.
“I still believe that we have a good team,” Davis said in a postgame interview on Spectrum Sportsnet Live. “We just haven’t been all the way healthy for our team … Bron is now out; I just came back. I think the most frustrating part is that we can’t finish games.
“We had a lot of games that we had won, and teams come back in and beat us. That’s the frustrating part. We’re frustrated right now because we’re supposed to win this game. And it’s self-inflicted mistakes. That’s the frustrating part, where we can control those mistakes.
“Trae hit tough shots, you can’t control that. But the little things – offensive rebounds, the turnovers – you can control those things to give yourself a chance to win a basketball game. That’s the most frustrating part.”
Davis has appeared in 30 games this season. He’s averaging 23.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. However, he’s shooting only 18% from beyond the arc. If the Lakers want to turn their season around, Davis has to find his outside shot, sooner rather than later.
The main reason the Lakers have been putrid this season is that Westbrook has been an awful fit next to LeBron and Davis. His lack of shooting skills and propensity to turn the ball over has hurt Los Angeles and he won’t change as a player at this stage of his career. Like Davis, though, Westbrook remains encouraged, although there isn’t much reason to be.
Westbrook: ‘We’re Not in a Position We Want to Be in Right Now, and That’s OK’
Westbrook said he knows the Lakers have been one of the biggest disappointing teams in the NBA this season. Los Angeles was supposed to be an elite squad with LeBron, Davis and Westbrook running the show. However, the Lakers are three games under .500 and continue to blow large leads.
Westbrook, though, is convinced things will get better.
“We’re not in a position we want to be in right now, and that’s OK,” Westbrook said in a postgame interview on January 30. “We know what we need to do as a team and just find a way to get over the hump and close games out. That’s all we can do. We can’t worry about what could have happened and what we should have done and where we’re supposed to be. Nobody knows where we’re supposed to be.”
Westbrook leads the league in turnovers and has a plus-minus of -99 this season.
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Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook Baffle With Comments After Latest Loss