Los Angeles Lakers lose to a shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers team

The bad from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss: 

Man, the Los Angeles Lakers turn the ball over too much!

Well, here’s one thing Lakers fans can’t blame Russell Westbrook for…turnovers. The Lake Show turned the ball over 21 times led by LeBron James’ six giveaways. What makes things worse is that the Lakers miscues almost fuel the opposition for easy baskets to stay in games.

The Portland Trail Blazers were atrocious from behind the arc, but the Lakers let them off the hook by turning the ball over handing over 28 points. That’s the game folks!

It’s time to revisit this small ball lineup with Anthony Davis playing the five spot!

It was no secret that Giannis Antetokounmpo destroyed AD scoring 44 points on 17-20 shooting with 14 rebounds. But he’s a former MVP and reigning NBA Finals MVP. He destroys everybody. It’s a different issue when Jusuf Nurkic can score in bunches with no Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum to give him space.

Nurkic finished with 19 points on 8-11 shooting. Fun fact from Lake Show Life…he missed his last two! Plus he found time to grab 12 rebounds and dish out 3 assists.

Why not play Dwight Howard? Must we relive this important practice when it comes to this guy?

• How to fix the Los Angeles Lakers season, Pulp Fiction style

"If he plays to the level he did during the championship year, the fortunes of the Lakers will turn around with his rim running, ability to execute the pick and roll on offense and rim protection and hard fouls on defense. If he doesn’t…who cares? He will be highlighted enough to flip in a trade for some assets to get an early start a upcoming fire sale the Lakers will be a part of in the offseason."

If anything hasn’t been exposed in the last two games, this has…Anthony Davis does not want to bang with the centers and if he does, he tends to fade in and out of games.

PLAY DWIGHT HOWARD!

The story from the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss: 

The Los Angeles Lakers may not trade Russell Westbrook but it is clear that they tried!

Look, who knew that the Portland Trail Blazers were going to beat the Lakers with a depleted squad from their trades recently? They weren’t that good last week with the players they traded away and this happens?

The story is about Russell Westbrook and the real reason he did not play.

To anyone that believed he had back tightness after sitting out a full 12 minutes of the fourth quarter with all of the treatment options in the NBA, okay do you.

But to the rest of you that want the truth, listen up.

The real reason the Los Angeles Lakers held out Russ was they were desperately trying to see if they could get a deal before the deadline. It’s going to be hard to move a healthy Westbrook much less if he got injured.

Sure, there are plenty of reports of the team wanting to see what they can get in the offseason, but the bottom line is…they won’t give up their 2027 first round pick just to get rid of Russ even though they should.

Why? Just read this via the New York Post. 

"“I shouldn’t have to hit any benchmark, to be honest. I’ve put in a lot of work and I’ve got a lot of respect in this game. I don’t got to hit a benchmark or I shouldn’t have to,” he said. “I’ve earned a right to be in closing lineups. Numbers will tell you, I don’t have to explain that. But like I said, once again that ain’t my decision. That’s his decision that he and the staff think is best for the game. And unfortunately [I‘ve] just kind of got to just go with it and figure it out the best way I can, and be there for my teammates as much as I can and make sure I’m coming to work and doing my job as a professional.” “And I’m speaking for me personally, so it’s a difficult process to be able to figure out and create some rhythm and some consistency where we can actually see what we’re able to do as a team, but those decisions are made by him and his coaching staff, and you’ve got to live with it and move on.”"

To be clear, history teaches us that any player that complains about their role almost never a Laker for long. There have been quite a few players that has had issues with their roles or lack of minutes that were unceremoniously dismissed. None of them were playing as badly as Russ is right now. Kendrick Perkins speaks of how Westbrook’s attitude is just as bad as his play!

The way Avery Bradley was playing his way out of the rotation, most would rather have Russell Westbrook in traction out there on the floor. However, the Lakers are yet again trying to use the media as a smoke screen. After this game, maybe there’s more insight to why Westbrook’s attitude is eroding…Locker room politics.

The message here is clear: If the Lakers add that 2027 first round pick, say goodbye to Russell Westbrook. If they don’t, buckle your seat belts because it’s going to be a wild ride to end the season because Frank Vogel and Russell Westbrook will not co-exist.

From this writer to Russell Westbrook: RUN RUSS RUN!