Things are not looking good for the 0-3 Los Angeles Lakers, if you can believe it.
After being blown out by the Golden State Warriors and beaten by cross-town rivals the Clippers, the Lakers fell to a third defeat on Monday (AEDT), this time against the Portland Trail Blazers.
And again, the spotlight is on the bizarre roster construction in Los Angeles, and what the Lakers are going to do with Russell Westbrook.
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Mon, 24 Oct
Monday October 24th
Against the Blazers, the Lakers led 98-90 late in the game when Westbrook was put in with 4:42 on the clock.
When time expired, Portland closed on a 16-6 run to win the game 106-104.
Of course, it was Damian Lillard who led the Blazers’ thrilling fightback, scoring 12 of his game-high 41 points in the last five minutes of the fourth term as his team improved to 3-0.
Westbrook finished with 10 points from 15 field goal attempts, with his decision to pull up for a mid-range jumper with 30 seconds on the clock proving fatal.
The ball bricked out, LeBron James raised his hands in frustration, while the Los Angeles faithful were far more vocal, before Damian Lillard hit the go-ahead three..
Westbrook said post-match that he was looking for a two-for-one opportunity in taking the shot.
LA coach Darvin Ham didn’t have fault with Westbrook’s attempt for a two-for-one opportunity, but said he would have preferred he “attacked the rim directly” instead of pulling up.
The Blazers chose to repeatedly guard Westbrook down the stretch with the 7-foot Jusuf Nurkic in a surprise tactic. The big man was instructed to lay off Westbrook to dare him to take shots.
After the game, James said he felt he was being “set up” to criticize Westbrook after being asked about the missed shot.
“I feel like this is an interview trying to set me up to say something,” James said.
“I can tell that you guys are in the whole ‘Russell Westbrook’ category right now. I don’t like to lose, I hate to lose… especially the way we had this game.
James added: “You guys can write about Russ, and all the things you guys want to talk about Russ. I’m not up here to do that… that’s not who I am.”
James finished with 31 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while Jerami Grant added 16 points for Portland.
The Lakers are now 25 out of 118 three-point attempts to start the season, with a roster that doesn’t possess the talent to suggest that’s going to change anytime soon.
According to StatMuse, the Lakers are 30th in offensive rating, 30th in field goal percentage, and 30th in three-point percentage.
Remember, there are thirty teams in the NBA.
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