After they introduced Russell Westbrook on Wednesday, they let him know they have been paying consideration.
“You’re as chilly as ice.”
When he missed a layup, they reminded him.
“Ice chilly.”
And when he touched the ball one final time, his horrible evening about to mercifully finish because of an expiring clock, the Kings’ in-arena sound workforce took one final shot.
“Ice, ice child.”
Not like the Lakers star, the sound guys didn’t miss, snippets of rock and rap songs soundtracking a depressing taking pictures stoop that continued in a 125-116 loss to the lowly Kings.
“That’s humorous,” Westbrook mentioned with a smile when requested concerning the track drops. “I hope they performed that the final 14 years too. That’s humorous. That’s cute.”
Westbrook was two for 14 from the sector, his offensive recreation abandoning him within the paint, on the elbow the place he takes his favourite financial institution photographs and past the three-point line the place he hasn’t made a shot since Dec. 29. Within the Lakers’ final 4 video games, he’s 15 for 59.
“Man, who you telling,” he mentioned when requested concerning the stoop. “Can’t make a f— shot.”
With the Lakers down 4 with 67 seconds left, Westbrook held the ball and settled for a 3 from the left wing. He missed, the Kings shortly scored and the sport was basically over.
“Everybody will get annoyed once they undergo a stoop,” LeBron James mentioned. “It’s pure.”
It was the Lakers’ showiest downside, one in all their max gamers scoring solely eight factors on an evening when he missed a dozen photographs. However simply because it was the obvious downside, it wasn’t near being the one one.
The Kings scored 70 factors within the paint towards a toothless Lakers protection that stretched the ground — simply on the fallacious finish. With Lakers defenders repeatedly overwhelmed off the dribble, coach Frank Vogel didn’t even want to return and see the sport movie to dissect the moments proper earlier than the top of the primary half the place the sport immediately turned.
“We didn’t guard anyone,” Vogel mentioned.
The Kings scored eight straight factors heading into halftime, chopping the Lakers’ double-digit lead right into a much-more manageable six-point deficit.
“We’ve bought to complete quarters higher,” rookie Austin Reaves mentioned.
The identical goes for defensive possessions, rotations too gradual even for the perfect gamers on the court docket.
James hung within the air so long as he might and tried to swat one layup away, however Harrison Barnes was too open and in a position to float the ball over his hand. It was the type of play that repeated time and again because the Kings scored 40 factors within the third quarter after grabbing momentum within the remaining minutes of the primary half.
Reaves was one of many Lakers’ greatest vivid spots, the undrafted rookie scoring 19 factors off the bench to assist make up for the workforce’s beginning guards, Avery Bradley and Westbrook, scoring solely 14 mixed.
It was a profession excessive for Reaves one recreation after he established that mark with 16 factors towards the Grizzlies on Sunday.
“He’s enjoying nice,” Vogel mentioned. “Easiest strategy to put it. Very assured.”
Malik Monk bounced again after a tricky taking pictures evening towards Memphis to attain 22 whereas hitting six of 9 from three. And James continued to ship, scoring 34 to steer the Lakers.
It’s the eleventh time within the final 12 video games that James scored no less than 30, a stretch that started the sport after the workforce misplaced Anthony Davis to a knee harm that has stored him sidelined since.
“That type of load, I’ve been accustomed to it for 20 years,” James mentioned.
However the put on must be constructing, and although there hasn’t been a tear but, James did miss 16 photographs, together with 9 threes. He additionally missed 5 of his 10 free throws.
Earlier than the sport, Vogel mentioned his workforce was able to cope with the Kings even when Sacramento’s sub-.500 file urged issues wouldn’t be too powerful. The Kings did, in spite of everything, beat the Lakers in triple extra time earlier this 12 months,
“I simply suppose there’s a respect issue for this workforce,” Vogel mentioned. “They haven’t turned the nook by way of attending to the playoffs the final couple years, however they've a whole lot of younger expertise and a whole lot of firepower. ... They'll beat us if we don’t play to our skills, and there’s a respect degree there and we’re gonna must play properly to beat them.”
The Kings did flip the nook — time and again towards the Lakers’ perimeter defenders. And with Davis sitting on the bench in a hooded sweatshirt and denims, the choices within the inside remained restricted.
Lacking was Carmelo Anthony for the primary time this season as a result of decrease again tightness knocked him out of the lineup. That meant Westbrook was the final Laker standing with excellent attendance.
After seemingly curing a few of his turnover issues — he’s had simply 4 within the final 4 video games — Westbrook and the Lakers have one other downside to handle.
It’s not the one one — Westbrook’s recreation ranking (minus-7) was really higher than the entire different 4 starters. However it’s the loudest, the best to see and the obvious to sense.
Plus, it’s the one Lakers’ downside that had a soundtrack.
Post a Comment