The Los Angeles Lakers continued to look like a team that stands no chance of contending in the postseason with their blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, and they clearly know it.
After his team’s 131-116 loss, LeBron James bluntly told reporters that it is clear the Lakers aren’t on the same level as the defending champion Bucks. He said he “could have told you that before the game.” According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the embarrassing defeat led to a feeling in the locker room that the Lakers have to make a change prior to Thursday’s trade deadline.
Tuesday’s game was only the 18th time that James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis have all been on the floor together. The Lakers had hoped those three would be a championship core, but the team is only 10-8 in those games. Westbrook was benched in the fourth quarter for the second game in a row.
Given the results with their so-called “Big Three,” Lakers players reportedly do not feel that doing nothing and hoping their play improves down the stretch is a viable option. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka consulted LeBron on all the major moves the team made last offseason, and McMenamin reports that he plans to do that again leading up to Thursday.
Westbrook did not play in overtime of Saturday’s win over the New York Knicks. The star point guard played so poorly during that game that fans booed him over one particularly bad miss. Head coach Frank Vogel appeared to call him out after the win.
Westbrook said after Tuesday’s loss that he “shouldn’t have to hit any benchmark” to earn playing time. In an ideal world, the Lakers would probably trade him before the deadline. His play coupled with his $47 million player option for next season will likely make that impossible.
