The beginning of the NBA season has been filled with ups and downs for the purple and gold, from blowing out the Golden State Warriors to the team’s current stretch of losses. One constant throughout the young season has been veteran guard Lou Williams.
His scoring and playmaking ability off the bench has helped lead the Lakers to one of the most productive bench units in the NBA this season.
A usually calm and collected Williams was obviously not pleased with the loss against the Miami Heat earlier on Thursday night. The team roared out of the gate defensively holding the Heat to just 17 first quarter points. The Lakers lead would grow as big as 19 in the second quarter and for the second consecutive night, they weren’t able to capitalize and get the win.
After the game Williams had this to say about the teams performance and mindset:
What do the Lakers need to do differently?
Lou: "Just play 4 quarters, we can start there.”
(on @SpectrumSN)— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 23, 2016
.@LAIreland asks Lou where he hopes team mindset is at tom. night:
"Hope its not half way back to LA. I would appreciate that.”
(on SPSN)— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 23, 2016
The team opened the season with a 10-10 record through its first 20 games but has since then lost 11 of 12, having them currently 11-21 on the season.
This hasn’t been the first case of frustration from the players during this skid though. As D’Angelo Russell had this to say following their loss to the Nets last week:
This is quite the quote from D'Angelo Russell who makes it quite clear he's over "talking out" any problems w/ his team (on @SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/VqeKvDoVMK
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 15, 2016
The team is hanging in games and sometimes squandering leads late but they are entirely more competitive than they were a season ago and that is a sign of improvement.
Los Angeles looks to right the ship tomorrow night against the Magic in Orlando at 7 PM EST.
