The Los Angeles Lakers, currently sitting at 27-35 and in tenth place, has the second worst record (behind only Brooklyn) of any team with a head coach. Head Coach David Fizdale says that Russell Westbrook was “a big key” for the team to start over winning games as they are trying to rebuild after trading D’Angelo Russel and Timofey Mozgov this offseason.
The “david fizdale lakers” is a quote from the acting head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, David Fizdale. He says that the team needs to have more steady play from Russell Westbrook with their roster depleted.
The Los Angeles Lakers have lost three straight games, have four players and their head coach under the NBA’s health and safety procedures, and are still dealing with the news that Anthony Davis will miss at least a month due to a damaged MCL in his left knee.
Russell Westbrook, the team’s former MVP and nine-time All-Star, has taken it upon himself to attempt to drag them out of the quagmire they’ve found themselves in.
Acting head coach David Fizdale, who is standing in for Frank Vogel as he recovers from COVID-19, believes the Lakers don’t need Westbrook to come up on his white horse and save the day. They just need consistent performance from their point guard.
“I believe the conditions over the previous few games, with so many individuals in and out, sparked in him that he had to rescue us,” Fizdale said after practice Wednesday on a video conference call with reporters.
In the two games since Davis’ injury, Westbrook has averaged 21 points, 9.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.0 steals, but he’s also averaging 6.5 turnovers.
On both ends, the mistakes stymie the Lakers, robbing them of good scoring chances on offense and leaving their defense in vulnerable situations when the opponent attacks in transition.
1 Related
While Westbrook may be pressing the issue, Fizdale believes the whole squad has contributed to the recent miscues.
“He was maybe going too quickly or trying to push when things weren’t there on some of his plays,” Fizdale said. “And, once again, these are issues that we [discussed].” We had a terrific time filming. Guys are incredibly open and responsive, and we were just talking about how to make connections. What are our options for [doing this right?] Instead of this play, what can we do to improve our offensive basics so that we can get a terrific shot? How can we leverage your ability to attract all of these guys to ensure that we get a quality shot?
“And so, basically, that’s what the entire film session was about, and a lot of this stuff is connection,” she says.
In preparation for Thursday’s home game against the San Antonio Spurs, Lakers forward Trevor Ariza said Wednesday’s film analysis was beneficial. L.A. is looking to fix the wrongs from the last three defeats to Minnesota, Chicago, and Phoenix.
“Personally, I’m looking at my spacing and how I can improve it to give our men more room and assist them. Defensively, I need to adjust some of my methods and angles to get it perfect so I can be a little better on the defensive end “When questioned for details about what was seen on film, Ariza remarked during a video conference call. “But, yes, it’s blunt. It’s effective. We’ll need it since we don’t have much practice time.”
And the Lakers aren’t sure where the season will go from here. The Spurs will play the Brooklyn Nets on Christmas Day after the Spurs game. The league postponed the Nets’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday because so many Brooklyn players are in protocol.
On a video conference call Wednesday, Carmelo Anthony said, “You’re just absorbing it and live day-to-day, you just don’t know what’s going to happen.” “We may wake up tomorrow morning and find out that our game for the next day has been canceled….” We have no idea what will happen, so we’re just taking things day by day and trying to keep on top of what we need to remain on top of.
“However, as we can see, it has an impact on everyone. It affects a wide range of individuals, including those who have been vaccinated and those who have had booster shots, so you never know what will happen.”
Watch This Video-
The “lakers news” is a team that needs to get back into the playoffs and start playing well. The Lakers are currently without their head coach, David Fizdale, who says they need Russell Westbrook to step up his game.
Related Tags
- natasha sen
- david fizdale teams coached
- lakers coaching staff
- nba news
- lakers rumors
