ICYMI: Russell Westbrook argues with LA Lakers beat reporter, eventually storms off from the presser

Russell Westbrook had another testy encounter with the media following the LA Lakers' loss to the Dallas Mavericks. [Photo: The Spun]

Without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook was the lone LA Lakers superstar who tried to carry the team past the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. Mr. Triple-Double watched helplessly as Luka Doncic and the Mavs carved up the purple and gold team with a big first half.

The loss was the third straight for the Lakers and dropped them out of contention in the meantime for the last play-in ticket. Westbrook finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists and only two turnovers. However, he had a game-worst net rating of -25 in his 32 minutes of action.

In a postgame interview following another lopsided loss, Westbrook got into a testy back-and-forth with Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

"You got the answer to winning?"
Lakers are now tied with the Spurs (own tiebreaker) for the final play-in spot in the West with 7 games remaining:

Jazz
Pelicans
Nuggets
Suns
Warriors
Thunder
Nuggets

https://t.co/JCDrTmrS7F

When Turner asked the LA Lakers point guard if changes were happening going forward, the 33-year-old guard deadpanned:

“Nothing, man, nothing.

The former MVP then turned the table on the LA Times reporter and asked him: “What do you think should change?” Turner’s quick reply was simple: “Winning.”

Russell Westbrook, after hearing the answer, got up to leave the presser. However, Turner just wouldn’t give up and continued to ask for an answer. The Lakers superstar finally relented:

“That’s fine. Do you have an answer to winning? I’m only one person, champ. It’s a team game. So I don’t have an answer. You can give me your answer.”

The somewhat heated exchange ended amicably as Russell Westbrook and Brad Turner had a quick hug with Westbrook saying:

“We cool. Y’all gotta make sure to record that.”

Russell Westbrook and the LA Lakers could be doomed by their tough schedule

The Lakers have fallen from pre-season favorites to potential busts. [Photo: Lakers Daily]

In their next 7 games, the LA Lakers will be on the road in four of them. They will face the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets away from Crypto.com Arena. All of these teams are playoff-bound and except for the Suns, are still jockeying for better postseason seeding.

LA’s home games aren’t easy either. They’ll take on the New Orleans Pelicans, who have owned them this season and then battle reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. On paper, only the Oklahoma City Thunder game is the easy one.

Updated Play-In Projections from Basketball Reference:

🏀 Pelicans: 9th - 64.9%, 10th - 29.2%, OUT - 4.8%
🏀 Spurs: 9th - 29.9%, 10th - 50.1%, OUT - 19.9%
🏀 Lakers: 9th - 4%, 10th - 20.7%, OUT - 75.4%

The Thunder are only 22-53 this season, but two of those wins were against Russell Westbrook and the LA Lakers. OKC leads the season series 2-1 and could complicate the Tinseltown squad’s situation even more with a win.

With LeBron James ailing and Anthony Davis’ return uncertain, it seems like the Lakers have no clue how to win. Russell Westbrook called it as it is and it’s a humiliating reality for one of the heavy favorites to win the title this season.