The Los Angeles Lakers have now dropped three straight games and their chances of making the play-in tournament look slimmer by the day. They'll have to go toe-to-toe with at least three more teams and have one of the toughest schedules to close the season.
Despite having a star-studded squad and even though LeBron James has posted MVP-caliber numbers throughout the whole season, most teams go into L.A. knowing that the Lakers can be beaten.
That's why Russell Westbrook finally admitted that he needs to be a better player, although he's still pretty confident in the team's chances of putting this tough stretch behind them and making the playoffs.
Russell Westbrook Admits He Has To Be Better, Says He's Still Confident In The Los Angeles Lakers
"I gotta be better overall. What I’m doing right now ain’t good enough," Westbrook said after the loss to the Mavericks. “Super confident that we’re going to be alright… Because I got confidence in this group. Like I always have."
"We can play the best teams. I’m not worried about nobody we have to play. We’ve beaten the best teams, we’ve lost to some of the worst teams," Westbrook added. "So, our confidence and my confidence in this group is extremely high because I know what we’re capable of. We put our mind to it and do exactly what we need to do on a night in, night out basis.”
The Lakers are playing below .500 and have been as erratic on the defensive end as they've been inefficient in offense. Anthony Davis will be on the sidelines for long and the clock is ticking on Frank Vogel.
Making the playoffs is still a real possibility for this team but they'd still have to get past the Phoenix Suns or Golden State Warriors in the first round, which seems unlikely considering how poorly they've performed all season.
