Los Angeles Lakers

After benching Russell Westbrook in the final minutes of Wednesday's loss to the Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel had some high praise for the veteran point guard following his performance in Friday's 116-105 win over the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. 

Vogel told reporters that Westbrook "played a hell of a game" and brought "pure energy" to the team. Vogel added that the 33-year-old is a "high-character guy" and took being benched against the Pacers well. 

Westbrook finished Friday's game with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor, 11 rebounds and seven assists. 

LeBron James also commented on Westbrook's performance.

"I think he let last game go and was focused for this game, focused on the new game, new trip. And I thought, like I said, he's the head of the snake when it comes to being our point guard. He puts us in position. His attack is great."

.@KingJames (29 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST) reflects on Russell Westbrook and Stanley Johnson's contributions in tonight's 116-105 #LakeShow win. pic.twitter.com/rB5FEN79wT

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 22, 2022

In an interview with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski after Wednesday's loss to the Pacers, Westbrook said he was disappointed about being benched. Despite the benching, he acknowledged that he remains focused on how to "figure s--t out and do what's best for our team to win in the long run."

He added:

Ultimately, you have to be OK when s--- doesn't go well, and I'm OK. I've done everything that's been asked of me here, and I'll continue to do so and ride this out as long as we can toward our ultimate goal -- and that's to win a championship.

We obviously haven't been fully healthy, but I'm committed to making this thing work. The communication is there with everybody in the organization to make this thing work, to make this team we all want it to be in the future.

I have accepted everything that has been asked of me and tried to do it to the best of my ability. I'm not the ultimate decision-maker of if it's working -- or if it's not working. I'm OK with sacrificing some of the things that I've been able to do in this game to win, because that's the most important part of this game. I've done everything they've asked me to do to this point.

Westbrook, who is playing for his fourth team in the last four seasons, has been struggling this year. Entering Friday's game, the two-time scoring champion was averaging 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent from deep. His points per game are his lowest average since his second season in the league more than a decade ago. 

Amid his struggles, Westbrook has been mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the Feb. 10 deadline, with the most recent news involving the Houston Rockets. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Rockets would be open to trading John Wall in exchange for Westbrook if the Lakers "incentivized the trade with sufficient draft compensation."

Wall hasn't played at all for Houston this season after the two sides reached a mutual agreement in September for him to remain sidelined while the franchise worked to find a trade partner.

Wall and Westbrook are both making roughly $44 million this season and have player options for around $47 million next season.

While the Lakers would likely listen to deals for Westbrook, his performance Friday is something the team can build off moving forward. And it sounds like he's still setting the bar high, telling Wojnarowski he wants to "get better as the season goes on" and "take responsibility for the things I'm doing and how I'm making those around me better."

The Lakers moved to 23-23 with Friday's win over the Magic. If Westbrook can find his footing by the time Anthony Davis returns from a sprained MCL, L.A. could be one of the most difficult teams to compete against throughout the second half of the season.  

The Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a 111-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday with a 116-105 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday at Amway Center to move to 23-23 on the season.

The Purple and Gold were without Anthony Davis for the 16th straight game as he continues to recover from an MCL sprain. They have been struggling in his absence and are now 7-9 since Dec. 19. 

Friday's win doesn't necessarily mean much for the Lakers moving forward as the Magic own the worst record in the NBA, sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings at 8-39. However, a loss would have been deflating for the team, which entered the 2021-22 season with NBA title hopes. 

And while the Lakers won Friday night, they are far from competing with the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz for the top spot in the West. But regardless, a win is a step in the right direction. 

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Notable Stats

LeBron James, SF, LAL: 29 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK

Jalen Suggs, SG, ORL: 22 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK

Russell Westbrok, PG, LAL: 18 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST, 3 STL

Franz Wagner, SF, ORL: 15 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK

Carmelo Anthony, PF, LAL: 23 PTS, 3 REB, 1 BLK

Gary Harris, SG, ORL: 13 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST

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Russell Westbrook Responds to Benching With Efficient Outing

After shooting just five of 17 from the floor and four of six from deep for 14 points, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel opted to bench Westbrook in the final minutes of Wednesday's loss to the Pacers. 

The 33-year-old told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski after the game that he was disappointed with the benching and was still committed to "figure s--t out and do what's best for our team to win in the long run."

And it certainly appears Westbrook has turned that disappointment into fuel as he responded with a much better effort on Friday against the Magic, finishing with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting (47 percent) from the floor.

Westbrook was traded to the Lakers in a July trade from the Washington Wizards. L.A. is the fourth team he's played for in four seasons, so it's not necessarily surprising that he has struggled to find his footing, especially on a Lakers squad that has seen plenty of turnover in the last year. 

The two-time scoring champion entered Friday's game averaging 18.5 points, which is his lowest scoring output since his second season in the league in 2009-10, in addition to eight rebounds and 7.8 assists per game.

Regardless, Friday's performance is undoubtedly something for Westbrook to build upon. The Lakers were plus-11 with him on the floor, and it was one of his more efficient games of late. 

As L.A. looks to build momentum in the coming weeks, his performance will be crucial if it wants to make the postseason. 

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Jalen Suggs Has Best Performance Since Returning From Injury 

While the Magic didn't win Friday night, Suggs certainly did as he put together his best performance since returning from a fractured thumb Jan. 14.

The 2021 fifth overall pick finished with 22 points, four rebounds and nine assists on 6-of-16 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 shooting from deep. It was an impressive performance, especially considering Cole Anthony, the 15th overall pick in 2020 finished with just four points, four rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes.

Friday's game also marked Suggs' highest scoring output since a Nov. 19 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, a game in which he had 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

Suggs' performance helped Orlando enter halftime with the lead over L.A. And the Magic stayed right with the Lakers through the third quarter thanks to the 20-year-old. However, the Lakers, with their veteran talent, were able to pull away in the fourth quarter.

QB1: @jalensuggs
WR1: @wendellcarter34 pic.twitter.com/hcXHdvqyVx

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) January 22, 2022

tuff finish @jalensuggs

📺: https://t.co/ATC9NrTJF4 pic.twitter.com/O4ZUID0x36

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) January 22, 2022

While the likes of Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes are getting the most attention of the 2021 draft class, Suggs is undoubtedly making a name for himself in Orlando.

The Gonzaga product entered averaging 12.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists for a Magic team that's been hammered by injuries.

And while the Magic almost certainly won't make the postseason this year, allowing Suggs to play every possible minute to continue his development will be key.

Orlando has one of the youngest rosters in the league with Suggs, Anthony, Mo Bamba and Franz Wagner, among others. Continuing to get those guys reps will only help the team moving forward.

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What's Next?

The Lakers will travel to face the Miami Heat on Sunday, while the Magic will host the Chicago Bulls. 

The Los Angeles Lakers have unsuccessfully tried to trade for Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant, per longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein.

"That 2027 first is clearly the most valuable trade asset that the Lakers currently possess," Stein said in his weekly Greenroom session. "The Lakers have tried, with no luck yet, to package that pick with Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn in an attempt to acquire Jerami Grant from Detroit."

The Lakers entered their road game against the Orlando Magic on Friday with a 22-23 record, eighth in the Western Conference.

That's clearly not good enough for a team that sports LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook and is two years removed from an NBA title.

The trade deadline is Feb. 10, and as Stein noted, L.A. is going to try to do something. The problem is the Lakers don't have a ton to offer:

They obviously would love to make some kind of upgrade. As somebody put it to me this week, the Lakers are not a stay-the-course team when things are going bad. They want to make changes. But look, we all know the reality, they’ve got limited assets. They’ve got THT, they’ve got Nunn, they’ve got a draft pick that’s five years away. That’s really that. That’s really all they can do. So, will they try to do something? I’m sure they will.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski also threw cold water on the idea that the Lakers could do much at the deadline earlier this week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaY-xOHpL9w?

I think for the most part the Lakers' improvement is going to have to come from within. They just don't have tradable assets, especially with so few sellers in the market. There are going to be other teams who can offer those select few sellers better offers than the Lakers will be able to.

Grant figures to be one of the hottest names as the deadline nears. He's been out since Dec. 10 with a UCL ligament sprain of his right thumb, and the Pistons announced he would be reevaluated in six weeks.

He also entered the NBA's health and safety protocols Wednesday. Two days prior, Grant was assigned to the Pistons' G League affiliate to continue his rehab.

If he's good to go down the stretch, Grant could be a huge addition to a playoff-contending team. The 27-year-old power forward averaged 20.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game prior to being sidelined.

It may be difficult for the Lakers to pry him from the Pistons, though. Ultimately, L.A. may have to wait for Davis (sprained MCL) to come back and hope the James-Westbrook-Davis trio stays healthy, jells and guides the team to better days down the stretch.

The Houston Rockets would be interested in trading point guard John Wall for Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook if the deal was "incentivized," according to longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein (h/t RealGM). 

More specifically, Stein reported the Rockets would look for "sufficient draft compensation" to take back Westbrook, who played for Houston during the 2019-20 season.

The Rockets traded Westbrook to the Wizards for Wall and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick in Dec. 2020. 

Washington dealt Westbrook to the Lakers last July. He has struggled in his first year in L.A., posting a career-low 15.2 player efficiency rating, per Basketball Reference. 

Wall and the rebuilding Rockets agreed that he would not play for Houston this season as the team worked on finding him a new home, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic in September.

Stein noted that the hypothetical Rockets-Lakers deal is "unlikely" to happen between now and the Feb. 10 trade deadline.

The Lakers are at a significant crossroads. A season that started with championship aspirations has resulted in the team going 22-23 through 45 games (1-4 last five).

Lakers forward LeBron James is playing at an MVP level, but the rest of the team has largely been inconsistent. Anthony Davis has also missed the past month with a sprained left MCL.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported on NBA Today that the Lakers were in a "tough spot" to make any moves before the trade deadline and that improvement would likely "have to come from within." Ultimately, the healthy return of Davis should be the Lakers' biggest midseason addition.

As for the Rockets, the young group has shown promise and fight through 46 games, although the team sits last in the Western Conference with a 14-32 record. Still, building blocks such as Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun bring about great hope for the future.

Regarding the veterans, Wall has a player option for $47,366,760 in the 2022-23 season. If he takes it, he'll be a free agent in the summer of 2023. Westbrook also has a 2022-23 player option ($47,063,478).

Both could use a change of scenery for different reasons, but their contracts make it difficult for any moves to happen.

Westbrook is a nine-time All-Star and nine-time All-NBA team member who won the 2016-17 NBA MVP award. Wall is a five-time All-Star who earned All-NBA honors in 2016-17.

In news that will surprise few who follow the NBA, LeBron James and Stephen Curry remain popular with fans. 

The NBA announced on Friday that James and Curry have the two best-selling jerseys from the first half of the 2021-22 season based on sales from league's official online store:

The NBA's top-selling jerseys list... based on https://t.co/I0ypSvyq5i sales from the first half of the 2021-22 season! pic.twitter.com/Q4Hzkwy1E5

— NBA (@NBA) January 21, 2022

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic round out the top five in jersey sales. 

James continues to be the standard-bearer in the NBA as far as jersey sales. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has sat in the top spot on this list every season since 2018-19. 

The last time James wasn't No. 1 on the list, he was second only to Curry at the end of the 2017-18 season. 

James and Curry remain the most popular players in the NBA. They are the top two vote-getters for the 2022 All-Star Game, based on the updated results released on Thursday. 

Curry was leading the vote for the first two rounds, but he slipped to second behind James after the third round. They are the only players who have received at least 6 million fan votes thus far. 

Further down the list, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is certainly gaining a lot of new fans based on his performance in the first half. The 22-year-old had the 14th best-selling jersey in the second half last season, but he's climbed up to No. 7 so far in 2021-22. 

Reigning NBA Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball cracked the top 15 in jersey sales for the first time. 

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook said he felt "disappointed" after getting benched for the final four minutes of Wednesday's 111-104 home loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Westbrook told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski in an interview released Friday his focus is now to "figure s--t out and do what's best for our team to win in the long run."

"Surprised, yes. I was disappointed I didn't go back in, but I'm more disappointed that we lost the damn game," he said. "I want to be able to be on the floor to help my teammates and be able to help our team win in games like that—but that was a decision that was made."

The Lakers made Westbrook the headline addition of a massive offseason roster overhaul, and so far his lackluster performance has been a major reason for the team's struggles.

Los Angeles owns a 22-23 record, which ranks eighth in the Western Conference, and it's yet to show championship-level form for any sustained period of time during the 2021-22 campaign.

Injuries to LeBron James, who's missed 12 games, and Anthony Davis, who's sat out 18 contests amid an ongoing absence for a knee injury, have been a key factor. But the Lakers added Westbrook to provide another star when one of those core pieces was sidelined, and he's failed to impress.

The 2016-17 NBA MVP has averaged 18.5 points, his lowest total in 12 years, along with 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists across 45 appearances. He's also averaging 4.2 turnovers and 3.1 fouls while shooting 43.3 percent from the field, including 30.4 percent from three.

His dip in offensive performance combined with continued defensive struggles result in him ranking 235th out of 250 qualified NBA players in FiveThirtyEight's WAR metric.

That's not what the Lakers expected when they acquired Westbrook, and head coach Frank Vogel provided a blunt response when asked about the guard getting benched late against the Pacers.

"[I was] playing the guys that I thought were going to win the game," Vogel told reporters.

L.A. has the talent to turn things around, and the play-in tournament gives the team even more leeway when it comes to overcoming regular-season struggles, but better play from Westbrook is a must.

The 33-year-old UCLA product told Wojnarowski he's "accepted everything that has been asked of me and tried to do it to the best of my ability" and will continue to work on finding solutions:

Ultimately, you have to be OK when s--t doesn't go well, and I'm OK. I've done everything that's been asked of me here, and I'll continue to do so and ride this out as long as we can toward our ultimate goal—and that's to win a championship.

We obviously haven't been fully healthy, but I'm committed to making this thing work. The communication is there with everybody in the organization to make this thing work, to make this team we all want it to be in the future.

The Lakers will attempt to begin turning a corner Friday night when they open a six-game road trip at the Amway Center against the struggling Orlando Magic (8-38).

NBA analyst Charles Barkley called the Los Angeles Lakers "wusses" for their treatment of head coach Frank Vogel and guard Russell Westbrook. 

"The people up top who put that trash together are running and hiding like cowards, saying 'it's Frank, it's Russ,'" Barkley said.

The Lakers fell to 22-23 on the season after Wednesday's 111-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers, the team's fourth defeat in the last five games. Vogel made headlines in the latest loss with his decision to bench Westbrook in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.    

"Playing the guys that I thought were going to win the game," the coach told reporters afterward.

Westbrook has struggled in his first season in Los Angeles despite averaging 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. His efficiency and defense have been issues, while his .038 win shares per 48 minutes are his lowest since his rookie year in 2008-09, per Basketball Reference. 

Vogel has also come under fire with the squad unable to reach expectations despite having superstars like LeBron James, Westbrook, Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony on the roster.

Barkley believes the front office is to blame for its inability to put together a winning roster.  

LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant continue to lead the voting results for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.

LeBron James now leads the NBA in the latest fan returns for NBA All-Star Voting presented by Tissot, which concludes this Saturday, Jan. 22.

Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan and James continue to be the top vote-getters at their respective position groups. pic.twitter.com/LBIU5BamC6

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 20, 2022

Curry and James have been the leading vote-getters throughout the process, with the two Western Conference stars battling for the conference's captaincy. Durant and Antetokounmpo have been lapping the field as they vie for the Eastern Conference captaincy.

James has been a captain every year since the NBA adopted its new fantasy-draft format in 2018. His teams have also won each of those four games. Antetokounmpo has captained two teams, while Curry and Durant have each captained one.

The struggles of James' Lakers, combined with Curry spearheading the No. 2 seed Warriors, have helped the Golden State star get in position to potentially win his first captain spot since 2018. Curry led the West voting through the first two rounds of results but was eclipsed by a massive surge from James. 

Elsewhere, Ja Morant continued to take a leap amid the Memphis Grizzlies' stellar play. Morant moved into a backcourt starter spot in the previous round of voting and has seemingly locked himself into the No. 2 spot in the West behind Curry.

DeMar DeRozan continues to be the leading vote-getter in the East backcourt amid his All-NBA-caliber season. Trae Young, Zach LaVine and James Harden are all in a race for the second backcourt spot in fan voting.

Perhaps the most interesting race is for the third Western Conference frontcourt slot. James and Nikola Jokic are mortal locks, but Andrew Wiggins is in third place in voting but has not put up All-Star numbers. Paul George and Anthony Davis, fourth and fifth in the voting, have missed significant time due to injury and may not even be healthy for the Feb. 20 event. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert is arguably the most deserving amid a career-best season, but he's ninth in fan voting and will face an uphill climb. 

Fan votes account for 50 percent of the formula to determine All-Star starters. Media members (25 percent) and fellow players (25 percent) also vote to select All-Stars, with the top three frontcourt players and top two backcourt players from each conference being named to the team.

Coaches vote to determine the All-Star reserves. 

Fan voting concludes Saturday, Jan. 22 at midnight ET.

Despite sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference standings with a 22-23 record, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel isn't in immediate danger of losing his job. 

Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers "will not be making a personnel move at this juncture" after Wednesday's loss to the Indiana Pacers, and Vogel will coach Friday's game against the Orlando Magic. 

Vogel's job status has been a source of intense speculation in recent weeks as the Lakers have failed to take off this season.

Per Bill Oram and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Vogel was "coaching for his job" during Monday's game against the Utah Jazz.

The Lakers were coming off a 133-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, but they were able to hold off the Jazz to end a three-game losing streak.

Los Angeles' lopsided loss to the Nuggets prompted reactions on Twitter from Magic Johnson and LeBron James:

After being blown out by the Nuggets 133-96, we as @Lakers fans can accept being outplayed but we deserve more than a lack of effort and no sense of urgency. Owner @JeanieBuss, you deserve better.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 16, 2022

#LakerNation I apologize and I promise we’ll be better! 👑💜💛

— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 17, 2022

James told reporters after the Jazz game his tweet was about his own accountability for the team's struggles. 

"Talk can be cheap at times, because you gotta go out and have action," James said. "We did that tonight."

The Lakers came out of the gate strong against the Pacers with 56 points in the first half, but they were outscored 61-48 in the second half in a 111-104 defeat.

Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles' big offseason acquisition, shot 5-of-17 from the field and didn't play for the final three minutes, 52 seconds in the fourth quarter. He has scored fewer than 20 points in seven straight games and is shooting 30.2 percent from the field since Jan. 4.

There is some good news on the horizon for the Lakers, as ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported there is "optimism" that Anthony Davis will be able to return during the team's six-game road trip that begins Friday.

Vogel is in his third season as Lakers head coach. He led them to an NBA championship during his first season in 2019-20, but they finished 42-30 and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season.   

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James recorded his 10,000th career rebound during Wednesday night's 111-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Crypto.com Arena.

Another milestone for the King.#LeBronJames x #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/E6bYzaySG1

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 20, 2022

By doing so, the NBA's longtime gold standard became the first player in league history to reach that mark along with 30,000 points and 9,000 assists.

LeBron recorded his 10,000th rebound tonight.

He's the first-ever in the 30/10/9 club 👑 pic.twitter.com/Xr2BpVv7TA

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 20, 2022

James now ranks 42nd in NBA history with 10,002 rebounds, one spot behind Lakers teammate DeAndre Jordan (10,038).

The 17-time All-Star is in the process of rewriting the record book, highlighted by his pursuit of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time points list (currently trails by 2,068 points), but the rebound record is one that's well out of his reach.

Wilt Chamberlain holds the top spot with 23,924 rebounds.

Nevertheless, James will have no shortage of records on his resume whenever his playing career wraps up. But in the short term, he's probably more focused on trying to help the Lakers get their season turned around amid a lackluster 22-23 record.

The 37-year-old forward pushed aside questions about the coaching staff's effectiveness after the loss to Indiana, saying it was up to the players to perform at a higher level.

"Coaching staff has been great," James told reporters. "They put us in position to succeed, and it's up to us to handle the business, so there's always things that we all can do better, but there's no blame."

The Lakers' quest to find more consistency continues Friday night when they start a six-game road trip by visiting the Orlando Magic.