Things are starting to fall off the rails for the young Los Angeles Lakers as they dropped their fifth straight game on Friday night, a 119-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Once again, however, veteran Lou Williams was outstanding in the loss.
Williams scored 35 points in the loss, adding five rebounds and two assists as well, and his 137 points are the most scored in a four-game span by a player coming off the bench since 1970.
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If you ask Williams, however, wins and losses are the only thing that matters. In speaking to reporters after the game, Williams made it clear that whether he scores 40 or four points, a loss is a loss:
“It feels the same as not scoring a lot of points and losing. Losing is losing, we are not in the business of moral victories, so for me it’ trying to do anything I can in my position to try and help us win games.”
This is the type of attitude that you want to see from the veteran leaders. Numbers and stats don’t matter if the wins aren’t coming. That is something that Williams believes and the young Lakers must also assume that mindset.
Things have been rough for the Lakers these last couple of weeks with injuries robbing the team of a lot of rotation players and head coach Luke Walton having to try and experiment with different lineups because of it. The team is in a slump as a whole, and Williams’ scoring efforts haven’t been enough to get them out of it.
The vibes from the good start of the Lakers are starting to wear off as the losses are piling up. The Lakers will need to figure something out soon as after Sunday’s home game against the New York Knicks they hit the road for seven straight games.
**All quotes obtained by Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters
