Before the current season the Los Angeles Lakers were projected to be one of the main championship contenders in the NBA. Few would have predicted for the purple and gold to be 24-27 and be 9th in the West at this point of the season.
For Russell Westbrook, who joined the Lakers this past summer from the Wizards, the team’s record is not important. What matters for him is the mindset that the players have.
“I don’t really.. change much for me honestly,” Westbrook said. “Last year I was at this point I was 15 and 32 at one point and we didn’t have a chance to make the playoffs.
“This.. your mindset, you just gotta always believe that you can do something that people think you can’t. To me once we create that mentality amongst each other, regardless of who’s in who’s out, then our spirit of our team, spirit of the way we play the game will be different and regardless of what the record.
“In the mix of having fun and playing you kind of forget about the record, it doesn’t really matter, it just becomes a conversation that people like to have and expectations.
“Like I told you guys last time, is expectation that people put on us in the start of the year based on our talent, based on our team of expecting us to be at a certain level or have a certain record at this point. And for us to just make sure we’re creating games and make sure our energy is right moving in the right direction.”
