Joe Hsu-USA TODAY Sports
Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers was an exciting and intense tug-of-war that ended with the Lakers winning 130-125 in overtime.
LeBron James led the way with a masterful performance and he was clearly ready for this game. Some media reported that he was angry with his teammates for not properly guarding Clippers guard Russell Westbrook.
The fact that Westbrook has played with James and his staff for a season and a half adds some extra spice to this game. When the Lakers traded for the former UCLA standout, many thought they would be a championship contender.
Instead, they fell into the basement and missed out on the play-offs for the 2021-22 season. Westbrook struggled to find his place on the team, and many pointed to him as the main reason for his problems.
The Lakers traded him to the Utah Jazz midway through last season for D’Angelo Russell, Jared Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley, and they took off almost immediately. After the Jazz bought him out, Westbrook joined the Clippers.
In the final days of Westbrook’s life, a report detailed a tense relationship between him and current Lakers head coach Davin Hamm. One source even described his departure as a “vampire in the dressing room”.
After trading James Harden earlier this week, the Clippers will now have a championship-caliber team of their own, at least on paper. Harden was forced out of the Philadelphia 76ers and will now play for his fourth team in the last four seasons.
Harden and Westbrook are among the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 11 teammates and both are Los Angeles natives. They will join Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, both of whom grew up in Southern California.
If the Clippers and Lakers end up meeting in the playoffs this spring, it will be a very close battle that could go down to the wire. The two teams have never met in a playoff series.