Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves shared an honest response about the team’s mood in the locker room after it lost to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
The Lakers, despite playing at home, lost 110-96 and were outscored 38-29 in the fourth quarter.
“Reaves said the team’s mood was ‘s—–,’” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote.
It’s hard to blame Reaves and the Lakers for being frustrated with the loss to Miami, especially since Jimmy Butler did not play on Wednesday night.
“We’re losing,” Reaves said. “Anytime you lose, the vibe should be off, you know? If I went in [the locker room] and the vibe wasn’t off after the rough stretch that we’ve had, then I’d be concerned. That’s really it. You know, I don’t expect for us to be happy with how we’ve played. So, until we figure that out, you know, the vibe should be off. We got to win games.”
The loss dropped the Lakers to 17-18 on the season, and they are now the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. Los Angeles has lost three straight games, and the team is just 2-8 over its last 10 matchups.
Reaves, who played well against Miami, explained that the team’s vibe is off because of the losing – not because the players aren’t getting along.
“When I say the vibe is off, it’s not like we don’t like each other,” he said. “It’s we’re losing. … But I don’t want to get that twisted on us not liking each other. Everybody in the locker room gets along.”
Reaves finished Wednesday’s game with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also added five rebounds and eight assists.
However, the team didn’t get much from anyone else besides Anthony Davis (29 points, 17 rebounds and six assists) on Wednesday.
LeBron James scored just 12 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the field, and both Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish failed to score.
With D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura out of the lineup, Los Angeles lacked the offensive firepower that it needed to beat Miami.
The Lakers won the league’s In-Season Tournament in the 2023-24 campaign, but things have not gone well since for Los Angeles.
The team will need to turn things around soon if it wants a chance to make it back to the Western Conference Finals. Reaves and the Lakers have a matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
