Frustrations continue to mount for the Lakers, who, after suffering a blowout loss to the Mavericks on national television, fell out of the Western Conference Play-In picture with seven games remaining in the regular season.
In the loss, Russell Westbrook finished with 25 points (on 9 of 17 shooting), eight rebounds and six assists, but it was his postgame exchange with LA Times reporter Brad Turner that illustrates the current state of the Lakers.
MORE: LeBron James sounds off after Lakers drop to 10th in West following epic loss to Pelicans
"Nothing, man. Nothing," Westbrook said when asked what is needed to change the team's recent losing ways.
When asked why, Westbrook provided a simple "'cause it doesn't," before adding "we still got games to play. Other teams still got games to play, we still gotta play teams that's above us in the Play-In. It doesn't change much."
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Then things got interesting.
Westbrook flipped the question to Turner, asking the reporter "what do you think should change?"
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 30, 2022
Turner also kept it simple, saying "winning," which prompted Westbrook to leave his seat at the podium at Dallas' American Airlines Center to exit the media room, but the conversation continued.
Westbrook continued the role reversal, asking Turner if he had the answer to winning, prompting the camera crew to pan over to the back-and-forth.
While a bit unusual, the interaction was far from heated as Westbrook and Turner continued their conversation with Westbrook admitting that he "is only one person" that doesn't have the answer. The former MVP then semi-seriously made sure that the camera crew caught the continuation of their exchange, which ended with a handshake and hug.
MORE: What are Lakers' NBA Playoff, Play-In Tournament chances? Breaking down odds, remaining schedule
At 31-44, the Lakers are currently in 11th place in the Western Conference. In order to qualify for the Play-in Tournament, which begins on Tuesday, April 12, LA must re-enter the West's top 10.
The Lakers can finish as high as ninth but do not own tiebreakers over the Pelicans or Spurs.
Lakers schedule 2021-22
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) | National TV |
| March 31 | at Jazz | 10 p.m. | TNT |
| April 1 | vs. Pelicans | 10:30 p.m. | NBA TV |
| April 3 | vs. Nuggets | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| April 5 | at Suns | 10:30 p.m. | NBA TV |
| April 7 | at Warriors | 10 p.m. | TNT |
| April 8 | vs. Thunder | 10:30 p.m. | — |
| April 10 | at Nuggets | TBD | — |
NBA standings 2022: Western Conference
(Current through March 29 games)
| Seed | Team | Record | Games back |
| 1. | Suns | 61-14 | — |
| 2. | Grizzlies | 53-23 | 8.5 |
| 3. | Warriors | 48-28 | 13.5 |
| 4. | Mavericks | 47-29 | 14.5 |
| 5. | Jazz | 45-31 | 16.5 |
| 6. | Nuggets | 45-31 | 16.5 |
| 7. | Timberwolves* | 43-33 | 18.5 |
| 8. | Clippers* | 37-39 | 24.5 |
| 9. | Pelicans* | 32-43 | 29 |
| 10. | Spurs* | 31-44 | 30 |
| — | Lakers | 31-44 | 30 |
| — | Trail Blazers | 27-48 | 34 |
| — | Kings | 27-49 | 34.5 |
| — | Thunder | 22-53 | 39 |
| — | Rockets | 20-56 | 41.5 |
* NBA Play-In Tournament teams if season ended today
