Lakers Beat Knicks: LeBron, Anthony Davis are Rising, Russell Westbrook Benched Again

The Lakers refuse to pick a lane. They're often terrible to the point of generating genuine disgust from the fan base, and then have third quarters like the one against New York on Saturday, where they blitzed the Knicks and Malik Monk outscored the visitors by himself. In those moments, they prod (sucker?) Lakers fans into believing again. So what are they? Because they're not an ordinary .500 team, that's for sure. LeBron came back strong on Saturday, proving again that he's simply indispensable to the Lakers, no matter how hard they try to fix that problem. Anthony Davis was again remarkable, dominating on both sides of the ball as he continues his strong play since returning from injury. The problem? The third star. Russell Westbrook was benched by Frank Vogel for the OT, as much because of his defense than his offense. So what is Westbrook actually capable of on that end? Is he just not willing to do what's asked? Or is he not capable in ways the Lakers ought to have understood before acquiring him? Finally, Davis was candid following Saturday's game, noting that while his numbers were fine, his play was not good enough. He pledged to be better on his return, and certainly has held up that end of things. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: LeBron is back, AD dominates... and Westbrook is benched again. SEGMENT 2: To the degree defense put him on the pine, and it's a big part of it, why does Westbrook continue to struggle? Does he simply not care enough to focus as he should on the details and scheme, or is he not really capable of what the Lakers want from him? Or both? SEGMENT 3: Davis held himself accountable, and the results are awesome. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. PrizePicks Don’t hesitate, check out PrizePicks.com and use promo code: “NBA” or go to your app store and download the app today. PrizePicks is daily fantasy made easy! Shopify Go to shopify.com/lockedonnba for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices