Lakers News: LeBron on Start to Season; Russell Westbrook Talks Defense, More

The new-look Los Angeles Lakers didn't exactly get off to a hot start to the 2021-22 NBA season. Los Angeles went winless in the preseason and then dropped their first two games and three of their first five.

However, the Lakers have since won three in a row. While this doesn't mean that L.A. is suddenly the championship favorite, it is a good reminder that early in the regular season is no time to panic. The Lakers sit at 5-3—third in the Western Conference—and are beginning to see the new Big Three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook find a rhythm.

James recently discussed the rosters' development through the early stages. Here, we'll dive into those comments and other Lakers buzz heading into Thursday's matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

James Sees Growth on the Court

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

While Westbrook was the highlight addition of L.A.'s offseason, the Lakers brought in multiple other players—including Carmelo Anthony, Wayne Ellington and undrafted rookie Austin Reaves.

It was always going to take time for the roster to come together, and early injuries to Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker and Trevor Ariza didn't help matters. According to James' the team's resiliency allowed the Lakers to keep their heads above water through the early struggles.

"We are a resilient group, to start, early on," James said, per Brenna White of FanNation. "We've had some adversities to start the season already and I feel like we matched it. We want to continue to build off what we've done over the last week or so, two weeks and if we do that, we give ourselves a good chance to be better and better each month."

This is where Lakers fans can feel encouraged. The players are learning to work as a team, and the core is coming together—in Tuesday's win over the Houston Rockets, James, Davis and  Westbrook each scored 27 or more points.

And as Los Angeles continues building chemistry, it will grow closer to being a true postseason threat.

Westbrook Adapting to New Defensive Role

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Westbrook's first few games as a Lakers left plenty to be desired, and coach Frank Vogel admitted that Westbrook settling into a role would require "an adjustment period."

This, of course, meant that it would take time for Westbrook to mesh offensively with James and Davis. However, it also meant that Westbrook would need to adapt to a different defensive philosophy under Vogel.

Westbrook recently talked about the learning process and how Vogel has helped him adapt.

"It's a concept where you rely a lot on bigs," Westbrook said, per Jacob Rude of Silver Screen and Roll. "Just kind of figuring out a way of being able to chase guards and send them to the bigs, and I'm more accustomed to sometimes going down and chasing down blocks and pursuing for steals. ...But (it's) nothing that I haven't seen before, just obviously now I'm getting a lot more accustomed to doing it."

For Westbrook, it's all about learning his role and sticking to it.

"Frank has been a hell of a defensive coach and coach in general, and he knows what he’s doing. My job is to make sure that I fulfill the things that he’s asking me to do," he said.

Through eight games, Westbrook is averaging 1.5 steals and 6.9 defensive rebounds.

'You Can't Correct That'

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

While the Lakers should feel good about escaping with a two-point win on Tuesday, the victory didn't come without its fair share of controversy.

Late in the game, officials incorrectly awarded two free throws to forward Kent Bazemore under the assumption that Houston was in bonus-penalty territory. It wasn't, and the officials later took two Lakers points off of the board.

Naturally, Vogel wasn't thrilled with how the situation was handled.

"Once play resumes, you can’t correct that. You can't correct it," Vogel said, per Rude. "The league's got to look at that, because they can't give us that possession back. Like if it was corrected at the time of the call, we get the ball on the side and it's our ball. ...Once that goes away, you just take the points away and don't give us the possession back. ...I’m very frustrated by that, the league has to look at that."

It was indeed a bizarre situation and one Vogel had a right to be upset about. It will be interesting to see if and how the league responds to the call. 

Fortunately, the decision didn't cost the Lakers the win.