Lakers: Russell Westbrook Got Into Heated Conversation With LA Coaches Last Night

"Ya’ll gotta be better than that."

At the halftime break of your Los Angeles Lakers' eventual victory over the visiting Houston Rockets Sunday, $47.1 million sixth man point guard Russell Westbrook got a bit chippy heading to the team locker room.

During the game's NBA TV Martin Luther King Jr. Day broadcast, Westbrook can be seen confronting LA assistant coach Phil Handy as he and teammate LeBron James depart the Crypto.com Arena floor.

“There was an interesting scene as the Lakers headed to the locker room at the end of the first half with the lead,” NBA TV sideline reporter Jared Greenberg relayed. “Everybody pretty optimistic, happy with things."

"And then it was Russell Westbrook telling his coaches that they have to be better, repeatedly directing towards the Lakers coaching staff, ‘Ya’ll gotta be better than that.’ Phil Handy… and LeBron calming Russ down saying, ‘We all have to be better, Russ.’ [Those were] Phil Handy’s words to Russ.”

At the time, the Lakers were actually leading by a dozen, 73-61, in a high-scoring first half. But it was clear the team's defense was pretty leaky, in allowing Houston to stay in the fight. Things would get dicier in the second half, though LA eventually pulled out a 140-132 win.

Westbrook proved instrumental in the victory. The former All-Star finished with a solid game, chipping in 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. He also registered a +17. 

After the game, Westbrook himself spoke about the conversation, albeit briefly.

.@russwest44 on the #Lakers execution down the stretch, his conversation with the coaches at halftime and last night's officiating. pic.twitter.com/roT8yntmO4

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 17, 2023

Dave McMenamin of ESPN can be heard noting that LA head coach Darvin Ham believed the chat was about the team's defensive rotations in the game's first half.

"Honestly it's just a conversation, I didn't get into it with anybody," Westbrook said. "But obviously people are going to perceive it however they want to, but [I was] just voicing my opinion, and that was it."

He later declined to confirm or deny whether or not the conversation was about defense.