Live TV Turns Awkward for Austin Rivers as Kendrick Perkins Pulling Out “Receipts” Backfires on ESPN

As of about a month into the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers are in the same place they were a year ago. Late last season, they made a surge during the last six weeks of the timetable, resulting in a lot of experts declaring that they had immediately emerged as championship contenders.

Recently, Awful Announcing put a tweet, having a conversation with Austin Rivers and Kendrick Perkins with a caption, “Perk tried to pull out some receipts on First Take and Austin Rivers wasn’t having it.”

In the video, Austin Rivers went from saying the Lakers were in the top three to saying they aren’t contenders is something that Perkins discusses. So, Perkins is acknowledging Rivers’s receipts by taking notes and pointing them out.

“I’m glad you’re taking notes on my takes. I’m gonna start taking some receipts with you Perk, if that’s what we doing. Because you’ve got some takes too, brother.”

The Lakers have won 15 of their last 23 games this season, but they have made no deals. Some however believe the team will not reach the playoffs. 

Read More: Kendrick Perkins ‘Accuses’ LeBron James’ Lakers of Petty Blame Game as Darvin Ham Bears the Brunt

Lakers losing their status as a contender

As LeBron James walked toward the locker room in the last few minutes of the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss against the Sacramento Kings, it was tricky to tell if he was hurt or just humiliated. The problem was James’s ankle, which has been bothering him since the All-Star break. Yet the defeat was also embarrassing because the Lakers blew a 19-point lead to lose by 10 points to Sacramento, who had a tough defense.

There aren’t plenty of reasons to think the Lakers can get back into the running for the Western Conference championship. They’ve been a top-10 scoring team since the All-Star break. That’s fine. At that time, they are also 28th in how well their defense works. That’s not good. Together, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk scored 70 points against Sacramento.

It’s not clear that the Lakers will have a great season. James and Anthony Davis keep playing at a very high level, but the players who play with them keep having trouble. Austin Reaves’s shooting figures have dipped, Max Christie fails to meaningfully crack the rotation and Taurean Prince is an underachiever. Even D’Angelo Russell, who has been on fire since January 1, has slowed down lately.

In the end, it means that the team is good enough to stay in the play-in group, maybe make the playoffs, but most likely lose in the first or second round. Not at all what James, Davis, and the rest of the team were looking for after making it to the conference finals the previous year.

Read More: Kendrick Perkins Sought ‘Punishment’ for Anti-Jimmy Butler Campaign, Makes Hilarious Request on National TV