Mike D’Antoni To Reporter Following Lakers Loss: “You’re Starting To Piss Me Off” [VIDEO]

To say the the Los Angeles Lakers have failed to meet expectations thus far this season is a massive understatement. A team that was favored to win the Western Conference before the season started is now four games below .500 and were defeated last night by a 4-17 Cleveland Cavaliers squad after another poor defensive effort.

Naturally, this does not have Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni in a good mood, as evidenced by this exchange with LA Times columnist T.J. Simers.

The audio isn't of the best quality, so allow me to run it down for you. Simers asks D'Antoni in an incredibly smug fashion if the Lakers had even worked on defending in their shootaround prior to last night's game. The way that Simers asks the question combined, presumably, with D'Antoni's already lackluster reputation when it comes to coaching on the defensive end prompts him to tell Simers, "now you're starting to piss me off."

I can't say I blame D'Antoni here. Simers has had a reputation of doing the same thing to other coaches that he's covered out in Los Angeles, and if I were stuck coaching a team where my point guard has a broken leg, my next most capable ballhandler just wants to shoot every time he touches it, my best big man shoots approximately 2% from the foul line and my next best option down low is too busy wondering where he'll be traded to to play effectively, I'd be in a bad mood too.

It's funny, it's as if some young oracle predicted that these types of growing pains would occur.