To say Russell Westbrook’s season with the Lakers has been going poorly would be an understatement. Westbrook has been unable to gel with his teammates and in general, has been struggling to perform with the Lakers. The combination of Westbrook with the other Lakers hasn’t gotten off to a good start.
Many fans have pointed to the fact that Westbrook is very ball-dominant, and is not a good decision-maker. Given the fact that LeBron James is one of the best passers in basketball and an excellent handler of the ball, fans feel that Westbrook’s combination with him doesn’t make sense.
On top of that, Westbrook is a very poor three-point shooter, something that the Lakers need desperately. Plus his poor ball-handling, especially when it comes to turnovers, has cost the Lakers a lot of big games where they had a chance to win.
And Kendrick Perkins has seemingly had enough, calling upon Westbrook to challenge himself and improve. During First Take, Perkins asked Westbrook to forget about the triple-doubles and try to play winning basketball. He then compared him to Chris Paul and showed him how he is a floor general that can help play winning basketball.
.@KendrickPerkins is calling out Russell Westbrook 😳
"It's not about the triple-doubles no more! … Can you turn the damn corner and win basketball games?! … When you look at Russ, and you look at CP3 … CP3, he goes out there and he wins basketball games!" pic.twitter.com/6n34FG6wVa
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 24, 2021
“It’s not about the triple-doubles no more. Can you turn the damn corner and win basketball games. Can you cut down on the turnovers and win basketball games. Can you go out there and lead a team, be the ultimate floor general and win basketball games. When you look at Russ, and you look at CP3 that’s the difference. CP3, he goes out there and he wins basketball games.”
Westbrook’s form has been a significant headache for the Lakers. And they’ve not been able to work their way around it. And it appears they have no plans to trade him at the deadline. The larger hope is that LeBron James will be able to figure things out and get Westbrook and the rest of the team on the same page.
Westbrook’s profile is not similar to that of CP3. But perhaps he can learn from the way he conducts himself on the court. Going forward, the Lakers will be hoping that Westbrook can find his rhythm once again.
