Point guard Russell Westbrook had a poor tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, and there’s no doubt that many believed he was the cause of the team’s problems. However, Westbrook has shown that he is a starting quality NBA player with the Los Angeles Clippers, and he has clearly played very well in the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers notably sent away Russell Westbrook before the trade deadline, in a deal that got them D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt in return. A recent post from Legion Hoops revealed that Russell Westbrook is giving the Clippers better production in the playoffs than those 3 players combined.
Russell Westbrook this playoffs:
• 26.0 PPG
• 7.5 RPG
• 7.3 APG
D-Lo, Vanderbilt and Beasley combined:
• 20.0 PPG
• 10.0 RPG
• 6.0 APG pic.twitter.com/wzfy165ZUT
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 24, 2023
Though the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t necessarily do the wrong thing by trading away Russell Westbrook, it is clear that the players they got in the trade have been relatively disappointing in the playoffs. However, they do fit better around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which is more important than individual production when it comes to the Lakers.
Chris Paul And Kevin Durant Defended Russell Westbrook Amidst The Consistent Criticism
There is no doubt that a lot of the criticism of Russell Westbrook during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers has been overboard. At one point, his family even got death threats. Recently, we saw Kevin Durant and Chris Paul defend Russell Westbrook amidst that criticism, with Durant noting that his play in the postseason “shows who he really is”.
Kevin Durant: “People going to always criticize when you’re successful… Russ has been resilient his whole life…When he retires, people are really gonna tell the truth about how they feel about his game. Right now, it’s a fun thing to do is to make a joke out of Russ. The way he has been playing shows who he really is.”
Chris Paul: “I feel like the only people to do that too is the people who don’t know basketball… Russ is one of my closest friends.”
Even if the Los Angeles Clippers end up losing the series against the Phoenix Suns, it is clear that Russell Westbrook has shown that he is still a player that can thrive in the league given the right situation. Hopefully, he ends up staying with the Los Angeles Clippers after this season, as they are clearly a good fit for him from a system standpoint.
