When rumors first started circulating back in 2021 that the Los Angeles Lakers were interested in trading for Russell Westbrook, not many paid much attention. It seemed like such a bad idea because he wasn’t a great fit and nobody thought that the Lakers would pull the trigger, but they did.
They sent a package that included Kyle Kuzma to the Washington Wizards to acquire Westbrook and as we all saw, things went horribly wrong last season. Immediately after the move though, there were quite a few who thought that it could work because of LeBron James but Skip Bayless, of all people, proved to be right as he termed it a disaster for the Lakers and LeBron.
He was right about the shooting woes in particular, as Westbrook and James have been two of the worst three-point shooters this season. Westbrook ranks second from the bottom in the NBA at 29.1% while LeBron is a spot above him at 29.3%. Head Coach Darvin Ham said the team needs players who can make threes and not just shoot them and he was probably talking about his two stars. We all knew that these two weren’t a great fit together and the only way the Lakers have gotten it to work now is by having Westbrook come off the bench.
Russell Westbrook Has Played Well Recently
Westbrook has been really impressive off the bench recently to his credit. His last 5 games have seen him average 24.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 8.4 APG while shooting a solid 48.9% from the field. If he can continue to put up numbers like these while limiting some of his mistakes, then the Lakers can have no complaints about what they’re getting from him.
The fit is never going to be perfect but they’ve found a way to ensure he is effective when he gets on the court and the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for that. They have managed to salvage a situation that many considered hopeless before the start of this season.
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