Russell Westbrook has without a doubt been frequently criticized during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers. There’s no doubt that many hated him when he was starting for the team, and a lot of fans have previously blasted the point guard for his turnover-heavy and inefficient playstyle.
However, ever since getting moved to the bench, Russell Westbrook has been elite for the Los Angeles Lakers. He had an elite first half against the Utah Jazz, scoring 18 points while shooting 66% from the field and 100% from 3PT range.
A lot of NBA fans reacted to Russell Westbrook’s half. A lot of them were happy for the point guard, and it is clear that many people may have written Russell Westbrook off too soon.
Russell Westbrook with 18 Points, 66% FG, 100% 3P, 100% FT at halftime. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rTjwoa8JxC
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 8, 2022
Top 5 PG of all time
how does bro go to the bench and then start hitting threes
Russ’ team
Lebron is the problem
Lakers play better without le3-6
glad Russ proving doubters wrong
MVP in my books
when will people start talking about lebron as one of the problems in LA?
Where the haters
He is officially back!!!
Y’all gon stop disrespecting him soon
Carrying Lebron and street clothes
Russ off the bench will be his new role and he’ll be good with the second unit
Literally the best player on the lakers
Surround Russ with better players.
Russell Westbrook’s performances have definitely been impressive thus far, and hopefully, this continues. Darvin Ham previously stated that he wants Russell Westbrook to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, and perhaps that will end up happening.
Russell Westbrook Coming Off The Bench Benefits Him And LeBron James
When two ball-dominant players are on the same team, sometimes they need to be staggered to get the best out of both of them. Darvin Ham previously explained that this is the reason that the team ended up benching Russell Westbrook.
“Some guys play better off the ball, some guys play better with the ball in their hands, and through no fault of their own, that’s just how they’re built, you know?” Ham said. “You’re not gonna have LeBron James play without the ball in his hands for, you know, 80, 85 percent of his minutes that he’s on the floor, you know? At some point, you’ve got to allow him to orchestrate. Same thing with Russ. And so to create some type of balance, we wanted to look at this, the setup of this type of rotation and see if it works for us. The door’s not closed on Russ starting, and the door’s not closed on (whether) this works, you know. We got to explore it even further.”
Though Russell Westbrook becoming the sixth man has definitely improved his individual play, the team still needs to get better as a whole. Hopefully, they are better when LeBron James returns from injury.
As of right now, Lakers fans are likely hoping that Russell Westbrook will manage to lead the Lakers to a win over the Utah Jazz. There’s still time for that to happen, and perhaps they will manage to get their third win of the season.
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