It wasn’t a great outing for Russell Westbrook against the Los Angeles Clippers. After his 19-point contribution in the first game against the Golden State Warriors, his time on the floor against Kawhi Leonard and Co. yielded just 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The performance was enough to further stoke the criticism of Westbrook. It’s burned pretty brightly since his arrival as a Laker, and with these almost ignorable numbers, the roast had well and truly begun.
The guard still found ample support from some fans on social media. Soon after the game, LeBron James urged him to forget the bad day at the office. Here are some of the reactions from fans who came to his defense.
His defense was amazing tonight but you won’t talk about that
— Brandin (@BrandinHinch) October 21, 2022
Goat had 5 steals! 5 steals!!! What a defensive phenom!!!! Incoming DPOY!!! 🤞 https://t.co/v7lLteuoNr
— BEAR (@Qshabz11) October 21, 2022
Goat defense tho, yall slander too much https://t.co/rh6ghAuU6L
— 🕷 (@isidroskricardo) October 21, 2022
I guess he played defense. Let’s try to remain positive 🥹 https://t.co/hW1w0HKrLt
— LaFleur Jacques Jr (@wavegodbouz) October 21, 2022
Starting to feel sorry for him man 😭 https://t.co/1oPvWkN5zm
— Baba Leo` (@CazorlaRoba) October 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/cozyvmg/status/1583315880598872065
He played better defense. Showed effort. https://t.co/aHMqRY7tbG
— Patrick Bateman (@pupusaluvaa) October 21, 2022
I heard he played good defense tho https://t.co/N1PIQWul62
— Will (@_wcj3) October 21, 2022
Defense was amazing for his standards, why don’t you add that?👀 https://t.co/UOc0aX9nn7
— Houdini 🪬 (@GambrellTrevon) October 21, 2022
Loved his defense but the whole team gotta hit that shooting lab https://t.co/YiuwZR8wwh
— Nu🗣️ (@nuparlay) October 21, 2022
Now tweet about how good he was on defense.
Oh wait… that doesn’t fit your narratives. https://t.co/XyjNytR3jT
— Braannxo (@realbraannxo) October 21, 2022
There was no doubt that while Westbrook had an off-day shooting, he was a powerhouse when it came to locking up his man. His five steals facilitated some points for the Lakers.
Juan Toscano-Anderson Backs Russell Westbrook
It wasn’t just James who had Westbrook’s back at the end of the day, but also his new teammate, Juan Toscano-Anderson, whose defense was one of the highlights for the Lakers.
Speaking to Spectrum SportsNet after the game, Westbrook was asked about whether the shooting affected him, or other members of the team, to which Toscano-Anderson, who was packing up next to him vouched for him.
Juan Toscano-Anderson standing up for Russ. ✊
(h/t @_Talkin_NBA)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 21, 2022
“Nope, because he keeps telling me to shoot.”
That picked up Westbrook’s spirits. The second game could very well be considered an aberration if he manages to put up good numbers in their next skirmish.
He did start off promisingly against the Warriors, ably assisting James and Anthony Davis, who have had two good games in a row.
Only time will tell if the under-pressure guard can turn it around for the Lakers and himself over the course of the season, despite growing calls of trading him. Los Angeles will host Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers at home on Sunday (October 23).
