Russell Westbrook has been viewed as a controversial player during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, and there is no doubt that many have criticized his inefficient and turnover-heavy playstyle. He struggled to fit in with the Los Angeles Lakers as a No. 3 option during the 2021-22 season.
In the currently ongoing game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Russell Westbrook was 0-9 after three quarters. There’s no doubt that this was a poor performance, and it seems as though a lot of fans were unhappy with how badly Russell Westbrook shot the ball.
Westbrook after 3 quarters:
0-9 FG
0-5 3P
Oof. pic.twitter.com/kcsVSnow5r
— StatMuse (@statmuse) October 21, 2022
Lakers country, let's hide!
— Not An Undercover Cop (@MorningSportsW2) October 21, 2022
“Westbrook for 3!!!” pic.twitter.com/tbbmlkK8Vl
— ⌚️Bajon (@HaitanOne) October 21, 2022
they said his shooting form improved
what happened?
— – (@LightYearsSZN) October 21, 2022
Westbrook shootingpic.twitter.com/4nK1qHsEyz
— Nae 🧬 (@NaeNaeTakes) October 21, 2022
— 🫵🏾🇩🇴 (@___5jf) October 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/Rays_Szn/status/1583306045426106368https://twitter.com/dxbssss/status/1583305231206522880
Somebody was tellin me I needed to put respect on his name this off-season. I said absolutely not 😂
— Big Nato🦈 (@OTO_Nato) October 21, 2022
I think it’s safe to say he’s washed now
— David⁶𓅓 (@HoodiDrizzy) October 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/my_chappie/status/1583305328849887232
Guys he knows he’s a good shooter
— doom and doomer (@shutupjoshh) October 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/OmDip8/status/1583309491705372673
Mane does this guy even care about basketball anymore bcuz this can't be the Russ that used to light teams up for triple doubles night in and night out or attack the rim with authority.
— IDONTGIVA🐀🍑 (@Rebel_MiddleKid) October 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/Durantmuse/status/1583305267487199232
There is no doubt that it is slightly concerning for the Los Angeles Lakers that Russell Westbrook’s struggles have continued into this season. It is unfortunate that he has not found a way to consistently impact the game next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but perhaps he can bounce back in the future.
Russell Westbrook Could Do Better Playing With The Bench Unit
Though Russell Westbrook has been a starter thus far in the season, perhaps the point guard can do better coming off the bench. When Darvin Ham decided to play Russell Westbrook off the bench, he explained that the move could help both Westbrook and LeBron James, and his explanation seems fairly reasonable.
“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.”
There are definitely players that do better when being ball-dominant, and Russell Westbrook is definitely one of them. There is no doubt that he thrives when being the primary ballhandler on a team.
It remains to be seen if Darvin Ham will end up bringing Russell Westbrook off the bench again. This could end up helping him perform better, and we’ll see what happens in the future.
