The Los Angeles Lakers have fallen to 29-40, trending to be the worst record from any LeBron James team ever. A lot of the season’s troubles have been blamed on Russell Westbrook, whose lackluster season has taken center-stage in LA. The attention has gotten worse after Russ air-balled a wide-open three-pointer against the Minnesota Timberwolves and was mocked by Patrick Beverley and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Beverley’s behavior may have been provoked by his long-running feud with Westbrook, but Towns just seemed to indulge in the moment of his T’Wolves team beating the Lakers. Winning against a team that was presumed to be a super-team has to be fun for the younger players around the league, and we have seen that throughout the year.
Westbrook has objected to a lot of things this season with respect to perceived disrespect from these young players and their celebrations. However, today was a different story as Westbrook tried to deflect the trash-talk he was subjected to by saying he doesn’t care about these players and their accomplishments so far in the NBA.
Russell Westbrook said no one on the Timberwolves has done anything in the league to make him care about their trash-talk.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 17, 2022
Every time we think the Lakers season has gotten as bad as it could get, the team comes out and loses another game by 20 points. Even LeBron was looking disengaged in this loss against the Wolves, as Minnesota won easily with the focus to make a push for a top-six seed in the West.
When a team needs 50-points every game from a 37-year-old, it is an extremely worrying sign. However, speculation on the Lakers can end soon enough as we are in the last month of the season. The off-season is going to see another year of dramatic changes to try and plug the holes.
Westbrook looks very checked out of the action on the court, and it won’t be a surprise if he is in his final month of playing basketball as a LA Laker.
