The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their fifth consecutive last night, against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena. The Purple and Gold had a big opportunity to snap their 4-game losing streak, but James Harden and co. stole a big win at a difficult venue against a rival who tried everything to win the game.
After the game was over, fans blamed Russell Westbrook for the loss, making many bad comments towards the point guard given his performance against the Nets. Brodie even missed a clutch shot in the last 30 seconds of the game, ignoring a wide-open LeBron James and going against two defenders.
While many think that cost the Lakers the win, LeBron James backed Westbrook after the game, praising his decision-making, saying he made it up for having a low-scoring night.
Via Sports Illustrated’s All Lakers:
“I think he had an off-shooting night. He missed so many shots around the rim that he had been accustomed to making throughout his career and throughout the season, so not worried about too much of that,” said James.
“I think his decision-making was spectacular tonight. He had 11 assists, he had 12 rebounds, 5 of them offensive and we know we’re not one of the better offensive rebounding teams in this league. He gave us extra possessions, he just missed a lot of looks around the basket, which I know he can’t stand as well. As far as effort…the guy plays hard and the guy leaves it out on the floor.”
It’s good to see that LeBron is supporting Westbrook amid all the criticism he constantly receives. The Lakers’ point guard has had good matches with the team, but the consensus around the league is that he wasn’t and won’t be a good fit with LeBron, which has led to many asking the Lakers to trade Westbrook away.
James has stated he’s been patient with the team since not all the pieces are on the court right now. However, not everybody shares his feelings and plenty of fans are already asking for Russ to be traded. Well, some say the Lakers will be very active ahead of the trade deadline, and perhaps Westbrook will be out of the team after just a couple of months.
